Do you want to know if 15-year-olds can work at Walmart?
In this article, we will answer your question, as well as where you can apply and work at 15!
Can You Work at Walmart at 15?
You cannot work at Walmart at 15 years old. While you can work at Walmart at 16 in some positions, many jobs require applicants to be 18. You can apply to work at Walmart at 15 if you’re turning 16 soon, but you cannot start working until after your birthday.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- You cannot work at Walmart when you are 15 years old.
- Some Walmart jobs are available for 16-year-olds.
- Other stores, such as Kroger, Publix, and Mcdonald’s, hire 15-year-olds.
If you want to understand why Walmart doesn’t hire 15-year-olds, keep reading!
We will learn about when you can get a job at Walmart, as well as where else you can work when you’re only 15 right now!
Why Does Walmart Not Hire 15-Year-Olds?
Now, while Walmart does not hire 15-year-olds, some other grocery and food service stores do. So, you’re probably wondering: Why doesn’t Walmart hire 15-year-olds?
While the rules vary slightly from state to state, the bottom line is that in order to keep kids safe and in school, the child labor laws in the USA are fairly strict for 15-year-olds.
Technically, kids aged 14-15 can work in stores. But they cannot work during school hours, and they are only allowed to work 3 hours on a school day and 18 hours total during a school week.
Because of these rules, Walmart doesn’t hire 15-year-olds as there are simply too many restrictions to their schedules.
Walmart has thousands of employees who can work full-time, and they don’t need the hassle of young, part-time employees.
Can You Apply to Walmart While You Are Still 15?
If you really want to work at Walmart but are only 15, but if you turn 16 in a few months, you can still apply!
However, it is important to note that one of 3 things might happen when you do:
- Your application could be skipped over if they don’t see that your birthday is coming soon.
- If Walmart needs an immediate hire, you could get called in but not get the job if you can’t start at that time because you’re not 16.
- Finally, you could time it perfectly and start right after your 16th birthday!
The bottom line is that if you are only 15 years old, you should apply to Walmart as close to your 16th birthday as possible so that as soon as they start the hiring process, you’ll be ready to work.
Where Can You Work at 15?
Even though you can’t work at Walmart at 15, you will be excited to learn that there are quite a few other stores and food service locations that do hire 15-year-olds!
Here are a few of the most popular places you can work at 15:
- Mcdonald’s
- Publix
- Krogers
- Starbucks
- Dairy Queen
- Winn-Dixie
- Taco Bell
- Wendy’s
- Chick-fil-A
- Buster’s
- AMC Theaters
- Giant Foods
While you need to follow the rules and regulations of child labor laws in your state, you can start working at 15 at any of these locations!
Conclusion
Walmart does not hire employees at 15 years old. In fact, while some Walmart jobs are available for 16-year-olds, many require that the applicant be 18.
You can still apply to Walmart when you’re only 15 if your 16th birthday is coming up, but you will not be hired or start working until after the big day.
A variety of other stores do hire 15-year-olds, including Publix, Kroger, Mcdonalds, and Starbucks.