OH · State teen labor law
Ohio teen labor law — work hours, permits, and restricted jobs
Ohio requires an Age and Schooling Certificate for every minor under 18, issued by their school for a specific employer. 16-17-year-olds face no weekly hour cap but cannot work past 11:00 PM on school nights without parental consent.
Quick facts
School year vs summer hour caps
Ohio 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: Hours apply June 1 through September 1 and during school holidays.
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
- 07:00 – 23:00
Note: No state hour cap, but 16-17-year-olds may not work past 11:00 PM on a school night or before 7:00 AM on a school day. Up to 1:00 AM and from 6:00 AM with written parental consent on non-school nights.
Summer / school breaks
When school is out
- Max hours per day
- No state limit
- Max hours per week
- No state limit
- Time window
- 06:00 – 01:00
Note: Time-of-day restrictions relax during school breaks; federal FLSA has no hour cap for this age group in non-hazardous work.
Work permit
Ohio requires a work permit for minors aged 14–17.
The minor obtains a Pledge of Employment from the prospective employer, then applies at their school's administrative office with proof of age, a physician's certificate of physical fitness, and parent or guardian consent. The certificate is job-specific and must be reissued for each new employer.
Form: Age and Schooling Certificate (Form 1-IM-2)
Jobs by age
Age-specific guides to common allowed jobs in Ohio, 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
Door-to-door sales for minors under 16 without adult supervision
State: OAC 4101:9-2-08
Roofing operations and work on or about a roof
Federal: HO-16
Working in or around freezers and meat coolers
State: ORC §4109.06
See the full federal hazardous orders (HO-1 to HO-17) for plain-English summaries, or the Ohio hazardous-orders deep-dive for the federal floor plus Ohio-specific additions.
Breaks & meal periods
Ohio requires a meal break for minor workers. Federal law (the FLSA) mandates no break at any age, so this state rule is the binding one for teens.
- Meal break
- 30 minutes
- Required after
- 5 consecutive hours
- Pay treatment
- Unpaid
Unpaid when the teen is completely relieved of duty.
No employer may work a minor under 18 more than 5 consecutive hours without a rest period of at least 30 minutes. The period need not be counted as hours worked, so it may be unpaid. Ohio has no general meal- or rest-break law for adults, so this is the only break mandate.
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: Ohio Rev. Code § 4109.07(C)
Pay & minimum wage
Ohio 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 Ohio 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.
Ohio applies its higher state minimum to workers 16 and older, with no youth subminimum below it. By the state constitution, workers under 16 (and employees of very small businesses) are instead paid the federal FLSA minimum — the federal floor in place of Ohio's higher rate, not a subminimum beneath the federal floor. So no Ohio teen can lawfully be paid less than the federal 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.
Statute: Ohio Const. art. II, § 34a; Ohio Rev. Code § 4111.14
Agricultural work carve-out
Ohio 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.
Ohio's Employment of Minors chapter (ORC 4109) is explicitly carved out for family-farm agricultural work — § 4109.06 exempts minors employed in agricultural employment on farms operated by their parents, grandparents, or guardians where the minor is a member of the operator's household. Additionally, §§ 4109.02 (16-year minimum for hazardous occupations), 4109.08 (Age and Schooling Certificate), 4109.09 (recordkeeping), and 4109.11 do NOT apply to any minor in agricultural employment who does not reside in an agricultural labor camp — meaning commercial farm work outside labor camps is largely governed by federal § 213(c) rather than state. § 4109.06 still requires a written wage agreement between an agricultural employer and a minor before employment begins. Federal Ag HO-1 to Ag HO-11 govern at 16+ off the family farm, with the federal student-learner and 4-H tractor-certification carve-outs at 14-15. Minors residing in agricultural labor camps remain subject to the state chapter — Ohio's only retained ag jurisdiction.
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: Ohio Revised Code § 4109.06 (Chapter Not Applicable to family-farm minors; ORC §§ 4109.02, 4109.08, 4109.09, 4109.11 do not apply to ag minors not in labor camps)
Family-business carve-out
Ohio extends the federal parent-owned-business carve-out beyond the federal "parent only" rule — the rules below apply for family-owned non-agricultural businesses in this state.
Federal hazardous orders always apply — the parent-owned-business carve-out never reaches mining, manufacturing, or HO-listed work.
Ohio Revised Code § 4109.06 exempts a minor who is a member of the household of the operator (where the operator is the minor's parent, grandparent, or guardian) from the chapter's age, hour, and Age and Schooling Certificate requirements — extending the federal § 213(c)(1)(C) carve-out by including grandparents. Ohio's broader carve-out at § 4109.07 also exempts minors employed in occasional or casual work, newspaper delivery, and certain other narrow categories. For a parent-owned or grandparent-owned non-agricultural business in Ohio, no state Age and Schooling Certificate is required, and the state's hour caps under § 4109.07 (3 hrs/school day, 18 hrs/school week, 8 hrs/non-school day, 40 hrs/non-school week for under-16) do not apply to the household-employed minor. Federal hazardous orders HO-1 through HO-17 always apply, as does Ohio's hazardous-occupations list at § 4109.02 — the exemption never reaches mining, manufacturing, or HO-listed occupations.
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: Ohio Revised Code §§ 4109.06, 4109.07 (exemptions from Age and Schooling Certificate); § 4109.02 (hazardous occupations)
Entertainment-industry work
Ohio 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 Ohio 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: Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4109 (§§ 4109.01-4109.99)
US DOL Wage & Hour Division: https://com.ohio.gov/divisions-and-programs/industrial-compliance/minor-labor/minor-labor-laws
Last verified:
Informational only — verify with the Ohio Department of Labor before hiring or starting work.
Frequently asked questions
- Can a 14-year-old work in Ohio?
- Yes — under Ohio 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 Ohio work permit is required.
- How many hours can a 15-year-old work during school in Ohio?
- When school is in session, Ohio 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 Ohio require a work permit for minors?
- Yes — Ohio requires a work permit for minors aged 14-17 (form: Age and Schooling Certificate (Form 1-IM-2)). The minor obtains a Pledge of Employment from the prospective employer, then applies at their school's administrative office with proof of age, a physician's certificate of physical fitness, and parent or guardian consent. The certificate is job-specific and must be reissued for each new employer.
- Does a minor get a meal break in Ohio?
- Yes. Ohio requires a 30-minute unpaid meal break once a worker reaches 5 consecutive hours; the rule applies to 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 Ohio?
- Generally no. Ohio 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 Ohio Department of Labor. See the Pay and minimum wage section on this page.
- What jobs can a minor not do in Ohio?
- Ohio prohibits minors from a number of hazardous occupations, including: all federal hazardous orders ho-1 through ho-17; operating power-driven meat-processing machines; door-to-door sales for minors under 16 without adult supervision. The full list of federal hazardous orders (HO-1 through HO-17) also applies. See the Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4109 (§§ 4109.01-4109.99) citation on this page for the statutory source.