Minor Work Laws: Federal Hours, Ages, and Job Limits

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Contents

The federal rules use age bands, not one minimum age
Rules for 14- and 15-year-olds in nonfarm jobs
Rules for 16- and 17-year-olds
Agricultural employment follows different federal standards
Work permits are generally a state-law question
Pay rules and safety rules answer different questions
How federal enforcement works
Sources

Key Facts

Federal level: Fourteen is generally the minimum age for nonagricultural employment covered by the FLSA, subject to limited exemptions and work outside an employment relationship.
Federal level: Fourteen- and 15-year-olds may work only outside school hours, in permitted nonmanufacturing and nonhazardous jobs, and within federal daily, weekly, and time-of-day limits.
Federal level: Sixteen- and 17-year-olds have no federal hours limit under the child-labor provisions, but they may not work in occupations declared hazardous for minors.
Federal and state: State child-labor rules also apply; when both systems cover the work, the stricter protective standard must be followed.

“Minor work laws” usually means child-labor rules governing when a person under 18 may work, which jobs are permitted, and which tasks are too dangerous. At the federal level, these rules come primarily from the Fair Labor Standards Act and regulations in 29 C.F.R. Part 570. They are separate from minimum-wage, overtime, school-attendance, and state work-permit questions, even though those subjects can overlap.

The federal rules use age bands, not one minimum age

Federal law does not create one universal working age for every activity. The answer depends on the worker’s age, whether the job is agricultural or nonagricultural, the duties actually performed, the time of day, and whether an exemption applies.

For most nonfarm employment covered by the FLSA, age 14 is the basic minimum. Children under 14 generally may not be employed in covered nonagricultural occupations, but federal exceptions include delivering newspapers to consumers, acting or performing, and certain work for a business entirely owned by a parent. Casual babysitting and minor chores around a private home may fall outside an FLSA employment relationship.

The parental-business exception is limited. A child under 16 may not work in mining or manufacturing, and no worker under 18 may perform an occupation that the Secretary of Labor has declared hazardous, even for a parent-owned nonfarm business.

Rules for 14- and 15-year-olds in nonfarm jobs

A 14- or 15-year-old may work only outside school hours in specified nonmanufacturing and nonhazardous occupations. Permitted work can include many retail, office, tutoring, creative, and limited food-service duties, but permission depends on the actual tasks rather than the employer’s industry label.

During a week when school is in session, the federal ceiling is three hours on a school day and 18 hours for the week. When school is not in session, the ceiling is eight hours in a day and 40 hours in a week.

Work may not begin before 7 a.m. or continue after 7 p.m. From June 1 through Labor Day, the evening limit extends to 9 p.m. These are federal limits; an applicable state rule may end the workday earlier or impose an additional condition.

Examples of prohibited work for this age group include manufacturing, mining, most processing, most construction, warehousing, work from ladders or scaffolds, and operating most power-driven machinery. Some cooking is permitted under detailed conditions, but baking and work with prohibited slicers, grinders, choppers, mixers, and similar equipment remain restricted.

Rules for 16- and 17-year-olds

The federal child-labor provisions do not limit the number or timing of hours worked by 16- and 17-year-olds in nonagricultural jobs. This does not mean every job is permitted. Federal hazardous-occupation orders continue until age 18.

Those orders restrict work involving activities and equipment such as explosives, most driving on public roads, coal mining, logging and sawmilling, power-driven woodworking or hoisting machinery, meat-processing machines, balers and compactors, roofing, and excavation. The precise order matters because narrow student-learner or apprentice exceptions exist for some—but not all—hazardous occupations.

A job title does not resolve the question. A teen hired as a cashier may still violate the rules if assigned to operate a prohibited meat slicer, enter a prohibited freezer, compact refuse, or perform roofing work.

Agricultural employment follows different federal standards

Farm employment has a separate federal age structure. A worker age 16 or older may perform any farm job under the federal child-labor rules, including agricultural occupations declared hazardous for younger workers.

Fourteen- and 15-year-olds may perform nonhazardous farm work outside school hours. Twelve- and 13-year-olds may do nonhazardous work outside school hours with written parental consent or on the same farm where a parent is employed. A child under 12 may work outside school hours with parental consent only on a farm whose employees are exempt from the FLSA minimum-wage provisions.

Children of any age may work at any time in any job on a farm owned or operated by their parent under the federal parental exemption. Because state rules can be more protective, that federal exemption does not establish that the same work is lawful under every state’s law.

For farm workers under 16, federal hazardous restrictions include specified tractors and machinery, certain work with breeding animals, timber operations, ladders above prescribed heights, confined spaces such as silos and manure pits, hazardous chemicals, and explosives. Limited training-certificate exemptions apply to certain equipment work by some 14- and 15-year-olds.

Work permits are generally a state-law question

The FLSA does not itself require a minor to obtain working papers or a work permit. Many states regulate certificates, proof of age, school approval, meal periods, or hours beyond the federal floor. The planned minor work-permit guide addresses that separate process.

Because this article covers federal standards, it does not state a permit age or procedure for any particular state. Where federal and state child-labor laws both apply, the more protective standard controls. A federal permission therefore does not override a stricter state restriction.

Pay rules and safety rules answer different questions

Legally permitted work is not automatically exempt from wage protections. Whether the FLSA minimum wage or overtime rules apply depends on coverage and exemptions separate from the worker’s age. The FLSA overview explains the broader federal statute, while the federal minimum wage guide focuses on pay.

Similarly, paying a minor correctly does not make a prohibited task lawful. Hours, occupation, equipment, and age must each satisfy the applicable child-labor rules.

How federal enforcement works

The Wage and Hour Division enforces the FLSA’s child-labor provisions. Employers must evaluate the work actually assigned, not merely obtain a parent’s permission or rely on a minor’s willingness to perform it.

Violations can produce civil money penalties, and the FLSA also authorizes stronger remedies for certain willful violations. The penalty amount can change through statutory adjustments, so a current agency source is necessary before stating a dollar figure.

A useful compliance analysis identifies the worker’s exact age, industry, school-day status, daily and weekly schedule, equipment used, and each material duty. Agriculture and nonagriculture must be analyzed separately, followed by the applicable state rules.