WV · State teen labor law
West Virginia teen labor law — work hours, permits, and restricted jobs
West Virginia requires a school-issued Work Permit for minors 14-15 and follows federal FLSA caps for that age group. 16-17-year-olds face no state restrictions. Coal-mining work remains prohibited for any minor under state statute.
Quick facts
School year vs summer hour caps
West Virginia 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: 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
- Max hours per day
- No state limit
- Max hours per week
- No state limit
- Time window
- No state limit
Note: West Virginia imposes no state hour or time-of-day restriction on 16- and 17-year-olds.
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
West Virginia requires a work permit for minors aged 14–15.
Minors 14-15 must obtain a Work Permit from their school superintendent before starting any employment. The minor presents the employer's Promise of Employment along with proof of age and parental consent. The permit is job-specific. 16- and 17-year-olds do not need a permit.
Form: West Virginia Work Permit (Form WV WP-1)
West Virginia work-permit reference (official source) →
Jobs by age
Age-specific guides to common allowed jobs in West Virginia, 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
Coal mining and underground mining (any minor)
State: WV Code §21-6-2
Door-to-door sales for minors under 16 without adult supervision
State: WV Code §21-6-3
Sale or service of alcohol for minors under 18
State: WV Code §60-3A-25
See the full federal hazardous orders (HO-1 to HO-17) for plain-English summaries, or the West Virginia hazardous-orders deep-dive for the federal floor plus West Virginia-specific additions.
Breaks & meal periods
West Virginia 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.
West Virginia's break rule is tiered by age. The minor-specific child-labor provision (cited by the WV Division of Labor as § 21-6-6(7)) requires that 14- and 15-year-olds who work 5 or more hours in a day be given a 30-minute lunch period — this does not extend to 16- and 17-year-olds. Older teens (and adults) instead fall under the general law § 21-3-10a, which gives a 20-minute meal break (not 30) on any workday of 6 or more hours, and only where employees are not otherwise allowed to take necessary breaks or eat while working. Both breaks are unpaid. West Virginia mandates no short paid rest break at any age.
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: W. Va. Code § 21-6-6(7) (ages 14-15); § 21-3-10a (general)
Pay & minimum wage
West Virginia lets some teens, or inexperienced first-job and trainee workers, be paid below the standard state minimum wage. The structure below is stable, but the dollar amount changes almost every year — confirm the current figure with the West Virginia Department of Labor.
- How minors are paid
- Youth / training subminimum allowed
- State minimum wage
- Set by state law
- Below-minimum youth rate
- Permitted
- Subminimum structure
- West Virginia sets its own state minimum above the federal $7.25 floor, but W. Va. Code § 21-5C-2(b) authorizes a certificate-free statutory training wage. An employer may pay this lower training rate to a worker who has NOT attained age 20, only for a cumulative period of not more than 90 days per employee. No special Department of Labor certificate is required — any ordinary first-job teen under 20 can be paid this rate during their first 90 cumulative days. (The statute floors the training rate at a fixed amount no lower than the federal subminimum training wage; the figure is omitted here because it changes.)
Classified subminimum-allowed because § 21-5C-2(b) is a general, certificate-free training wage that an ordinary teen under 20 can actually be paid (not a DOL-certificate-only student-learner/apprentice path). The provision is not '85% of the minimum' and is not in § 21-5C-3 (that section covers maximum hours/overtime): § 21-5C-2(b)(1) sets the training-wage floor, § 21-5C-2(b)(2) restricts it to workers who have not attained age 20 and to a cumulative period of not more than 90 days per employee, and § 21-5C-2(b)(3) ties it to the federal subminimum training wage under 29 U.S.C. § 206(g)(1). Coverage nuance (§ 21-5C-1(e)): a covered employer must employ 6 or more workers at one location and not already have 80% or more of its workforce subject to the federal minimum-wage act; for FLSA-covered employers the federal scheme controls instead.
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: W. Va. Code § 21-5C-2(b) (subminimum training wage); coverage definition at § 21-5C-1(e)
Agricultural work carve-out
West Virginia 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.
West Virginia explicitly carves agriculture and horticulture out of its child-labor act in two ways. § 21-6-1 permits children under 14 to work in agriculture and horticulture activities that have not been declared hazardous by the U.S. Department of Labor — a state-level extension of the federal Ag HO list (under-14 ag work is allowed if not on any Ag HO). Separately, work defined as agricultural or horticultural is exempt from the Work Permit (age certificate) requirement, so the WV WP-1 does not apply to farm work. As a result, West Virginia imposes no state minimum age, no daily/weekly hour cap, and no employment certificate on minor agricultural employment — the federal § 213(c) floor governs commercial farm work outside the family farm. 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, with the federal student-learner and 4-H tractor-certification carve-outs at 14-15. Note that West Virginia's all-minor coal-mining prohibition (W. Va. Code § 21-6-2) is independent of the agricultural carve-out and continues to apply.
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: W. Va. Code §§ 21-6-1 (agriculture and horticulture not declared hazardous by U.S. DOL exempted from under-14 prohibition), 21-6-3 (work-permit/age-certificate carve-out for ag and horticulture)
Family-business carve-out
West Virginia 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.
West Virginia's Chapter 21-6 child-labor act carries the federal parent-employed exemption forward. The state's school-issued WV WP-1 Work Permit (required for 14-15-year-olds) does not separately reach minors working in a parent-owned non-hazardous business — federal § 213(c)(1)(C) governs, and 16-17-year-olds face no state restrictions. Federal hazardous orders HO-1 through HO-17 always apply (no parent-owned-business carve-out exists for them), and West Virginia's distinctive all-minor coal-mining prohibition under § 21-6-2 carries through regardless of parent ownership — a parent-owned coal mine cannot employ a minor in coal-mining work in West Virginia. Parent-owned manufacturing or mining employment for under-16 remains barred by federal law. Verify the specific business context with the West Virginia Division 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: W. Va. Code §§ 21-6-1 to 21-6-13 (Child Labor); § 21-6-2 (independent coal-mining prohibition); federal mirror of 29 USC § 213(c)(1)(C)
Entertainment-industry work
West Virginia 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 West Virginia 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: West Virginia Code §§ 21-6-1 to 21-6-13 (Child Labor)
US DOL Wage & Hour Division: https://labor.wv.gov/Wage-Hour/Child_Labor/Pages/default.aspx
Last verified:
Informational only — verify with the West Virginia Department of Labor before hiring or starting work.
Frequently asked questions
- Can a 14-year-old work in West Virginia?
- Yes — under West Virginia 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 West Virginia work permit is required.
- How many hours can a 15-year-old work during school in West Virginia?
- When school is in session, West Virginia 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 West Virginia require a work permit for minors?
- Yes — West Virginia requires a work permit for minors aged 14-15 (form: West Virginia Work Permit (Form WV WP-1)). Minors 14-15 must obtain a Work Permit from their school superintendent before starting any employment. The minor presents the employer's Promise of Employment along with proof of age and parental consent. The permit is job-specific. 16- and 17-year-olds do not need a permit.
- Does a minor get a meal break in West Virginia?
- Yes. West Virginia 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 West Virginia?
- Sometimes. West Virginia lets some teens, or inexperienced first-job and trainee workers, be paid below the standard state minimum wage without a special certificate. West Virginia sets its own state minimum above the federal $7.25 floor, but W. Va. Code § 21-5C-2(b) authorizes a certificate-free statutory training wage. An employer may pay this lower training rate to a worker who has NOT attained age 20, only for a cumulative period of not more than 90 days per employee. No special Department of Labor certificate is required — any ordinary first-job teen under 20 can be paid this rate during their first 90 cumulative days. (The statute floors the training rate at a fixed amount no lower than the federal subminimum training wage; the figure is omitted here because it changes.) Minimum-wage dollar amounts change almost every year, so confirm the current figure with the West Virginia Department of Labor. See the Pay and minimum wage section on this page.
- What jobs can a minor not do in West Virginia?
- West Virginia prohibits minors from a number of hazardous occupations, including: all federal hazardous orders ho-1 through ho-17; operating power-driven meat-processing machines; coal mining and underground mining (any minor). The full list of federal hazardous orders (HO-1 through HO-17) also applies. See the West Virginia Code §§ 21-6-1 to 21-6-13 (Child Labor) citation on this page for the statutory source.