Federal teen labor law
Federal rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act sets the nationwide floor for teen work — minimum ages, hour caps for 14- and 15-year-olds, the list of hazardous occupations off-limits to anyone under 18, and the narrow exemptions for family businesses, newspaper delivery, performers, and agriculture. States build on this floor, and the stricter rule always wins. The pages below break the federal rules down by family.
Federal reference pages
29 USC §§ 203, 212 · 29 CFR Part 570
FLSA child-labor quick reference
Plain-English cards for every Fair Labor Standards Act rule family that governs teen work — with exact statute and CFR citations.
- Minimum working age (14 non-ag, 16 hazardous ag, 18 hazardous non-ag)
- Hour caps for 14- and 15-year-olds — school year vs summer
- Carve-outs: family business, newspaper delivery, performers, agriculture
- How federal floors interact with stricter state rules
- Enforcement and 2025 inflation-adjusted civil penalties
Read the flsa child-labor quick reference →
29 CFR §§ 785.18, 785.19
Breaks & meal periods
Whether a teen gets a lunch break, and whether breaks are paid — federal law sets no break requirement at any age, but controls which breaks count as paid time.
- No federal meal or rest break is required — at any age
- Short rest breaks (5–20 min) are paid working time
- Bona fide meal periods (30+ min) can be unpaid if fully relieved
- The “completely relieved from duty” test for unpaid meals
- Mandatory teen breaks are set by state law (stricter wins)
Read the breaks & meal periods →
29 USC §§ 206(g), 214, 218(a)
Youth minimum wage
How much a teen can be paid — the $4.25 federal youth wage for 90 days, the student subminimum certificates, tipped pay, and why the state minimum usually wins.
- Federal youth wage of $4.25 for the first 90 days (under 20)
- After 90 days or at age 20: the full $7.25 minimum applies
- Student certificates: 85% (full-time) and 75% (student-learner)
- Tipped pay: $2.13 cash if tips reach the full minimum
- The higher of state and federal wage wins (§ 218(a))
Read the youth minimum wage →
29 CFR Part 570 Subpart E (§§ 570.51 – 570.68)
Hazardous orders HO-1 to HO-17
Every federal hazardous-occupations order in plain English — minimum age, narrow apprentice carve-outs, example jobs, and cross-references to the states that explicitly cite each order.
- All 17 orders summarized with concrete example jobs
- Apprentice and student-learner exceptions called out where they apply
- Per-state cross-references for every HO
- State-only restrictions that go beyond the federal floor
Read the hazardous orders ho-1 to ho-17 →
29 USC § 213(c) · 29 CFR §§ 570.70 – 570.72
Agricultural-work carve-out
Federal agricultural-work rules for minors — separately regulated from non-ag work with substantially lower minimum ages, minimal hour caps, and a sweeping parent-owned farm exemption.
- Minimum age: 12 (off-farm with parental consent), 14+ unrestricted, 16+ hazardous
- Hour caps: only the school-hours rule for under-16
- Agricultural hazardous orders Ag HO-1 to Ag HO-11
- Parent-owned farm exemption: no federal age limit at all
- How federal ag rules interact with stricter state agricultural law
Read the agricultural-work carve-out →
29 USC § 213(c)(1)(C) · 29 CFR § 570.123
Family-business exemption
Federal carve-out for minors working for a parent's wholly-owned non-agricultural business — waives the minimum age and hour caps but keeps the hazardous-occupations rules in place.
- No federal minimum age when business is wholly owned by parent
- Hazardous Orders HO-1 to HO-17 still apply
- Manufacturing and mining excluded from the exemption
- What ownership structures qualify (sole prop, in-loco-parentis)
- How stricter state rules override the federal exemption
Read the family-business exemption →
IRS Form W-4 · USCIS Form I-9
W-4 and I-9 — tax forms for a teen's first job
The two federal forms every US teen completes for a first job — what each one is, who signs (parent vs. minor), the under-18 I-9 List-B rule, and where to download the current IRS and USCIS PDFs.
- Form W-4 — federal tax withholding (teen signs, not parent)
- Form I-9 — employment-eligibility verification (within 3 days)
- Under-18 special rule: present only a List C document
- Parent / legal-guardian role on the I-9 Preparer block
- Direct PDF download links — IRS fw4.pdf and USCIS i-9.pdf
Read the w-4 and i-9 — tax forms for a teen's first job →
29 USC § 213(c)(3) · 29 CFR § 570.122
Entertainment-industry exemption
Federal carve-out for actors and performers in motion-picture, theatrical, radio, and television productions — plus the 7 states (CA, FL, IL, LA, NM, NY, PA) that publish their own entertainment-work permits with stricter on-set rules.
- Federal age floor waived for performance work
- Production-crew work still falls under HO-1 to HO-17
- 7 states issue their own entertainment work permits
- On-set studio teachers + Coogan-style trust accounts in major-market states
- Day-player permits for short single-day engagements (CA, NY)
Read the entertainment-industry exemption →
29 USC § 213(d) · § 213(a)(15) · 29 CFR § 570.124
Jobs minors can do at any age
The short list of jobs that sit entirely below the federal 14-year floor — newspaper delivery, casual babysitting, minor home chores, and evergreen-wreath homework — with the exact statute for each and the state stricter-rule catch.
- Newspaper delivery to the consumer — any age (§ 213(d))
- Casual babysitting + minor home chores — any age (§ 213(a)(15))
- Evergreen-wreath homework — any age (§ 213(d))
- Performers + a parent's own business (cross-linked)
- A state can still set a stricter minimum age
Read the jobs minors can do at any age →
Federal alone is not enough.
About 30 states require a work permit federal law does not. Many cap 16- and 17-year-olds' school-night hours where federal law sets no limit. Some add restricted occupations beyond the federal HO list. The rule that actually applies to a teen and an employer is the stricter of federal and the state where the work happens.