18 is 18

All of our job postings require a person to be at least 18 years of age. All of our hiring paperwork repeats that statement at clear intervals. Pretty straightforward.

Or so you’d think.

I recently hired a girl (yes, “girl” as opposed to “woman”) who turned 18 three months before she was hired. At least, that's what her paperwork said. When she brought her I9 documentation to the office for us to verify in-person (as is required), her government-issued ID showed that she had not yet turned 18.

How strange.

When I got my hands on the copies of the paperwork, I scratched my head a bit before calling the girl up to let her know we could not move forward with the position given that she did not meet the minimum age requirement. Our conversation:

Me: Unfortunately, we will not be able to continue with the hiring process for this position.

Not 18: What? Why? I did all the paperwork.

Me: Yes, and your paperwork indicates you are 18 years of age, but your ID proves you are not.

Not 18: I don't understand. I put the right date of birth on my paperwork, so how come I can't move forward.

Me: Well, I'm looking at your paperwork, and it is not correct according to your ID.

Not 18: But I put the right one, so...I don't understand.

Me: Again, I'm looking at the forms, and it's the incorrect year. Regardless, whether the paperwork is correct or not isn't the issue. The issue is that you are not yet 18 years old. All of our positions require the candidate to be at least 18 years of age.

Not 18: Oh.

I'm not entirely sure that she understood that it doesn't matter what date she put on the paperwork. In general, I’m going to go off the government issued ID over what you wrote down on your paperwork. Frankly, in the vanishingly small chance that you have been sporting a license that has had the wrong birth date for the last two years…well, you kind of deserve it for not noticing that kind of detail.