OR · Employer compliance
Hire a minor in Oregon: 6-step compliance checklist
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act sets a floor; Oregon adds its own rules. The stricter of the two always wins. This page walks through the six checks every Oregon employer must complete before a 14-, 15-, 16-, or 17-year-old starts work — sourced from the US DOL Oregon state page and Oregon Revised Statutes §§ 653.305-653.370 (Employment of Minors).
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 Oregon the state work permit (Annual Employment Certificate to Employ Minors) doubles as the age certificate — the issuing authority verifies the birth date when the permit is issued.Apply the stricter of federal or Oregon hour caps
Use the stricter rule for the employee’s age band and school-in-session status. Below are Oregon’s state-specific caps for the two main age bands.
Ages 14–15
School in session
3 hr / day · 18 hr / week
07:00 – 19:00
School out (summer)
10 hr / day · 40 hr / week
07:00 – 21:00
Ages 16–17
School in session
10 hr / day · 44 hr / week
No state limit
School out (summer)
10 hr / day · 44 hr / week
No state limit
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.
Oregon 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 without adult supervision
- Working alone in a retail establishment for minors under 18
Obtain the Oregon work permit
Oregon uses an employer-based permit: the employer applies online with BOLI for an annual Employment Certificate covering all minor employees at that worksite. The certificate must be renewed yearly. Individual minors do not apply, but the employer must keep age verification on file for each.
- Form
- Annual Employment Certificate to Employ Minors
- Issued by
- Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) — employer applies
- Applies to ages
- 14–17
Post the required notices
Display the federal FLSA Youth Employment poster and the Oregon state child-labor poster where employees can see them. Both are free downloads from the US DOL Wage & Hour Division and the Oregon 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 Oregon 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.