Special Information for Summer Lifeguards

Hours and Overtime

As a lifeguard, you are likely receiving more hours than other J1 Summer Work/Travel students who work in other jobs (such as restaurants, hotels and shops). Most other jobs offer only 32-40 hours per week.

What is overtime? Overtime is a law in some states in the U.S. It means that your employer pays you 150% of your normal wage for any hours worked over 40 in a week. So if you work in a state with overtime laws for lifeguards, your normal wage is $8 and you work 42 hours in a week, you will earn $12 per hour for those extra 2 hours, instead of $8 per hour.

In some states, the laws say that employers do not have to pay overtime to lifeguards. This could mean:

  • Your friend working as a lifeguard in another state earns overtime, but you do not.

  • Your lifeguarding company pays a higher wage to workers in states with no overtime.

Second Jobs

As you know, all work that you do in the U.S. MUST be seasonal. This means that your job must only exist in the summer. Examples of seasonal jobs:

  • Lifeguarding, because pools are usually only open in the summer

  • Restaurant, hotel or retairl jobs in a vacation area (near the beach or a national park, for example), since vacation areas see a large influx of tourists in the summer

This means that lifeguarding may be the only seasonal job in the area where you live (unless you are doing a lifeguard job in a vacation area). And thus, it may be difficult or impossible for you to find a second job that can be approved by ERDT.

Why? If you take a non-seasonal job, such as a restaurant job in a non-vacation area, you are taking a job that an American could perform year-round. If Americans feel they are having to compete with J1 Summer Work/Travel students for year-round jobs, they may complain to the U.S. government, and the U.S. government could decide to end the J1 Summer Work/Travel program. The future of the J1 Summer Work/Travel program depends on J1 students only doing seasonal work.

Working at a New Pool

ERDT needs to enter EVERY POOL THAT YOU WORK AT into your SEVIS record. Even if you only work at a pool for one day in the whole summer, you need to report it to ERDT.

Why? U.S. government officials may make unannounced visits to any pool at any time, to speak with you and your employer. If they look in SEVIS and see that you do not have that pool in your SEVIS record, your presence at that job site violates U.S. government regulations.

It is easy for you to report a new pool - just send a text or WhatsApp message to 424-259-1192, or an email to emily@erdtworkandtravel.org with the pool address. Or, complete this form: