Know Your Rights
Last Updated: September 2026
What US law actually says about working under 18, how young you can start, how many hours you're allowed, what jobs are off limits, and what a work permit is.
Two sets of rules apply to you, and the stricter one wins.
Everything on this page is federal law, which applies in every state. Your own state almost certainly has its own rules on top, and they're usually tighter, more restricted hours, an earlier curfew, a permit requirement. When the two disagree, the one that protects you more is the one that applies.
How old you need to be
Federal law keeps under-14s out of most non-farm jobs. The exceptions are narrow: delivering newspapers, acting or performing, babysitting and odd jobs, and working for a business your parents fully own, as long as it isn't mining, manufacturing, or anything hazardous. get off this site and go play with toys or something
Retail, food service, offices, and similar jobs are open to you. What's restricted is timing, not the work itself, see the hours section below. Manufacturing, mining, and anything on the hazardous list stay off limits.
Federal law stops restricting how many hours you work or when. Your state very likely still does, especially on school nights. Hazardous occupations remain off limits until you turn 18.
Federal youth employment rules no longer apply to you.
Farm work runs on a different and generally looser set of rules, which this page doesn't cover.
How many hours you can work
Federal hour limits apply at 14 and 15 only. All of this work has to happen outside school hours.
| School day | 3 hours |
|---|---|
| School week | 18 hours |
| Non-school day | 8 hours |
| Non-school week | 40 hours |
| Earliest start | 7am |
| Latest finish | 7pm, 9pm from June 1 to Labor Day |
At 16 and 17 federal law sets no hour limits at all. Your state probably does, restrictions on how late you can work on a school night are the most common. Check with your state labor office.
Jobs you can't do yet
Some work is off limits to everyone under 18, no matter how much you want the job or how willing an employer is to hire you. Among them:
- Driving a vehicle as part of the job (limited exceptions at 17)
- Operating most power-driven machinery
- Meat processing and power-driven meat slicers
- Power-driven bakery machines
- Roofing, and any work on or near a roof
- Excavation and trenching
- Logging and sawmilling
- Wrecking and demolition
- Mining
- Working with explosives or radioactive materials
At 14 and 15 the list is longer still, no cooking on open flames, no baking, no work in freezers or meat coolers, no loading dock work, and no construction.
If a job asks you to do something on this list, that isn't you being helpful. It's the employer breaking the law.
Work permits
A work permit, sometimes called working papers or an employment certificate, is a form saying you're legally allowed to take a job. Federal law doesn't require one. Most states do, usually for under-16s and often for under-18s.
In most states you get one through your school, and it's free. The usual shape: get an offer first, take the form to your school office, get a parent and the employer to sign, hand it back.
It's worth asking your school counselor before you start applying, knowing the answer makes you look organised in an interview.
What you get paid
The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. Many states set a higher one, and where they do, the higher figure is what you're owed.
There is a legal youth minimum wage of $4.25 an hour that employers may pay workers under 20, but only for the first 90 consecutive calendar days of the job. After that you move to the full minimum wage. An employer cannot fire someone to keep hiring people at the lower rate.
Federal law does not require meal or rest breaks at any age. Many states do require them for minors, and those rules are often stricter than the ones for adults.
If something's wrong
If you're being asked to work hours you're not allowed, do work on the hazardous list, or aren't being paid properly, the US Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division handles complaints. It's free, and you don't need a lawyer.
It is illegal for an employer to punish you for asking about your rights or making a complaint.
Start by telling a parent or a school counselor. They can call on your behalf, and a lot of problems turn out to be a manager who genuinely didn't know the rules.
Rules where you live
State rules change and vary a lot, so we'd rather point you at the source than summarise it wrongly. Search for your state's Department of Labor and its youth employment or child labor page, that's the authoritative answer for where you live.
Find jobs that hire your age →This page is general information about US labor law, not legal advice. Rules change, and your state's may differ from what's described here. Confirm anything that matters with your state labor office.