ME · State teen labor law
Maine teen labor law — work hours, permits, and restricted jobs
Maine caps 16-17-year-olds at 24 hours per school week (6 hours/day on school days) and a permit is required for every minor 14-15. Logging and sawmilling are prohibited for all minors under 18 — a state-specific addition to federal hazardous orders.
Quick facts
School year vs summer hour caps
Maine tightens daily and weekly limits while school is in session, then eases them during summer and school breaks. Each age band below shows both calendars side-by-side — a distinction federal summaries and most state-comparison tables skip.
Ages 14–15
School year
When school is in session
- Hrs/day (school day)
- 3 hr
- Hrs/day (Sat / Sun / holiday)
- 8 hr
- Max hours per week
- 18 hr
- Time window
- 07:00 – 19:00
Note: No work during school hours.
Summer / school breaks
When school is out
- Max hours per day
- 8 hr
- Max hours per week
- 40 hr
- Time window
- 07:00 – 21:00
Note: Summer hours apply June 1 through Labor Day; evening cutoff extends to 9:00 PM.
Ages 16–17
School year
When school is in session
- Hrs/day (school day)
- 6 hr
- Hrs/day (Sat / Sun / holiday)
- 10 hr
- Max hours per week
- 24 hr
- Time window
- 07:00 – 22:15
Note: School-week cap of 24 hours (6 hours on a school day, 10 on a non-school day). Up to 50 hours/week when school is closed for the full week.
Summer / school breaks
When school is out
- Max hours per day
- 10 hr
- Max hours per week
- 50 hr
- Time window
- 05:00 – 00:00
Note: Summer cap of 50 hours per week. Up to midnight on nights not preceding a school day.
Work permit
Maine requires a work permit for minors aged 14–15.
Minors 14-15 obtain a Work Permit from their school superintendent. The minor presents the employer's Statement of Intent to Employ along with proof of age and parental consent. The permit is job-specific. 16- and 17-year-olds do not need a permit but must keep age verification on file with the employer.
Form: Maine Work Permit
Maine work-permit reference (official source) →
Jobs by age
Age-specific guides to common allowed jobs in Maine, with the federal hour caps and the state’s stricter rules built in.
Restricted occupations
All federal hazardous orders HO-1 through HO-17
Federal: 29 CFR Part 570
Operating power-driven meat-processing machines
Federal: HO-10
Roofing operations and work on or about a roof
Federal: HO-16
Door-to-door sales for minors under 16 without adult supervision
State: 26 MRSA §775
Logging and sawmilling for minors under 18
State: 26 MRSA §774
See the full federal hazardous orders (HO-1 to HO-17) for plain-English summaries, or the Maine hazardous-orders deep-dive for the federal floor plus Maine-specific additions.
Breaks & meal periods
Maine applies one general meal-break rule to all employees, including minors. Federal law (the FLSA) mandates no break at any age, so this state rule is the binding one for teens too.
- Meal break
- 30 minutes
- Required after
- 6 consecutive hours
- Pay treatment
- Unpaid
Unpaid when the teen is completely relieved of duty.
Maine has no minor-specific break law, so minors are covered by the general rest-break rule: an employee may not work more than 6 consecutive hours without the opportunity for at least 30 consecutive minutes of rest, which may be used as an unpaid meal period if the worker is completely relieved of duty. Workplaces with fewer than 3 on-duty employees that allow frequent shorter paid breaks are exempt.
See the federal breaks & meal-period reference for how the FLSA treats paid rest breaks vs unpaid meal periods, and why a mandatory teen break can only come from state law.
Statute: 26 M.R.S. § 601
Pay & minimum wage
Maine sets its own minimum wage and minors generally earn the full rate — there is no general youth subminimum a teen can be paid. The structure is stable; the dollar amount changes almost every year, so confirm the current figure with the Maine Department of Labor.
- How minors are paid
- Full state minimum
- State minimum wage
- Set by state law
- Below-minimum youth rate
- Not permitted
A teen earns the full minimum; any lower rate needs a special DOL certificate.
Maine sets a single inflation-indexed minimum wage that applies to every worker regardless of age — there is no youth, training, learner, or 90-day probationary sub-rate, so a first-job teen earns the full state minimum. (An 80% youth-wage proposal was introduced but never became law, and Maine's only historic certificate path, for workers with disabilities, is now prohibited.)
Rates change yearly. This page describes the legal structure, not the current dollar amount. State and federal minimum wages are adjusted regularly — always verify the live figure with your state Department of Labor or the U.S. DOL before relying on it.
See the federal youth minimum wage reference for the $4.25 90-day rule, student / learner certificates, the tipped cash wage, and how a higher state minimum wins.
Statute: 26 M.R.S. §§ 664, 666
Agricultural work carve-out
Maine largely mirrors the federal agricultural carve-out under FLSA § 213(c)(1). The rules below confirm what applies for farm work in this state.
Mirrors federal Ag HO-1 to Ag HO-11.
Maine carves out field-crop agriculture broadly: minors under 14 may work in agricultural employment in the planting, cultivating, or harvesting of field crops, or in other ag employment, provided they are not in direct contact with hazardous machinery or hazardous substances. The exemption extends to the initial processing of farm crops. As a result, Maine imposes no state minimum age, no daily/weekly hour cap, and no prohibited-occupations list for field-crop ag — the federal § 213(c) floor governs. A minor under 16 may be excused by the local school superintendent from school to do qualifying agricultural employment without the otherwise-required Maine Work Permit, which is also not required for any ag employment outside of hazardous contact. The standard federal § 213(c)(1) parent-owned-farm exemption applies, and Maine adopts federal Ag HO-1 to Ag HO-11 at 16+ off the family farm. The state also prohibits all minors under 18 from logging and sawmilling — an addition that does apply within agricultural settings.
See the federal agricultural-work reference for the FLSA § 213(c) baseline, parental-exemption rules, and the Ag HO-1 to Ag HO-11 hazardous list.
Statute: 26 M.R.S. §§ 771, 773, 775 (field-crop agricultural employment exempt from minimum age, hour caps, prohibited occupations, and work permit if not in direct contact with hazardous machinery or substances)
Family-business carve-out
Maine largely mirrors the federal parent-owned-business carve-out under FLSA § 213(c)(1)(C). The rules below confirm what applies when a minor works for a parent-owned business in this state.
Federal hazardous orders always apply — the parent-owned-business carve-out never reaches mining, manufacturing, or HO-listed work.
Maine's Chapter 7 child-labor act carries the federal parent-employed exemption forward through its general exemption framework at § 773. A minor working in a parent-owned non-hazardous business is exempt from the 14-15 Maine Work Permit requirement (issued by the local school superintendent) and from the state's 24-hour school-week cap on 16-17-year-olds. Federal hazardous orders HO-1 through HO-17 always apply, and Maine's state-specific prohibitions on logging and sawmilling for all minors under 18 carry through regardless of parent ownership — these are among the most distinctive Maine additions to the federal HO list and apply even within a family-owned operation. Parent-owned manufacturing or mining employment for under-16 remains barred by federal law. Verify the specific business context with the Maine Department of Labor before relying on the carve-out.
See the federal family-business reference for the FLSA § 213(c)(1)(C) baseline, ownership-structure rules, and the hazardous-occupations overlay that always applies.
Statute: 26 M.R.S. §§ 771-781 (Maine Employment of Minors); § 773 (exemption framework); federal mirror of 29 USC § 213(c)(1)(C)
Entertainment-industry work
Maine does not separately regulate child performers (film, TV, theater, modeling). The general age-band hour caps and work-permit rules above apply to entertainment-industry work for minors. Federal FLSA carves out actors and performers from the general 14-year minimum age (29 CFR § 570.122), but neither federal nor Maine law imposes a blocked-trust requirement on a child performer’s earnings.
States with dedicated child-performer frameworks (Coogan-style trust accounts, on-set studio teachers, performer-specific permits) include California, New York, Florida, Louisiana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Illinois.
Where these rules come from
State code: Maine Revised Statutes Title 26 Chapter 7 (§§ 771-781) (Employment of Minors)
US DOL Wage & Hour Division: https://www.maine.gov/labor/labor_laws/childlabor.html
Last verified:
Informational only — verify with the Maine Department of Labor before hiring or starting work.
Frequently asked questions
- Can a 14-year-old work in Maine?
- Yes — under Maine law a 14-year-old can work up to 3 hours per school day, up to 18 hours per week, between 07:00 and 19:00. A Maine work permit is required.
- How many hours can a 15-year-old work during school in Maine?
- When school is in session, Maine allows a 15-year-old to work up to 3 hours per school day, up to 18 hours per week, between 07:00 and 19:00. During summer or school breaks the cap rises to up to 8 hours per school day, up to 40 hours per week, between 07:00 and 21:00.
- Does Maine require a work permit for minors?
- Yes — Maine requires a work permit for minors aged 14-15 (form: Maine Work Permit). Minors 14-15 obtain a Work Permit from their school superintendent. The minor presents the employer's Statement of Intent to Employ along with proof of age and parental consent. The permit is job-specific. 16- and 17-year-olds do not need a permit but must keep age verification on file with the employer.
- How many hours can a 16-year-old work during summer in Maine?
- During summer or school breaks, Maine allows a 16-year-old to work up to 10 hours per school day, up to 50 hours per week, between 05:00 and 00:00. Federal FLSA caps for 16- and 17-year-olds do not limit weekly hours, so the stricter state rule (if any) applies.
- Does a minor get a meal break in Maine?
- Yes. Maine requires a 30-minute unpaid meal break once a worker reaches 6 consecutive hours; the rule applies to all employees, including minors. Federal law sets no break requirement at any age, so the state rule is the binding one. See the breaks section on this page for the exact age scope and the statute.
- Can a teen be paid less than minimum wage in Maine?
- Generally no. Maine sets its own minimum wage and minors earn the full rate — there is no general youth subminimum, and any below-minimum rate requires a special DOL certificate. Minimum-wage dollar amounts change almost every year, so confirm the current figure with the Maine Department of Labor. See the Pay and minimum wage section on this page.
- What jobs can a minor not do in Maine?
- Maine prohibits minors from a number of hazardous occupations, including: all federal hazardous orders ho-1 through ho-17; operating power-driven meat-processing machines; roofing operations and work on or about a roof. The full list of federal hazardous orders (HO-1 through HO-17) also applies. See the Maine Revised Statutes Title 26 Chapter 7 (§§ 771-781) (Employment of Minors) citation on this page for the statutory source.