How Many Hours Can a Minor Work? Federal & State Rules

In fiscal year 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor found 4,030 children employed in violation of child labor laws, a 31% increase since 2019. Working too many hours or too late at night is one of the most common violations, and it often happens by accident when a manager adds a teen to a busy schedule without checking their age.

This guide explains how many hours a minor can work at each age under federal law, how state rules change those limits, which jobs are off-limits, and what employers risk if they get it wrong. It covers non-farm jobs. Farm work follows a separate set of rules.

Quick Answer

Under federal law, 14- and 15-year-olds can work up to 3 hours on a school day, 18 hours in a school week, 8 hours on a non-school day and 40 hours in a non-school week, only between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. (9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day). Federal law sets no hour limits for 16- and 17-year-olds, but many states do. Children under 14 generally can’t work in jobs covered by federal law, apart from exempt work like acting, delivering newspapers or working for a business owned entirely by their parents.

When federal and state rules both apply, you must follow the stricter one. Once a worker turns 18, federal child labor rules no longer apply.

How Many Hours Can a Minor Work Under Federal Law?

The number of hours a minor can work under federal law depends on their age. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and its child labor rules set the limits, and they apply to most U.S. employers. Here is how they compare:

Age	School day	School week	Non-school day	Non-school week	Allowed times
Under 14	Not allowed in most jobs	Not allowed in most jobs	Not allowed in most jobs	Not allowed in most jobs	Only exempt work
14 and 15	3 hours	18 hours	8 hours	40 hours	7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (9 p.m. from June 1 to Labor Day)
16 and 17	No federal limit	No federal limit	No federal limit	No federal limit	Any time
18 and older	Adult rules	Adult rules	Adult rules	Adult rules	Any time

The table sums up the federal child labor rules for non-farm jobs from the Department of Labor. Each age group has its own details, covered below.

How Many Hours Can a 14 or 15 Year Old Work?

A 14- or 15-year-old can work up to 3 hours on a school day and 18 hours in a school week. Fridays count as school days, so a Friday shift is still capped at 3 hours. On weekends and holidays, the limit is 8 hours a day, and in weeks when school is out, such as summer break, the limit rises to 40 hours.

All work must happen outside school hours and between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. From June 1 through Labor Day, the evening limit moves to 9 p.m. A 15-year-old could work Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., for example, but not a Tuesday shift from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. during the school year, because it goes past both the 3-hour and 7 p.m. limits.

There is one exception to the school-hours rule. Students in an approved Work Experience and Career Exploration Program (WECEP) can work during school hours, up to 3 hours on a school day and 23 hours in a school week.

How Many Hours Can a 16 or 17 Year Old Work?

Federal law doesn’t limit how many hours a 16- or 17-year-old can work, or what time of day. Under federal rules alone, they can work the same schedule as an adult, including late nights and full-time hours during the school year.

The real limits for this age group come from two other places. First, federal law still bans them from 17 types of hazardous jobs until they turn 18. Second, many states cap their daily and weekly hours and set curfews on school nights. If your business is in one of those states, the state rule is the one you follow. Any overtime they work is paid at the same 1.5x rate adults earn.

Can a Child Under 14 Work?

Children under 14 generally can’t work in jobs covered by the FLSA. They can do work that the law exempts, such as delivering newspapers to homes, acting or performing, and casual babysitting or chores around a private home. Children of any age can also work in a business owned entirely by their parents, as long as it isn’t mining, manufacturing or a hazardous job. Farm work has separate, looser age rules.

How Do State Laws Change the Hours a Minor Can Work?

State laws often set tighter hour limits than federal law, especially for 16- and 17-year-olds. Federal law is a floor. When a state child labor law is stricter, the state rule applies, and when it is looser, the federal rule still applies. That means a 15-year-old in a state with relaxed rules still can’t work past 7 p.m. on a school night, because the federal limit wins.

For 14- and 15-year-olds, most states copy the federal limits. A few go further. Florida caps them at 15 hours in a school week instead of 18, while Maryland and New Hampshire allow a little more, at 23 hours, which federal law still cuts back to 18 for covered employers.

The biggest differences show up for 16- and 17-year-olds, where federal law sets no limits at all. Here is how some of the strictest states compare:

State	Max hours on a school day	Max hours in a school week	Max hours in a non-school week	Latest end time before a school day
California	4	48	48	10 p.m. (12:30 a.m. before a non-school day)
Florida	8	30 (more with a written waiver)	No state limit	11 p.m.
Kentucky	6	30 (40 with parent permission and a 2.0 GPA)	No state limit	11 p.m. (1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays)
Maine	6 (8 on the last school day of the week)	24	50	10:15 p.m.
Massachusetts	9	48	48	10 p.m.
Michigan	10	24	48	10:30 p.m.
New Jersey	8	40	40 (50 in summer)	11 p.m.
New York	4 (8 on Friday, weekends and holidays)	28	48	10 p.m. (midnight with permission)
Pennsylvania	8	28	48	Midnight
Washington	4 (8 on weekends)	20	48	10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday

School-day and school-week limits usually apply only to minors who are enrolled in school. Several states relax the rules for high school graduates or for students in approved work-based learning programs, so check whether an exception applies before you build a schedule.

Do Minors Need a Work Permit?

Federal law does not require work permits, but many states do. Depending on the state, a work permit may be called an employment certificate, age certificate or working papers. It is usually issued by the minor’s school or the state labor department, and you must have it on file before the minor’s first shift. Some states require permits for all workers under 18, while others only require them for 14- and 15-year-olds.

Which States Changed Their Child Labor Rules Recently?

Several states have rewritten their teen work rules since 2023, some loosening limits and others adding protections. Here are recent changes that affect scheduling:

Indiana let 16- and 17-year-olds work the same hours as adults starting January 1, 2025, and extended summer hours for 14- and 15-year-olds to 9 p.m.
Florida passed a 2024 law that lets 16- and 17-year-olds work more than 30 hours in a school week with written permission from a parent, guardian or school superintendent.
Washington expanded the hours that 16- and 17-year-olds in approved work-based learning programs can work, from 4 hours a day and 20 a week to 8 hours a day and 48 a week, starting July 1, 2026.
Michigan moved work permits from schools to the state labor department starting October 2, 2026.
Oregon passed a law, effective January 1, 2027, that writes the federal hour limits for minors into state law, so Oregon’s protections stay in place even if federal rules change.

What Jobs Can Minors Not Do?

No one under 18 can work in jobs the Department of Labor has declared hazardous, no matter how few hours they work. There are 17 of these Hazardous Occupations Orders. Among the most common in everyday businesses, minors can’t:

Drive a vehicle on public roads as part of the job (17-year-olds have a narrow exception for short daytime trips)
Operate forklifts, scissor lifts or other power-driven hoists
Use or clean meat slicers and other power-driven meat processing machines, even in a deli or restaurant
Operate dough mixers and most power-driven bakery machines
Load or run balers and trash compactors (16- and 17-year-olds can load certain paper balers under strict conditions)
Do roofing, demolition, trenching or most work with power saws

The rules are tighter for 14- and 15-year-olds. They can work in offices, stores and restaurants doing tasks like cashiering, bagging groceries, stocking shelves and limited cooking. They can’t work in manufacturing, construction, warehousing or mining, operate most power-driven machinery, bake, work from ladders, or do door-to-door sales. Properly certified 15-year-olds can work as lifeguards at pools and water parks.

These limits shape hiring by industry. Restaurants and stores hire the most teens, so retail payroll software and hospitality payroll software should be able to flag minors on the schedule and block shifts that break hour limits. Our guide on how to manage restaurant staff covers scheduling teen workers alongside adults. In factories, 14- and 15-year-olds can’t work on the production floor at all, and 16- and 17-year-olds are kept away from many machines, so payroll software for manufacturing businesses should track employee age alongside job role. Cannabis is simpler: state laws require dispensary and grow workers to be adults, usually 21, so cannabis payroll software mainly needs to confirm age at hiring.

Do Minors Get Breaks, Overtime and Minimum Wage?

Minors have the same right to minimum wage and overtime as adult employees, with one federal exception. Employers can pay workers under 20 a youth minimum wage of $4.25 an hour for their first 90 calendar days on the job. After 90 days, or once the worker turns 20, the regular minimum applies. Many states don’t allow this youth wage or set their own higher rate, so check your state rules first.

Overtime works the same way it does for adults. A non-exempt 16- or 17-year-old who works more than 40 hours in a workweek earns 1.5 times their regular rate for the extra hours. Most 14- and 15-year-olds never reach overtime, since federal law caps them at 40 hours even in non-school weeks.

Federal law doesn’t require breaks for minors, but many states do. California requires a 30-minute meal break after 5 hours for all workers, and Pennsylvania requires a 30-minute break for minors who work more than 5 hours in a row. Several other states set similar rules, so build state break requirements into the schedules you give to teen workers. Hours on a minor’s schedule also count toward part-time and full-time status, which our guide on how many hours a part-time job is explains.

What Are the Penalties for Breaking Child Labor Laws?

Employers that break federal child labor rules can be fined up to $16,035 for each minor involved in 2026. If a violation causes the death or serious injury of a minor, the fine can reach $72,876, and it can be doubled to $145,752 if the violation was willful or repeated. These amounts are the same as in 2025, because federal penalty inflation adjustments were canceled for 2026.

The fines add up quickly because they apply per minor. A restaurant that schedules five 15-year-olds past 7 p.m. on school nights could face five separate penalties from one investigation. The Department of Labor can also stop goods made with illegal child labor from being shipped, and willful violations can lead to criminal fines and, for repeat offenders, jail time. State penalties come on top of the federal ones.

How Can Employers Stay Compliant When Hiring Minors?

The simplest way to stay compliant is to build the rules into hiring and scheduling, so no one has to remember them on a busy shift. These steps cover the most common gaps.

Confirm age at hiring. Federal recordkeeping rules require you to keep the date of birth on file for every employee under 19. Check ID during onboarding, not after the first schedule goes out.
Collect work permits before day one. If your state requires a work permit, keep a copy in the employee’s file and track when it expires or needs renewing.
Set hour and time limits in your scheduling system. Block shifts that go past daily, weekly or time-of-day limits for each age group, and update the limits when school starts and ends.
Match job duties to age. List the tasks and equipment each role uses, and make sure minors aren’t assigned to slicers, compactors, forklifts, ladders or driving.
Train managers. Most violations happen when a manager asks a teen to stay late or cover a shift. Make sure every scheduler knows the rules for your state.
Review the rules once a year. State child labor laws change often. Add them to your yearly payroll compliance checklist so changes don’t slip by.

These steps apply in every industry, not just retail and food service. Banks and finance firms often hire high school students as clerks, tellers or summer interns, and payroll software for financial services firms should still track their hours against state limits.

Let Hybrid Payroll handle the tracking. Our HR & payroll solutions combine time tracking, scheduling and payroll in one platform, so hour limits, breaks and pay rules stay consistent for every employee, including your youngest. Plans start at $6 per employee per week. See pricing or request a demo.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Child Labor Hour Limits Apply to Remote or Online Jobs?

Child labor hour limits apply to remote and online jobs the same way they apply in person. A 15-year-old doing customer support from home still can’t work more than 3 hours on a school day or past 7 p.m. during the school year. The rules of the state where the minor does the work apply, which may differ from the state where your business is based.

Can Minors Serve Alcohol?

Most states don’t allow minors to serve alcohol, and many set the minimum age at 18 or 21. Some states let younger workers bus tables or work as hosts in restaurants that serve alcohol, as long as they don’t pour or serve drinks. Check your state’s alcohol control rules before assigning a teen to a bar or table-service role.

Are Minors Covered by Workers’ Compensation?

Minors are covered by workers’ compensation in nearly every state, the same as adult employees. Some states, such as Wisconsin, increase the benefits owed when the injured minor was employed illegally, which raises the cost of an hours or job-duty violation. Our guide on how workers’ comp is calculated for employees explains how premiums work.

Do You Withhold Payroll Taxes From a Minor’s Paycheck?

Employers withhold Social Security and Medicare taxes from minors’ wages just like any other employee’s. One exception applies: a child under 18 who works for a parent’s sole proprietorship or a partnership owned only by their parents is exempt from these taxes. Income tax withholding depends on the W-4 the minor fills out, and many teens owe little or no federal income tax.

What Should a Teen Do If They Are Scheduled for Too Many Hours?

A teen who is scheduled past legal limits can raise it with a manager or contact the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division at 1-866-487-9243. Complaints are free and confidential, and employers can’t retaliate against a worker for filing one. Parents can also contact their state labor department, which enforces state limits.

Conclusion

How many hours a minor can work depends on their age and their state. Federal law caps 14- and 15-year-olds at 3 hours on school days, 18 hours in school weeks and no work after 7 p.m. during the school year, while 16- and 17-year-olds have no federal hour limits but face state caps and a ban on hazardous jobs. Check your state rules, confirm ages and permits at hiring, and build the limits into your schedules so every shift stays legal.

Sources

This article is for general information and is not legal advice. Child labor laws change often; confirm current rules with your state labor department before scheduling minors.

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