Under federal law, a 15-year-old can work up to 18 hours in a week while school is in session and up to 40 hours in a week when school is out. Those weekly caps are only part of the answer: how many hours a 15-year-old can work in a week is also limited by daily caps and by rules about what time of day the shift can start and end. State laws often tighten the federal limits, so the number that actually applies depends on where you live.
The Weekly Caps: School Year vs. School Break
The federal rule is 29 CFR 570.35, issued under the Fair Labor Standards Act. It sets two different weekly ceilings depending on whether school is in session for the district where the teen lives.1eCFR. 29 CFR 570.35
When school is in session, the cap is 18 hours for the week, and all work must fall outside school hours. When school is not in session — summer vacation, winter break, spring break, or any other period the district is closed — the cap rises to 40 hours.1eCFR. 29 CFR 570.35
Daily and Time-of-Day Limits
The weekly total is only reachable if the daily and time-of-day rules allow it. On a school day, a 15-year-old can work no more than 3 hours, and that includes Fridays. On a non-school day, the daily cap is 8 hours.1eCFR. 29 CFR 570.35
Year-round, shifts must fall between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. From June 1 through Labor Day, the evening cutoff moves to 9 p.m.1eCFR. 29 CFR 570.35 Even on a Friday night during the school year, a 15-year-old has to clock out by 7 p.m.
Put together, a typical school-year schedule looks like three-hour shifts on weekdays after school plus a longer stretch on Saturday, all ending by 7 p.m. During summer, an 8-hour day, five days a week, fills out the 40-hour ceiling.
State Laws Can Set Stricter Limits
Federal law sets the floor, not the ceiling. States can pass child labor rules that are stricter than the federal standards, and when both apply, the employer must follow whichever law gives the teen more protection.2U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 43 – Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act for Nonagricultural Occupations A state cannot weaken the federal caps, but it can add restrictions the federal government does not impose.3National Institute of Standards and Technology. Understanding Federal and State Child Labor Laws
In practice, a 15-year-old in one state might face a 16-hour school-week cap instead of the federal 18. Some states set an earlier evening cutoff on nights before school days. Others require mandatory breaks that federal law does not. The tighter state rule always wins, so check your state labor department’s rules for minors before assuming the federal numbers are the ones you can work up to.
What Counts Toward the Hours
Every minute a 15-year-old is required to be on duty or at the workplace counts toward the daily and weekly caps. That includes setup time before a shift, cleanup after, and mandatory training. If your employer requires you to arrive 15 minutes early to put on a uniform and prep your station, those 15 minutes are work hours. An accurate count matters, because going even slightly over the federal limit turns a routine shift into a violation.
When the Hour Caps Don’t Apply
A few narrow categories of work sit outside the FLSA’s child labor hour rules entirely.
- A child employed by a parent or legal guardian in a business the parent solely owns can work outside the normal hour limits, as long as the work is not in manufacturing, mining, or any occupation the Department of Labor has declared hazardous.4eCFR. 29 CFR 570.126 – Parental Exemption
- Delivering newspapers directly to consumers is exempt from FLSA child labor, wage, and hour provisions.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 U.S. Code 213 – Exemptions
- A child employed as an actor or performer in motion pictures, theatrical productions, or radio or television productions is exempt from the FLSA child labor rules.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 U.S. Code 213 – Exemptions
- Farm work has its own separate set of child labor rules, with different age thresholds and different hour standards than non-agricultural jobs.6U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 40 – Overview of Youth Employment Provisions of the FLSA for Agricultural Occupations
Even where a federal exemption applies, state law can still impose its own restrictions. A 15-year-old working at a parent’s store might be exempt from FLSA hour caps but still subject to state limits on nighttime work or total weekly hours.
What Happens if an Employer Schedules Past the Limits
The consequences of blowing past the hour rules fall on the employer, not the teen. The Department of Labor can impose civil fines of up to $16,035 per violation. When a violation causes serious injury or death to a minor, the maximum penalty rises to $72,876, and a willful or repeated violation causing serious injury or death can reach $145,752.7U.S. Department of Labor. Civil Money Penalty Inflation Adjustments
Criminal penalties are on the table too. A willful violation can bring a fine of up to $10,000, and a second criminal conviction can carry up to six months in jail.8U.S. Department of Labor. FLSA – Child Labor Rules If your manager is scheduling you past the legal limits, you are not the one at risk of a fine, but knowing the rules well enough to push back is what stops the schedule from getting written that way in the first place.