“…seasonal. I wanna get seasonal. Let’s get into seasonal.” -Jordan’s take on Olivia Newton-John’s song

If you hire seasonal employees they can be a huge asset during your busy season! Be sure to consider these important points before they start working for you.

Classify them correctly. Just because they may be here for the season doesn’t automatically make them subcontractors. You may need to treat them like full-time employees (working for a short time) and withhold payroll taxes on them. If you classify them correctly as employees, you will likely need to withhold Social Security and Medicare taxes, and pay unemployment taxes on employee wages.

There are no special pay rules for season jobs. They are employees and employers will need to follow the same minimum wage laws with your seasonal employees just as you do for the permanent employees.
Seasonal employees are also protected by the same discrimination, workplace safety, and harassment laws as permanent employees. Teenage employees have minimum age and hazardous job regulation rules that will need to be followed.

If they are hired as seasonal employees make sure they stay seasonal! If they are employed for longer than 120 days, they will cross over into the “part-time” status which entitles them to different benefits. Have an employment letter or contract set up from the get-go that specifies the duration of employment and payments, as well as a clause should you need to end the employment early.

There are many seasonal employee questions that can arise and have the answer “it depends”. Here are a few: Is extra pay required for weekend or night work? How many hours per day or week and they work and can they earn OT pay? Are they entitled to any additional benefits?
Seasonal employees can be a huge help but be sure you know the facts before you take them on!