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TX · agricultural-work rules for minors

Texas 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. Texas layers state-specific rules on top of that framework — whichever is stricter binds the employer (FLSA § 218(a)). This page covers the Texas ag-work floor: minimum ages on and off the family farm, hazardous-occupation cutoffs, school-hours rules, the parental-farm exemption as Texas treats it, and the exact state-code citation.

Quick facts

Min age off-parent farm
12 (FLSA floor)
Min age for ag-hazardous work
16+
Parent-owned farm exemption
Mirrors federal § 213(c)
State daily / weekly hour cap
None (FLSA floor)
State statute
Texas Labor Code Chapter 51 (§§ 51.001-51.034)
Last verified

Texas vs the federal FLSA floor

Each row compares Texas'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)).

Texas agricultural-work rules compared to the federal FLSA floor.
DimensionFederal floorTexasDelta
Min age off parent farm12 with parental consent / 14 without12 (FLSA floor)Matches 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 hoursNo state capMatches FLSA

How Texas actually regulates farm work

Texas Labor Code Chapter 51 exempts agricultural employment from the state child-labor law: § 51.003 provides that the chapter does not apply to a child employed in agriculture during a period when the child is not legally required to attend school, and separately exempts a child employed in a nonhazardous occupation under the direct supervision of a parent/custodian in a business or enterprise owned or operated by that parent or custodian (a very broad family-business exemption that covers parent-owned farms and ranches at any age). Texas imposes no state minimum age, no daily/weekly hour cap, and no state work-permit requirement on ag work. Federal FLSA § 213(c) governs the operating floor: minimum age 14 off-family-farm outside school hours (12 with parental consent on small farms not subject to federal minimum-wage coverage; 10-11 for hand-harvest short-season waivers); the federal parent-owned farm exemption applies (no minimum age, parental waiver of Ag HOs for under-16 family-farm work). § 51.014 declares hazardous occupations and incorporates the federal Ag HO list by reference, so 16+ remains the minimum for federal Ag HO-1 through Ag HO-11 (tractors over 20 PTO HP, harvesters, etc.).

Citation

Tex. Lab. Code §§ 51.003 (general exemptions — parent-owned business and agriculture), 51.014 (hazardous occupations — adopts federal HO list); Tex. Lab. Code Ch. 51 (Employment of Children)

Where to verify Texas'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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