Nostalgic Job Fades Away With New New York Labor Law

A chapter of your childhood has officially come to a close all across New York State.

When I was 11, I got my first job. Sounds a little crazy right? However, it was a completely normal job for kids in the early 2000s, and of course through most of the 1900s. I was a paperboy for the Rome Sentinel. I delivered newspapers around my neighborhood on South Crescent Drive. Every day after school, I loaded up my little bag of papers, and walked house to house. It was probably the equivalent of walking a few miles every day over the course of five years.

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Rain, snow, heat, humidity, rain, sleet, rain, rain, and more rain....I did this job. I loved all the neighbors I delivered to, and grew to know them well, and some of their children became some of my best friends because they were around my age. Saturdays my Dad would drive me around as I collected the $2.75, which turned to $3.75 for the paper to be delivered. I always walked, tried my bike at one point and hated it, and I always played the radio on my Walkman and mp3 player. This was an incredible job that taught me so much, and it kept me in amazing shape. Those days are long gone though, including my ever growing Dad bod.

The Law That Quietly Changed Everything

A quiet change tucked into this year’s state budget now makes it illegal for anyone under 14 to have a paper route in New York State. The job had already faded from the mainstream, and with this update to the law, it formalizes what’s become reality in most places.

Paper routes were once a common after-school job, but as newspapers moved to early morning delivery schedules, and increasingly went digital, kids were slowly replaced by adults with cars. These days, it’s rare to find any young carriers still on these routes. Especially with most print editions shrinking and home delivery routes consolidated. The state says this change is part of a broader update to child labor laws, making the rules more modern and consistent while also raising penalties for violations.

From Newspapers To Push Alerts

Today, the sound of newspapers hitting front steps has been mostly replaced by push alerts and email newsletters....which by the way you can sign up for with our station app. And while nostalgia runs deep, the days of the paperboy, or papergirl, are officially behind us.