MI · Employer compliance
Hire a minor in Michigan: 6-step compliance checklist
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act sets a floor; Michigan adds its own rules. The stricter of the two always wins. This page walks through the six checks every Michigan employer must complete before a 14-, 15-, 16-, or 17-year-old starts work — sourced from the US DOL Michigan state page and Michigan Youth Employment Standards Act, MCL §§ 409.101-409.124.
Last verified:
Minimum work age
14
State work permit
Required (14–17)
Restricted occupations on file
5
Stricter than federal?
Yes
Verify the minor's age
Before scheduling the first shift, get documentary proof of the employee’s date of birth. In Michigan the state work permit (Combined Application/Permit/Parental Consent for Minor (Form CA-6 or CA-7)) doubles as the age certificate — the issuing authority verifies the birth date when the permit is issued.Apply the stricter of federal or Michigan hour caps
Use the stricter rule for the employee’s age band and school-in-session status. Below are Michigan’s state-specific caps for the two main age bands.
Ages 14–15
School in session
4 hr / day · 24 hr / week
07:00 – 21:00
School out (summer)
8 hr / day · 48 hr / week
07:00 – 21:00
Ages 16–17
School in session
10 hr / day · 48 hr / week
06:00 – 22:30
School out (summer)
10 hr / day · 48 hr / week
06:00 – 23:30
Block hazardous and restricted occupations
The 17 federal Hazardous Orders (HO-1 to HO-17) prohibit minors under 18 from specific non-agricultural occupations — meat processing, power tools, roofing, mining, certain driving roles, and more. See the full federal HO list.
Michigan adds the following restrictions on top of the federal floor:
- All federal hazardous orders HO-1 through HO-17(29 CFR Part 570)
- Operating power-driven meat-processing machines(HO-10)
- Roofing operations and work on or about a roof(HO-16)
- Door-to-door sales for minors under 16
- Working without a 30-minute rest after 5 continuous hours
Obtain the Michigan work permit
The employer issues a Promise of Employment; the minor's school administrator countersigns the combined application/work-permit form (CA-6 for minors 14-15, CA-7 for 16-17). A parent or guardian must sign. The permit is job-specific and must be reissued for each new employer.
- Form
- Combined Application/Permit/Parental Consent for Minor (Form CA-6 or CA-7)
- Issued by
- School issuing officer (chief administrator)
- Applies to ages
- 14–17
Post the required notices
Display the federal FLSA Youth Employment poster and the Michigan state child-labor poster where employees can see them. Both are free downloads from the US DOL Wage & Hour Division and the Michigan labor agency. Failure to post is one of the most common citations issued during WHD audits.Keep records for at least 3 years
Federal FLSA §11(c) sets a 3-year minimum for payroll, hours, age verification, and (where applicable) the Michigan work permit. Many states require longer retention specifically for minor-employment documents — typically until 3 years after the minor turns 18. Keep: payroll + hours, age verification, the state permit, parental consent forms (where applicable), and any time-off / training records.