Under federal law, how many hours a teen can work depends almost entirely on age. Children aged 14 and 15 are capped at 3 hours on a school day and 18 hours in a school week, with those limits rising to 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week when school is out. Once a worker turns 16, federal hour restrictions disappear entirely, though state laws often fill in their own limits. Farm jobs run on a separate set of rules that allows longer hours and younger workers.
Ages 14 and 15: The Tightest Limits
This is the age group federal law watches most closely, and the rules are built around protecting school time. During any week that school is in session, a 14- or 15-year-old can work no more than 18 hours total and no more than 3 hours on a school day.1eCFR. 29 CFR Part 570 – Child Labor Regulations, Orders and Statements of Interpretation When school is out for summer or a holiday break, the caps rise to 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week.2U.S. Department of Labor. Non-Agricultural Jobs – 14-15
Time-of-day rules apply on top of those hour caps. Shifts have to fall between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. for most of the year. From June 1 through Labor Day, the evening cutoff shifts to 9 p.m.1eCFR. 29 CFR Part 570 – Child Labor Regulations, Orders and Statements of Interpretation Weekends make no difference. A 14-year-old cannot clock in before 7 a.m. or stay past 7 p.m. on a Saturday during the school year.
One narrow exception exists for teens enrolled in a Department of Labor-approved Work Study Program. Those students may work some hours during the school day, but the 18-hour weekly cap during school weeks still applies. The program permits work on one school day per week for three out of every four weeks, and on two school days in the fourth week, with no more than 8 hours on any of those days.
Ages 16 and 17: No Federal Hour Cap
At 16, the federal hour restrictions end. There is no cap on daily or weekly hours, and no time-of-day limits under federal law.3U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #43 – Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for Nonagricultural Occupations A 16- or 17-year-old can work full-time hours as far as federal rules are concerned. State law is often stricter, which is covered below.
What federal law does control at this age is the type of work. Anyone under 18 is barred from occupations the Secretary of Labor has declared hazardous. That list includes roofing, excavation, demolition, operating power-driven saws or meat-processing equipment, logging, mining, and driving as part of a job.4U.S. Department of Labor. Fair Labor Standards Act Advisor – Hazardous Occupations Parental consent and work permits do not open the door to those jobs; the floor is 18.
Under 14: Employment Is Generally Off-Limits
Standard employment in retail, food service, or office settings is not legal for children under 14. Federal law carves out only a handful of exceptions. A child of any age may deliver newspapers directly to customers, perform in movies, theater, or broadcast productions, or work in a business owned entirely by their parents.5U.S. Department of Labor. FLSA – Child Labor Rules Advisor – Exemptions Even the parent-owned business exception has limits. Children under 16 cannot work in manufacturing or mining for a parent, and no one under 18 can perform any occupation the Department of Labor considers hazardous.3U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #43 – Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for Nonagricultural Occupations
Farm Work Follows a Different Set of Rules
Agricultural jobs run under a separate framework, and the differences catch a lot of families off guard. Minimum ages are lower, hour caps are looser, and the hazardous-work cutoff drops from 18 to 16. If a teen is working on a farm or ranch rather than at a restaurant or store, the rules above do not apply.
The federal age thresholds for farm work break down this way:6U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #40 – Overview of Youth Employment (Child Labor) Provisions for Agricultural Occupations
- 16 and older: any farm job, any hours, no restrictions.
- 14 and 15: non-hazardous farm jobs, outside school hours.
- 12 and 13: non-hazardous farm jobs outside school hours, with written parental consent or on a farm where a parent also works.
- Under 12: only on small farms exempt from federal minimum wage requirements, with parental consent, outside school hours.
- Any age: any job on a farm owned or operated by a parent.
Federal law sets no daily or weekly hour cap for any minor working in agriculture, as long as the work is outside school hours.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 213 – Exemptions A 14-year-old barred from working past 7 p.m. at a grocery store could legally work until dark on a farm, provided school is not in session. Hazardous farm tasks, like operating large tractors, handling certain pesticides, or working in grain storage structures, are closed to anyone under 16, except on a parent’s own farm.6U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #40 – Overview of Youth Employment (Child Labor) Provisions for Agricultural Occupations
State Laws Often Cut the Hours Further
Federal rules set a floor, not a ceiling. Where state law is stricter, the employer has to follow the standard that protects the minor more.8U.S. Department of Labor. Selected State Child Labor Standards Affecting Minors Under 18 in Non-farm Employment The gap matters most for 16- and 17-year-olds, since federal law is silent on their hours entirely.
Many states cap weekly hours for 16- and 17-year-olds at somewhere in the range of 20 to 30 during school weeks, and add night-work cutoffs, often barring shifts past 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. on evenings before school days. Some states also require meal or rest breaks for minors, typically 10 to 30 minutes depending on shift length. The specifics vary considerably from one state to the next, so check the state labor department’s site for the numbers that apply where the teen actually works.
Pay and Overtime Still Apply
Teens are entitled to at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, with one exception. Employers can pay as little as $4.25 per hour to any worker under 20 during the first 90 consecutive calendar days on the job.9U.S. Department of Labor. Youth Minimum Wage – Fair Labor Standards Act Those 90 days run on the calendar, not on days actually worked, so a teen hired June 1 who only picks up weekend shifts still hits the mark by late August. Once the period ends, or the day before the worker turns 20, the full minimum wage applies. A state or local minimum wage that is higher and has no youth exception controls from day one.
Overtime rules work the same way for teens as for adults. Any covered employee who works more than 40 hours in a workweek must be paid at least 1.5 times the regular rate for every hour beyond 40.10U.S. Department of Labor. Overtime Pay Employers cannot average two weeks together to avoid it. The federal hour caps make overtime effectively impossible for 14- and 15-year-olds during school weeks, but a 16- or 17-year-old working past 40 hours is entitled to overtime pay in full.