Work Permits Procedure

Follow these steps after receiving an offer of employment:

• Step 1: Complete Intent to Employ Form (Found above)
• Step 2: The Chief Academic Officer reviews the completed form and, if appropriate, issues a work permit. The completed work permit will be emailed to the student’s email address or may be picked up at the front office.
• Step 5: Student keeps an electronic copy of the work permit, and forwards a copy to the employer’s email address, so that the employer can also keep an electronic copy.

Note: If and when the student and employer have access to a printer, they should print and sign the work permit.

Only students age 12 and older may receive work permits. In addition, only students with a GPA of 2.0 or higher and attendance of 90% or higher may receive work permits.

Although schools are physically not open, school is still in session. This means that the ordinary limits on the number of hours that students may work are still in effect. Unless exceptions apply, these limits are:

• 12-13 years old: May only work on weekends and school holidays. May not work on school days.
• 14-15 years old: On weekends and school holidays, may work 8 hours per day. On school days, may only work 3 hours per day. 

Everyone in Alameda County must comply with the shelter-in-place orders issued by Alameda County Public Health Department and Governor Newsom. Per these orders, individuals may only leave their homes in order to carry out “essential” functions (e.g., healthcare, food distribution, law enforcement, etc.). 

Alameda County’s list of “essential functions” is available at http://www.acphd.org/media/559658/health-officer-order-shelter-in-place-20200316.pdf, and California’s list of essential functions is available at https://covid19.ca.gov/img/EssentialCriticalInfrastructureWorkers.pdf. 

As explained above, OMI is requiring employers to complete an Attestation of Compliance with Shelter-in-Place Orders form, which states that, if the employer is requiring students to leave their homes in order to complete their work duties, it is because the employer is carrying out essential functions.

Regardless of whether a work permit is new or has already been issued, OMI students cannot leave home to work unless their employer falls within an essential industry sector. Non-essential employers should not continue to require students to be physically present in their facilities, and essential employers should ensure proper social distancing and hygiene within their facilities. We encourage families to contact employers to confirm that they are essential, and to ask about social distancing and hygiene procedures.