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Pennsylvania employment law defines a full-time student as any person who attends school during the day on a full-time basis in the hopes of getting a degree, diploma or certificate. Most postsecondary institutions in Pennsylvania define “full-time” as taking 12 or more credit hours per semester. If school is not currently in session, persons are considered full-time students if they were full-time students during the last semester school was in session and have not yet received a degree or diploma.

Pennsylvania employers are required to keep records for student employees. If a full-time student works for an outside employer, the employer must keep a certification on file stating that the employee is a full-time student and the end goal of the student’s school work — a degree, diploma or certificate. Employers can get such certification from the student’s school and must keep it on file the entire time the student is working or until the student graduates, whichever comes first.

If an employer wants to hire full-time students for less than minimum wage, she must apply for special status with the Pennsylvania Secretary of State. If the Secretary of State approves her application, the employer gets a special certificate in the mail allowing her to do this, which she must keep on file for three years. If the employer hires more than seven students, she must get an additional certificate and must hire three full-time employees for every full-time student.

Pennsylvania law examines a dependent’s status as a student as well as his marital status and residency status when determining whether the student may remain on his parents’ health insurance as a dependent. As of June 2011, unmarried children may remain on their parents’ health insurance up to the age of 30 if they are unmarried and have no dependents. Full-time students are welcome to do this even if they are residents of Pennsylvania, while non-students or part-time students must be residents.