All students ages 14, 15, 16, and 17 need employment certificates in order to comply with state and federal Child Labor Laws. Students ages 12 and 13 may only work as caddies (restricted to caddying 18 holes per day). They are required to obtain employment certificates. Newspaper carriers are not required to obtain employment certificates. Applications for all employment certificates for public and nonpublic students can be obtained on the Bethlehem Area School District website or at the Child Accounting Office at the Education Center (1516 Sycamore Street, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania). BASD students can also obtain employment certificate applications at their middle schools, Liberty High School and Freedom High school.

Vacation Employment Certificate applications (ages 14 and 15) for Bethlehem Area School District public school students, once completed, can be turned in to the student’s middle school, high school, or the Child Accounting Office who will issue the Vacation Employment Certificate. The Vacation Employment Certificate is valid only for the job listed on the back of the application. A new Vacation Employment Certificate is needed if the student changes jobs. The student must return the completed application, not the parent. The student must sign their Vacation Employment Certificate in our presence.

Transferable Work Permit applications for Bethlehem Area School District students (ages 16 and 17), once completed, must be turned in to the Child Accounting Office at the Education Center. Transferable Work Permits are transferable from job to job and are valid until age 18 or graduation from high school. The student must return the completed application, not the parent. The student must sign their Transferable Work Permit in our presence.

All nonpublic students (ages 14, 15, 16, and 17) must obtain and turn in their completed employment certificate applications to the Child Accounting Office at the Education Center. The student must return the completed application, not the parent. Students must sign their Vacation Employment Certificates or Transferable Work Permits in our presence.

All must be completed before a work permit may be issued but not necessarily in this order:

1. A parent must appear in person at the school office (BASD public school students only) or the Child Accounting Office (all students) to sign the application.
2. Bring in the student’s birth certificate, baptismal certificate, or passport as evidence of age. Sixteen and seventeen year olds may also present a driver’s license or driver’s permit.
3. The student must take the application to the employer to complete and sign Section C.
4. If the student had a physical during the past year, he/she can attach a copy (signed and dated) to the work permit application. If the student did not have a physical, a physician must complete Section D. Students attending Broughal, Liberty, and Freedom may contact the school nurse to arrange a free physical with the health van. Students from all schools may call the school physician directly to schedule a free physical. The school physician is Dr. James Manley, 190 Brodhead Road, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18020 (610-694-9090). The student may also go to his/her family physician; however, the student will not be reimbursed for the cost of the physical.