on how to issue work certification for students so they can get a job while in high school. Our professional development tool is an invaluable resource.
Exploratory
EWEE is a combination of job observations and related classroom instruction in WEE.
General
GWEE provides students with a combination of supervised employment in any occupational field and classroom instruction.
Career Technical
CTWEE requires a worksite placement or employment related to a Career Technical Education course of study.
The California Association of Work Experience Educators (CAWEE) leads the way in supporting work-based learning professionals and students in grades TK-14 while educating all stakeholders on child labor laws and work permit compliance. CAWEE will continue to be the leader in promoting high-quality career readiness programs.
Work Experience Educators can become a CAWEE member take our training program - now 100% online! Learn about issuing work permits to students and how to create the ultimate work experience curriculum. Active CAWEE members will have exclusive access to the one and only CAWEE-endorsed training program. Register today!
GREETINGS
from the CAWEE President.
April 7, 2022
SAVE THE DATE October 6th-9th 2022
The annual CAWEE Conference is back so please plan right now. The conference will be from Thursday, October 6 through Saturday, October 8, 2022, at the Bakersfield Marriott and Convention Center. This promises to be a very informational conference and will have a host of assets everyone can take back to their school districts. Please book your reservations now. It is important for there are 250 rooms available and they will reserve on a first come first serve basis.
When: Thursday, October 6th through Saturday, October 8th, 2022 Where: Bakersfield Marriott and Convention Center
801 Truxtun Ave, Bakersfield, CA 93301
Fees: $350 includes conference and annual professional development. Hotel Rooms: $139.00 per night Book your group rate for CAWEE ATTENDEE
Hotel rooms are filling up fast, please be sure to register for the conference but also reserve your room, these are separate.
Speakers: Four speakers every 90 minutes that pertain to all aspects of CAWEE
Reception: Saturday evening from 6:00-10:00 following the conference.
Registration: Registration is NOW OPEN on CAWEE.org
Announcements
read the latest news from CAWEE
Advantages of Attending a CAWEE Conference
Compliance Workshop Training
Pick up the most recent legalities regarding Child Labor Laws, Work permit compliance, Work-Based Learning and learn the most up-to-date information to ensure your school district or charter school program is officially compliant with the CDE and the California Department of Labor.
Professional Certification and Collaboration
CAWEE’s conference and professional development series allows presenters to share practical advice and techniques specifically intended for anyone that is involved in an educational setting and that assigns work permits as well as any work-based learning programs and curriculum. Attendees also leave with a certification for the entire school year.
California Legislative Updates
Erle Hall, the CAWEE representative from the CDE shares the minute-by-minute latest information coming from Sacramento and how it could impact your schools and it’s WEE, Workability, Work Permit protocols.
The CAWEE Conference is a great environment to learn and to collaborate with other school districts and charter school programs and learn about innovative products from vendors. ALL attendees also leave with a certification for the entire school year.
Message from our CDE Representative Erle Hall
Message from our CDE Representative Erle Hall
I would like to say hello to all my friends at CAWEE and to all those WEE teachers I have met traveling around the state. I hope things are beginning to get back to normal, even if it might be a “new” normal. Please be sure to emphasize workplace safety in your classes so that we may keep our students safe. As inspiration, consider the unfortunate incident that occurred last May to a Firebaugh High School student: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/OHB/FACE/Pages/21CA001.aspx
Message from the CAWEE Scholarship Committee Chair
SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION DEADLINE:
Monday, MARCH 22, 2022
5:00 PM
If you teach Work Experience, please encourage your students to apply for the CAWEE Scholarship. $1,000 granted to the recipients. Please visit the members-only section of Cawee.org to find the application or click on the link provided.
§ 1308.1 California child labor laws state no minor under the age of 6 shall be permitted to engage in door-to-door sales or street sales of candy, cookies, flowers, or any other merchandise or commodities. No minor under 16 years of age, permitted by law to engage in door-to-door sales of newspaper or magazine subscriptions, or of candy, cookies, flowers, or other merchandise or commodities, shall be employed in those activities more than 50 miles from his or her place of residence.
Children employed in door-to-door sales may not work during school hours and must be at least 12 years old. Minors under the age of 16 may not sell magazine subscriptions, candy, cookies, flowers, or other merchandise or commodities door-to-door unless all of the following conditions are met:
they must have a work permit issued by their school,
they work in pairs, as a team, on the same or opposite sides of the street,
they are supervised by an adult supervisor for each crew of 10 minors or fewer,
they are within the sight or sound of the adult supervisor at least once every 15 minutes,
they are returned to their respective homes or place of rendezvous after each day’s work, and
the door-to-door sales are performed within 50 miles of the minor’s residence.
The Girl Scouts require girls ages 11-17 to be accompanied by an adult. There is no cookie sale by Daisy Girl Scouts (5-6 yrs. old). Only the Brownies (6-8 yrs old), Junior Girl Scouts (8-11 yrs old), Cadette Girl Scouts (11-14 yrs old), and Senior Girl Scouts (14-17 yrs old) participate in cookie sales. The Girl Scouts of USA registers each year to remain in compliance with California Child Labor Law § 1308.2 with the Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, Licensing and Registration, 9th Floor West, P.O. Box 420603, San Francisco, CA 94142.
Message from the CAWEE Programs Standard Committee Chair
Our next Programs Standard Committee Meeting will be on Monday, April 25, 2022 from 3:30pm - 4:30pm. If you would like to join the P&S committee, please use the link below to sign up:
Congratulation to Rachel Johnson from Patrick Henry High School for being named the CAWEE Student of the Month!
CAWEE Educator of the Month
Congratulation to Mike Axelrod from James Madison High School for being named the CAWEE Educator of the Month
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA REPS
Susan Chrisco Clark Carter
Thank you to all our schools in Northern California that work with our students to keep their goals and dreams alive.
CENTRAL CALIFORNIA REPS
Shirley Blanchard and Tim Riche
I am very excited to announce that Madera County’s unemployment rate is back to pre-covid numbers. Many of my students have taken new jobs or moved up in the hierarchy and taken on new better roles on their site. Many have moved from traditional entry-level positions at fast-food chains to stores and businesses that pay better and the job is more to what they choose to do.
The CAWEE Board meetings take place at 3:30 pm on the first Wednesday of every month. https://cawee.org/
Program and Standards Committee Update
Our next meeting will be on Monday, November 1, 2021, at 3:30 pm via Zoom. Please email monicaphillippe@cawee.org if you would like to join this meeting.
The agenda will include:
CAWEE Curriculum Frameworks
WBLR Data and how to integrate Work Experience programs
LMS needs to build WEE curriculum
LMS platform will serve as program resource library and course module
Determine Professional Development needs
Review and discuss current CAWEE training platform for WEE teacher certification
New Employment Laws For 2022
Message from the CAWEE Scholarship Committee Chair
If you teach Work Experience, please encourage your students to apply for the CAWEE Scholarship. $1,000 granted to the recipients. Please visit the members-only section of Cawee.org to find the application or click on the link provided.
How did the California employment laws change in 2022? With higher wages and more protections for employees! California will have the highest statewide minimum wage in the U.S. as of January 1, 2022, at $15 an hour — a $1 an hour increase from 2021. However, the California law only applies to employers who have 26 or more employees. Businesses with 25 or fewer employees will pay a minimum of $14 per hour. On January 1, 2023, the rate will increase to $15 per hour for employers with 25 or fewer employees.
Certain counties within California have elected to increase the minimum wage to a rate higher than $14 - $15 per hour. The highest paying counties are Emeryville, CA at $17.64 per hour, and Hollywood, CA (Hotel workers) at $17.64 per hour.
IF A MINOR ISN’T BEING PAID THE CORRECT AMOUNT
What should you do if a student asks for assistance when they’re not being paid on time or not being paid the correct hourly amount? The minor can either file a Wage Claim with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (the Labor Commissioner's Office), and/or file a lawsuit in court against the employer to recover lost wages. Additionally, if the minor no longer works for this employer, he/she can make a claim for the waiting time penalty pursuant to Labor Code Section 203. You should refer the minor employee to your DOL contact for more information and assistance filing a Wage Claim correctly.
SUB MINIMUM WAGE
Under a new law, Senate Bill 639, no new sub-minimum-wage licenses will be issued for employers beginning in January 2022. Existing licenses may not be renewed after 2024.
By law, disabled workers may be paid less than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. Advocates say the practice encourages the hiring of workers with mental or physical disabilities, but opponents call it unfair exploitation. Sheltered workshops such as those operated by Goodwill Industries employ more than 5,000 Californians with disabilities. Some workers are paid as little as $2 an hour.
In recent years, Alaska, Maryland, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oregon, and Texas have also made it illegal to pay workers with disabilities less than minimum wage.
Remember, there is no distinction made between adults and minors when it comes to payment of the minimum wage. Minors must be paid at least the minimum wage and applicable overtime rates and must be provided with all legally required meal and rest breaks. High school graduates or the equivalent must be paid commensurate with adults when they perform the same quantity, quality, and classification of work. This includes wage rates that are above the minimum wage.
PENALTIES FOR VIOLATING CHILD LABOR LAWS
Workplace safety and an explosion of COVID-19 infections across large companies such as supermarket chains,meatpackers,fast-food outlets, and warehouses highlighted the weak penalties of California’s worker safety laws. And workplace safety agency Cal/OSHA, with just one inspector per 103,000 workers, has said it is too understaffed to visit 80% of sites where workers complain of safety violations.
Violations of child labor laws carry serious civil and criminal penalties. The more severe civil penalties generally involve employment in hazardous occupations. Criminal violations of child labor laws are misdemeanors punishable by fines ranging up to $10,000, by jail time of up to six months, or both fines and imprisonment.
New Workspace Safety Laws taking effect in January 2022 will protect employees in the Garment Industry, Food Delivery, and Disabled Workers. Tougher enforcement of health and safety rules will take place, for example, by outlawing piecework in the garment industry and reining in unsafe speed quotas at warehouses.
BASICS FOR NEW WORK PERMIT ISSUERS
For consistency, all California schools are required to use the same forms/documents when issuing work permits, entertainment permits, and permits for unpaid trainees & volunteers. Custom-made forms are unacceptable and are not allowed by the California Department of Education or the California Department of Industrial Relations. This law applies to all public, private, charter, online, and homeschools.
The forms/documents used are free and easy to access by school staff, students, and parents. Forms can be found on the CDE and DIR websites as well as from any search engine on the internet. Here is a list of the forms used and a description for each form:
CDE B1-1 form = Request for a Work Permit or Age Certificate
CDE B1-4 form = Work Permit or Age Certificate
CDE B1-6 form = Permit for Unpaid Trainee or Volunteer
DLSE277A form = Permit to work in the Entertainment Industry
Compliance is important - If a business/employer were to be audited by the DOL and found using custom-made forms instead of appropriate work permit forms approved by CDE, the business would be in violation and could face heavy penalties/fines.
RECORDS RETENTION
School sites are required to keep completed/signed work permit requests for a minimum of 4 years before purging and shredding. Work Permit records are treated as confidential documents because they contain the minor’s personal information including social security number, birth date, address, phone number, etc.
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Recent Posts
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August 2020
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We are finding many school districts are out of compliance and illegally having personnel signing work …
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