Do 16- and 17-year-olds have any federal hour limits?

No. Federal law imposes no hour restrictions on 16- and 17-year-olds. The FLSA only restricts the types of work they can do through hazardous occupation bans. State law may impose hour caps.

Can a 14-year-old work during school hours?

Yes, but only if the work is not during school hours on a school day. The FLSA allows 14- and 15-year-olds to work outside school hours, but the 3-hour daily limit still applies on school days.

What happens if a minor works more hours than state law allows?

The employer is liable for the infraction even if the minor consented to work the extra hours. Minors cannot waive their rights under child labor laws. The employer faces fines and potential criminal penalties.

Do child labor hour rules apply to family businesses?

The FLSA exempts minors employed by their parents or guardians, but only if the parent owns the business. The exemption does not apply to hazardous occupations. State laws may not have this exemption.

Can a 17-year-old work a double shift?

Under federal law, yes. Under most state laws, no. States with hour caps on 16- and 17-year-olds typically limit daily hours to 8-10, which rules out double shifts. Check your state law before scheduling.

What records must employers keep for minor employees?

Employers must keep proof of age, hours worked each day and week, and the minor’s occupation. These records must be kept for at least 3 years, and time cards for at least 2 years. ## At-a-Glance: Hour Caps by Age and School Status **For 14- and 15-year-olds during school weeks:** - Max 3 hours per school day - Max 18 hours per school week - No work before 7:00 AM - No work after 7:00 PM **For 14- and 15-year-olds during weeks when school is not in session:** - Max 8 hours per day when school is not in session - Max 40 hours per week when school is not in session - No work before 7:00 AM - No work after 9:00 PM (June 1, Labor Day) **For 16- and 17-year-olds:** - No federal hour limits - Check state law for stricter caps - Cannot work in hazardous occupations **For all minors under 18:** - Keep proof of age on file - Track daily and weekly hours - Post child labor law notices - Follow the stricter of federal or state law

Child Labor Hours: When Minors Can & Cannot Work by Age

Child Labor Hours Restrictions: What Hours Minors Can Legally Work

The biggest gap in child labor hour rules isn’t between states. It’s between ages. Federal law treats 14- and 15-year-olds and 16- and 17-year-olds as two completely different categories. The hour limits that apply to the younger group vanish for the older one. A 15-year-old cannot work more than 3 hours on a school day. A 16-year-old, under federal rules, has no daily cap at all.

Why Age-Specific Hour Caps Change How You Track Time

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 created separate rules for minors. Adult workers can legally work 168 hours in a week provided overtime is paid. Minors face hard caps on when and how long they can work. Those caps matter for time tracking because a recorded shift that exceeds a legal limit is a problem regardless of how accurately the clock captured it.

A business employing anyone under 18 needs a time system that flags shifts breaching age-specific limits. A parent of a working teen needs to know what time the front door should open at night. The clock is not just counting hours. It is documenting compliance or the absence of it.

What Are the Daily and Weekly Hour Caps for 14- and 15-Year-Olds?

The tightest federal hour limits apply to 14- and 15-year-olds. These come from the FLSA child labor regulations at 29 CFR Part 570.

During the school year: - Maximum 3 hours per day on a school day - Maximum 18 hours per week in a school week - Cannot work before 7:00 AM or after 7:00 PM

Outside the school year (summer and breaks): - Maximum 8 hours per day on a day when school is not in session - Maximum 40 hours per week in a week when school is not in session - Cannot work before 7:00 AM or after 9:00 PM from June 1 through Labor Day

These are federal minimums. Some states go further. California restricts 14- and 15-year-olds to 2 hours on a school day and 3 hours on a school day that falls before a day when school is not in session. New York caps the school week at 18 hours but limits the school day to 3 hours including any combination of work and school attendance.

The time-of-day restrictions are absolute. A 15-year-old cannot start a shift at 6:30 AM, even if school doesn’t start until 9. A 14-year-old cannot work until 10 PM during summer break, even if the shift started at 2 PM. The clock cares about when the shift starts and ends, not just the total.

Do 16- and 17-Year-Olds Have Any Hour Restrictions?

Here’s where the common advice goes wrong. The FLSA imposes no federal limits on the hours that 16- and 17-year-olds can work. A 17-year-old can legally work 60 hours in a week under federal law. A 16-year-old can start a shift at 5:00 AM and work until midnight, as long as state law permits it.

What federal law does restrict is the type of work. The FLSA bans minors under 18 from hazardous occupations. The Department of Labor’s list includes 17 categories, from mining and meatpacking to operating power-driven machinery. A 17-year-old can work 50 hours a week at a grocery store. That same 17-year-old cannot work one hour operating a meat slicer.

The practical effect is that hour restrictions for 16- and 17-year-olds depend almost entirely on where you live. States like Connecticut, Maryland, and New York impose strict hour caps. States like Alabama, Mississippi, and Oklahoma default to federal standards with few additional limits. Before you schedule a 17-year-old for a closing shift followed by an opening shift, check your state’s labor department website.

When Does a School Day Count Toward the Hour Cap?

The distinction between school days and days when school is not in session drives everything about child labor hours. For 14- and 15-year-olds, the definition matters more than you might think.

A school day is any day the minor is enrolled in school, even if they skip class or have a half-day. A school week is any week the minor attends school for at least one day. This means a school week can include weekends. If a 15-year-old has finals on Monday and Tuesday, then Wednesday through Sunday counts as a school week, and the 18-hour cap applies to all seven days.

Days when school is not in session are trickier. A weekend, a holiday, or a day when school is not in session can qualify. But here’s the catch: a day off only counts as such if the minor is not required to attend school that day. If a 14-year-old has a doctor’s appointment during school hours but is enrolled, that’s still a school day for hour purposes.

The summer extension to 9:00 PM runs from June 1 through Labor Day, not from the last day of school to the first day of school. If your school district ends classes on May 25, the 9:00 PM limit doesn’t start until June 1. If school starts before Labor Day, the 7:00 PM limit returns on the first day of school, not the Tuesday after Labor Day.

How Do Summer Break Rules Change the Limits for Younger Teens?

The summer rules for 14- and 15-year-olds give employers more scheduling flexibility but still impose hard caps. The 8-hour day and 40-hour week limits during weeks when school is not in session match the adult standard for overtime eligibility, but the similarity ends there.

The summer extension to 9:00 PM only applies during the period from June 1 through Labor Day. This is a federal rule. Some states, like New York, extend the summer hours to 9:00 PM year-round for certain jobs. Others, like Colorado, keep the 7:00 PM limit even in summer.

A key detail: the summer rules apply when school is not in session. If a 15-year-old takes a summer class, they’re still subject to the 40-hour week limit, not the 18-hour school week limit. The school week limit only applies when the minor is enrolled in a regular school program.

Which States Impose Stricter Hour Caps Than the Federal Standard?

State child labor laws can be stricter than federal law, and when they are, the stricter standard applies. The differences create a patchwork that employers must navigate.

California caps 16- and 17-year-olds at 4 hours per day on school days and 48 hours per week during school weeks. Minors under 18 cannot work more than 5 hours without a 30-minute meal break, and the first 2 hours of overtime pay at 1.5x applies after 8 hours of work.

New York restricts 16- and 17-year-olds to 6 hours per day on school days and 28 hours per week during school weeks. They cannot work between 10:00 PM and 6:00 AM on school nights without a parent’s written permission.

Massachusetts requires 16- and 17-year-olds to have a work permit and caps their hours at 6 per day and 48 per week. They cannot work more than 6 consecutive days in a week.

Texas follows federal law for 14- and 15-year-olds but adds a restriction: 16- and 17-year-olds cannot work during school hours if they’re enrolled in school.

Washington restricts 16- and 17-year-olds to 4 hours per day on school days and 20 hours per week during school weeks. The daily limit extends to 8 hours on days when school is not in session.

These are examples. The point is that federal law is a floor, not a ceiling. When in doubt, check your state’s labor department website.

What Records Must Employers Keep for Workers Under 18?

The FLSA requires employers to keep certain records for all employees, including minors. For workers under 18, the employer must maintain proof of age in the form of a work permit or an age certificate. The specific form varies by state, but the requirement is universal.

The recordkeeping rules for minors include: - Full name, address, and Social Security number - Date of birth (for minors) - Hours worked each day and each week - Daily and weekly earnings - The minor’s occupation and the hours worked in that occupation

These records must be kept for at least 3 years. The time cards or other records showing hours worked must be kept for at least 2 years.

The employer must also post the required child labor law posters in a visible location. These posters must list the hour restrictions and the hazardous occupation bans. Failure to post these notices is a separate infraction from any hour infractions.

What Are the Penalties for Breaking Child Labor Hour Rules?

The consequences for breaking child labor hour rules are serious. The FLSA authorizes civil money penalties for each infraction. For infractions that result in the minor’s death or serious injury, the penalty can reach the maximum allowed by law. For other infractions, the penalty is also set by statute.

States can add their own fines. California imposes a penalty per infraction for employers who break child labor laws, with higher amounts for a second infraction. New York fines range per infraction.

Criminal penalties apply for willful infractions. Employers who knowingly break child labor laws can face up to 6 months in prison. The statute of limitations for FLSA child labor infractions is 3 years for willful infractions.

Beyond fines and prison time, a child labor infraction can result in a stop-work order. The Department of Labor can require the employer to stop employing all minors until the infractions are corrected. For a business that relies on teen workers, this can be devastating.