MA · State teen labor law
Massachusetts teen labor law — work hours, permits, and restricted jobs
Massachusetts requires a job-specific work permit for every minor under 18 and enforces a 48-hour weekly cap on 16-17-year-olds even when school is out, making it one of the stricter New England states.
Quick facts
School year vs summer hour caps
Massachusetts 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: From the last day of school in June through Labor Day.
Ages 16–17
School year
When school is in session
- Max hours per day
- 9 hr
- Max hours per week
- 48 hr
- Time window
- 06:00 – 22:00
Note: Up to 11:30 PM on nights not preceding a school day. Maximum 6 days per week.
Summer / school breaks
When school is out
- Max hours per day
- 9 hr
- Max hours per week
- 48 hr
- Time window
- 06:00 – 23:30
Note: From July 1 through Labor Day, restaurants and racetracks may employ 16-17-year-olds until 12:00 AM with on-site adult supervision.
Work permit
Massachusetts requires a work permit for minors aged 14–17.
The minor obtains a Promise of Employment from the prospective employer, then applies at their school superintendent's office. A parent or guardian must sign for minors under 18. Permits are job-specific and must be reissued for each new employer.
Form: Permit to Work / Youth Employment Permit
Massachusetts work-permit reference (official source) →
Jobs by age
Age-specific guides to common allowed jobs in Massachusetts, 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
Operating elevators and other power-driven hoists
Federal: HO-7
Working in connection with mining, logging, or sawmilling
Federal: HO-2 and HO-4
Door-to-door sales for minors under 16
State: MGL c.149 §65
See the full federal hazardous orders (HO-1 to HO-17) for plain-English summaries, or the Massachusetts hazardous-orders deep-dive for the federal floor plus Massachusetts-specific additions.
Breaks & meal periods
Massachusetts 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.
Massachusetts requires that no person work more than 6 hours in a calendar day without an interval of at least 30 minutes for a meal (M.G.L. c. 149, § 100). This is a general all-employee law that fully covers minors — the state's child-labor statutes (c. 149 §§ 56-105) set hour caps but add no separate meal break, so a teen's break flows from § 100. The meal period is unpaid when the worker is relieved of all duties and free to leave; it must be paid if the worker is required to stay on duty or on the premises. Massachusetts mandates no short paid rest break.
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: Mass. Gen. Laws c. 149, § 100
Pay & minimum wage
Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts 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.
Massachusetts minors are entitled to the full state minimum. The only below-minimum rates are certificate-gated: the Department of Labor Standards may license learner or apprentice rates (a set percentage of the minimum, limited to the first 80 hours in retail, merchandising, or laundry) and a student rate for students working for their own school. Because each requires a special certificate, an ordinary teen job pays the full minimum.
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.
Agricultural work carve-out
Massachusetts 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.
Massachusetts General Laws c. 149 § 1 excludes "farm laborer including all practices connected with agriculture, the tillage of the soil, the preparation and marketing of crops and the construction and maintenance of farm property and equipment, customarily performed by a farmer on a farm" from the definition of "employment." Because Chapter 149's general minor-employment provisions (work-permit, hour caps, night-work restrictions) only apply to "employment," they do NOT apply to farm work — with one important exception: the § 1 carve-out preserves the under-17 prohibition on structural painting or outside-of-structure work above 15 feet above ground level. M.G.L. c. 149 § 62A explicitly authorizes 14-year-olds to operate small hand tools or tractors on a farm if they have completed a vocational-agriculture training program — mirroring the federal student-learner certificate carve-out under 29 CFR § 570.72(b). Under-16 minors remain prohibited from operating picker machines, hazardous electrical machinery, and adjustments/cleaning of hazardous belts and gearing (MGL c. 149 §§ 60-61), and these prohibitions carry through to ag work. Federal FLSA § 213(c) and federal Ag HO-1 through Ag HO-11 govern otherwise: 14+ off-family-farm outside school hours, parent-owned-farm exemption, 16+ for federal Ag HOs.
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: M.G.L. c. 149 § 1 (definition of "employment" excludes farm labor); M.G.L. c. 149 §§ 56-105 (work by children); M.G.L. c. 149 § 62A (vocational-agriculture student carve-out); 454 CMR 27 (Department of Labor Standards regulations)
Family-business carve-out
Massachusetts narrows the federal parent-owned-business carve-out — the rules below apply when a minor works for a parent-owned non-agricultural business in this state.
Federal hazardous orders always apply — the parent-owned-business carve-out never reaches mining, manufacturing, or HO-listed work.
Massachusetts requires an Employment Permit ("work permit") issued by the minor's superintendent of schools (or the Department of Labor Standards for out-of-school youth) for every minor age 14 through 17 in covered employment. Chapter 149 does NOT provide a parent-owned-business exemption from the permit requirement — a 14-year-old working at a family-owned restaurant, retail store, or service business in Massachusetts still needs a permit, and the §§ 86, 86A hour caps (3 hrs/school day, 18 hrs/school week, 6 hrs/Saturday for 14–15-year-olds; 9 hrs/day or 48 hrs/week with §§ 86A overall cap of 30 hrs/school week for 16–17-year-olds) and the 7 PM curfew (9 PM during the summer for 14–15; 10 PM on school nights, midnight on non-school nights for 16–17) apply equally. The § 1 "farm laborer" exclusion is agriculture-specific and does not extend to a parent-owned restaurant or retail business. The federal § 213(c)(1)(C) exemption does NOT preempt MA's more-protective state law (§ 218(a)). Federal hazardous orders HO-1 through HO-17 also apply, and MA's §§ 60-61 picker-machine and electrical-machinery prohibitions for under-16 apply in family businesses too.
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: M.G.L. c. 149 § 60 (Employment Permit requirement for 14-17); §§ 65-67 (hazardous occupations); §§ 86, 86A (hour caps and night-work); 454 CMR 27.07
Entertainment-industry work
Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts 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: Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 149 §§ 56-104
US DOL Wage & Hour Division: https://www.mass.gov/topics/youth-employment-and-labor-laws
Last verified:
Informational only — verify with the Massachusetts Department of Labor before hiring or starting work.
Frequently asked questions
- Can a 14-year-old work in Massachusetts?
- Yes — under Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts work permit is required.
- How many hours can a 15-year-old work during school in Massachusetts?
- When school is in session, Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts require a work permit for minors?
- Yes — Massachusetts requires a work permit for minors aged 14-17 (form: Permit to Work / Youth Employment Permit). The minor obtains a Promise of Employment from the prospective employer, then applies at their school superintendent's office. A parent or guardian must sign for minors under 18. Permits are job-specific and must be reissued for each new employer.
- How many hours can a 16-year-old work during summer in Massachusetts?
- During summer or school breaks, Massachusetts allows a 16-year-old to work up to 9 hours per school day, up to 48 hours per week, between 06:00 and 23:30. 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 Massachusetts?
- Yes. Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts?
- Generally no. Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts Department of Labor. See the Pay and minimum wage section on this page.
- What jobs can a minor not do in Massachusetts?
- Massachusetts prohibits minors from a number of hazardous occupations, including: all federal hazardous orders ho-1 through ho-17; operating power-driven meat-processing machines; operating elevators and other power-driven hoists. The full list of federal hazardous orders (HO-1 through HO-17) also applies. See the Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 149 §§ 56-104 citation on this page for the statutory source.