MS · State teen labor law
Mississippi teen labor law — work hours, permits, and restricted jobs
Mississippi has no comprehensive state child-labor statute — federal FLSA governs hour caps, occupations, and time-of-day rules for all minors. No state work permit is required.
Quick facts
School year vs summer hour caps
Mississippi applies similar caps year-round, with small calendar adjustments shown below. 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: Mississippi has no separate state law for this age group; federal FLSA caps apply.
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 per federal FLSA; evening cutoff extends to 9:00 PM.
Ages 16–17
School year
When school is in session
- Max hours per day
- No state limit
- Max hours per week
- No state limit
- Time window
- No state limit
Note: Mississippi imposes no state hour or time-of-day restriction on 16- and 17-year-olds; federal FLSA also has no hour cap for this age group in non-hazardous work.
Summer / school breaks
When school is out
- Max hours per day
- No state limit
- Max hours per week
- No state limit
- Time window
- No state limit
Work permit
Mississippi does not require a state-issued work permit for minors.
Mississippi does not require a state-issued work permit. The state has no child-labor statute beyond a minimum-age law; federal FLSA rules apply to all hour caps, occupations, and time-of-day restrictions. Employers must keep proof of age on file.
Jobs by age
Age-specific guides to common allowed jobs in Mississippi, 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
Mill, cannery, workshop, factory, or manufacturing for minors under 14
State: Miss. Code §71-1-19
Sale or service of alcohol for minors under 18
State: Miss. Code §67-3-53
See the full federal hazardous orders (HO-1 to HO-17) for plain-English summaries, or the Mississippi hazardous-orders deep-dive for the federal floor plus Mississippi-specific additions.
Breaks & meal periods
Mississippi has no verified state law requiring a meal or rest break for minors, so the federal floor applies: the Fair Labor Standards Act does not require employers to give a meal or rest break at any age. An employer can legally schedule a teen for a full shift without one. If a short break of 5–20 minutes is given it must be paid; a bona fide meal period of 30 minutes or more can be unpaid when the teen is completely relieved of duty.
Confirm with the Mississippi Department of Labor before relying on a break, and see the federal breaks & meal-period reference for the FLSA paid-vs-unpaid rules.
Pay & minimum wage
Mississippi sets no independent minimum-wage rate, so the federal Fair Labor Standards Act governs: a $7.25 standard minimum and a $4.25 youth minimum for workers under 20 during their first 90 consecutive calendar days. Confirm the current figures before relying on them.
- How minors are paid
- Federal minimum-wage rules
- State minimum wage
- No state rate
- Below-minimum youth rate
- Permitted
- Subminimum structure
- Federal $4.25 youth minimum for workers under 20 during the first 90 consecutive calendar days of employment (29 USC § 206(g)); federal FLSA learner / student-learner / apprentice certificates also apply.
The federal minimum applies instead.
Mississippi has no independent state minimum-wage statute setting its own rate; the only state language (§ 25-3-40) merely declares the Legislature's intent to implement the federal minimum and is primarily a public-salary provision. Because there is no state rate, the FLSA $7.25 standard governs and the federal $4.25 youth wage for under-20s in the first 90 consecutive calendar days applies certificate-free. Mississippi also bars local governments from setting a higher 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
Mississippi 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.
Mississippi has no comprehensive child-labor statute applicable to agriculture — the state law in §§ 71-1-17 to 71-1-29 specifically addresses mills, factories, shops, and canneries (the latter explicitly excluded from the chapter), leaving farm work entirely outside state regulation. The federal § 213(c) floor governs: 14+ off-farm in non-hazardous ag outside school hours; 12-13 with written parental consent or on the same farm where a parent is employed; under-12 only on farms not subject to FLSA minimum-wage rules. The standard federal § 213(c)(1) parent-owned-farm exemption applies. Federal Ag HO-1 to Ag HO-11 govern at 16+ off the family farm. No state employment certificate is required for ag work — Mississippi does not require a state-issued work permit for any employment.
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: Miss. Code §§ 71-1-17 to 71-1-29 (state law addresses mills, factories, and shops; agriculture entirely silent)
Family-business carve-out
Mississippi 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.
Mississippi is one of the very few states without a comprehensive child-labor statute — Miss. Code Chapter 71-1's youth-employment provisions are narrowly limited to mills, factories, shops, and similar industrial settings, with canneries explicitly excluded from the chapter. There is no state Work Permit / Employment Certificate / Age Certificate requirement, no state daily/weekly hour cap, and no state-imposed permit framework for any minor employment. The federal § 213(c)(1)(C) parent-employed exemption is the operating rule: a minor of any age may work for the minor's own parent in a non-hazardous, non-mining, non-manufacturing business owned, operated, or controlled by that parent without any federal hour cap or federal permit. Federal hazardous orders HO-1 through HO-17 always apply, as does Miss. Code § 71-1-19's narrow under-14 prohibition on mill/cannery/workshop/factory/manufacturing employment — but the canneries exclusion and the state's overall silence mean state law adds essentially nothing on top of the federal framework for parent-owned non-industrial work. Parent-owned manufacturing employment for under-16 remains barred by federal law.
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: Miss. Code §§ 71-1-17 to 71-1-29 (limited state scope — mills, factories, shops only; no general youth-employment framework); federal § 213(c)(1)(C) governs as the operating rule
Entertainment-industry work
Mississippi 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 Mississippi 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: Mississippi Code §§ 71-1-17 to 71-1-37 (limited child-labor provisions)
US DOL Wage & Hour Division: https://www.mdes.ms.gov/employers/labor-market-information/labor-market-news/child-labor-laws/
Last verified:
Informational only — verify with the Mississippi Department of Labor before hiring or starting work.
Frequently asked questions
- Can a 14-year-old work in Mississippi?
- Yes — under Mississippi 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.
- How many hours can a 15-year-old work during school in Mississippi?
- When school is in session, Mississippi 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 Mississippi require a work permit for minors?
- Mississippi does not require a state-issued work permit for minors. Employers still must follow federal FLSA rules on hour caps and restricted occupations.
- Can a teen be paid less than minimum wage in Mississippi?
- Yes, for a limited window. Mississippi follows the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, which allows a $4.25 youth minimum wage for workers under 20 during their first 90 consecutive calendar days; after that the $7.25 federal minimum applies. Minimum-wage dollar amounts change almost every year, so confirm the current figure with the Mississippi Department of Labor. See the Pay and minimum wage section on this page.
- What jobs can a minor not do in Mississippi?
- Mississippi 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 Mississippi Code §§ 71-1-17 to 71-1-37 (limited child-labor provisions) citation on this page for the statutory source.