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FL · agricultural-work rules for minors

Florida agricultural work rules for minors

Federal FLSA § 213(c) lets minors work in agriculture at younger ages than in other industries, with no federal hour cap outside school hours. Florida layers state-specific rules on top of that framework — whichever is stricter binds the employer (FLSA § 218(a)). This page covers the Florida ag-work floor: minimum ages on and off the family farm, hazardous-occupation cutoffs, school-hours rules, the parental-farm exemption as Florida treats it, and the exact state-code citation.

Quick facts

Min age off-parent farm
14+
Min age for ag-hazardous work
16+
Parent-owned farm exemption
Mirrors federal § 213(c)
State daily / weekly hour cap
Yes
State statute
Florida Statutes Chapter 450 Part I (§§ 450.001-450.155)
Last verified

Florida vs the federal FLSA floor

Each row compares Florida's rule to the federal floor under 29 USC § 213(c) and 29 CFR §§ 570.70 – 570.72. When the state is stricter, the state rule binds the employer; when the state is looser or silent, the federal floor still applies (§ 218(a)).

Florida agricultural-work rules compared to the federal FLSA floor.
DimensionFederal floorFloridaDelta
Min age off parent farm12 with parental consent / 14 without14+Stricter than FLSA
Min age for Ag HO work16+ (Ag HO-1 to Ag HO-11)16+Matches FLSA
Parent-owned farm exemptionNo min age; preempts Ag HOsMirrors federalMatches FLSA
Daily / weekly hour capNo cap outside school hoursState cap appliesStricter than FLSA

How Florida actually regulates farm work

Florida explicitly exempts farm and domestic work "in connection with their own homes or the farm or ranch on which they live, or directly for their own parents or guardian, or in the herding, tending, and management of livestock" from the general child-labor floor (§ 450.021(1)(c)) — minors of any age may work on a parent-operated farm during non-school hours. Off the family farm, the general state minimum age of 14 applies. § 450.061 prohibits any minor under 18 from operating a tractor over 20 PTO horsepower, any trencher or earthmoving equipment, a forklift, or any harvesting/planting/plowing machinery — mirroring federal Ag HO-1, Ag HO-2, and related orders. 14- and 15-year-olds may drive smaller tractors during farmwork only if they (a) work under close parental supervision on a family farm, OR (b) hold a tractor-operation certificate from a recognized agricultural or vocational training program. § 450.081 hour caps apply to farm work the same as other employment (no separate ag carve-out): under 16 capped at 15 hours per school week / 3 hours per school day, 16–17 at 30 hours per school week / 8 hours per day, with 2024 HB 49 letting parents waive the weekly cap and curfew for 16–17-year-olds.

Citation

F.S. §§ 450.021(1)(c), 450.061, 450.081

Where to verify Florida's ag-work enforcement

Ag-work rulemaking is an active area at both the US DOL Wage & Hour Division and state labor agencies. Before relying on these rules for hiring, scheduling, or harvest-season planning, confirm with the primary sources below.

Other states with distinctive ag-work rules

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