Restrictions on Employees Under 16

Work by minors between 14 and 16 years of age is confined by federal law, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), to the following:

• must be outside of school hours
• may not be more than 40 hours in any one week when school is not in session
• may not be more than 18 hours in any one week when school is in session
• may not be more than eight hours in any one day when school is not in session
• may not be more than three hours in any one day when school is in session
• must be between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. except during the summer (June 1 through Labor Day) when the evening limit is 9 p.m.

The limitations do not apply to students working in an approved work-training program where written documentation of the student's work time is authorized by the principal of the student's school.

Prohibited employment for minors under 16. It is unlawful to employ minors under the age of 16 in:

• manufacturing, mining, or processing of goods and occupations requiring any duties in workplaces where such operations take place
• operation or tending of power-driven machinery other than office machines
• public messenger service positions
• occupations (except office/sales work) connected with:
  • transportation of persons or property by rail, highway, air, water, pipeline, or other means (the exception for office or sales work is inapplicable to work on trains or any other means of transportation)
  • warehousing and storage
  • communications and public utilities
  • construction, including demolition and repair
• retail, food service, and gasoline service establishments, which may not employ 14- and 15-year-olds in the following occupations:
  • all occupations in which employment of 14- and 15-year-olds is generally prohibited (as explained above), except that retail, food service, and gasoline service establishments may employ such children in any of the permitted occupations even if they involve processing, operation of machines, and work in rooms where processing and manufacturing take place
  • work performed in or about boiler rooms
  • work in connection with maintenance or repair of the establishment, machines, or equipment
  • outside window washing that involves working from window sills and all work requiring the use of ladders, scaffolds, or their substitutes
  • cooking (except at soda fountain, lunch counters, snack bars, or cafeteria serving counters) and baking
  • occupations that involve operating, setting up, adjusting, cleaning, oiling, or repairing power-driven food slicers and grinders, food choppers and cutters, and bakery-type mixers
  • work in freezers and meat coolers and all work in the preparation of meats for sale (except wrapping, sealing, labeling, weighing, pricing, and stocking when performed in other areas)
  • loading and unloading goods to and from trucks, railroad cars, or conveyors
  • all occupations in warehouses except office and clerical work

Permitted employment of 14- and 15-year-olds. There is a specific number of places where 14- and 15-year-old workers can be employed. Those permitted occupations are:

• office and clerical work, including the operation of office machines.
• cashiering, selling, modeling, art work, work in advertising departments, window trimming, and comparative shopping
• price marking and tagging by hand or by machine, assembling orders, packing, and shelving
• bagging and carrying out customers' orders
• errand and delivery work by foot, bicycle, and public transportation
• cleanup work, including the use of vacuum cleaners and floor waxers and maintenance of grounds, but not including the use of power-driven mowers or cutters
• kitchen work and other work involved in preparing and serving food and beverages, including the operation of machines and devices used in the performance of such work, such as, but not limited to, dishwashers, toasters, dumbwaiters, popcorn poppers, milk shake blenders, and coffee grinders
• work in connection with cars and trucks if confined to the following:
  • dispensing gasoline and oil
  • courtesy service
  • car cleaning, washing, and polishing
  • other permitted occupations not including work involving the use of pits, racks, lifting apparatus or involving the inflation of any tire mounted on a rim equipped with a removable retaining ring
• cleaning vegetables and fruits, and wrapping, sealing, labeling, weighing, pricing, and stocking performed in areas physically separate from areas where meat is prepared for sale and for outside freezers or meat coolers
• as actors or performers in motion pictures or theatrical productions, or in radio or television productions
• in the delivery of newspapers to the consumer
• as homeworkers in the making of evergreen wreaths
• in certain overseas areas

Expanded protections. The Department of Labor established and expanded protections for minors under 18 working in certain occupations. The changes include the types of cooking 14 and 15 year olds are permitted to be employed in and the cleaning and maintaining of cooking devices by minors in certain situations.

Compliance guidance. The Department of Labor has compliance assistance materials available at the Youth Rules! website. You may also contact the Department of Labor's toll-free helpline at 1-866-4USWAGE to obtain this information.