How Late Can You Work as a Minor: Cutoffs by Age and State

Under federal law, how late a minor can work depends entirely on age. If you’re 14 or 15, you have to stop by 7 p.m. on most days, with the cutoff pushed to 9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day. If you’re 16 or 17, federal law sets no nighttime cutoff at all, though many states impose their own. School status and the day of the week also change what’s allowed within those windows.

The 7 p.m. Cutoff for 14- and 15-Year-Olds

The Fair Labor Standards Act puts the strictest clock on the youngest legal workers. If you’re 14 or 15 in a non-agricultural job, all your work has to happen between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. for most of the year.¹

From June 1 through Labor Day, that evening cutoff moves to 9 p.m. The extension covers the summer stretch and then reverts on the day after Labor Day, regardless of when your local school year actually starts.¹

The nighttime rule is only one piece of the schedule for this age group. The daily and weekly caps matter just as much:

On a school day, no more than 3 hours of work.
In a school week, no more than 18 hours total.
On a non-school day, up to 8 hours.
In a non-school week, up to 40 hours.
No work during school hours at all.

So a 14-year-old cannot legally close down a fast-food restaurant at 10 p.m. on a Tuesday in October, even if the manager asks and the parents agree. The 7 p.m. limit is federal and does not bend for staffing shortages or convenience.

No Federal Cutoff for 16- and 17-Year-Olds

Once you turn 16, the FLSA’s hour restrictions disappear. Federal law does not cap how many hours a 16- or 17-year-old works, what time the shift starts, or how late it runs.² Under the federal rule alone, a 17-year-old could legally work an overnight shift on a school night.

That surprises most parents and most teens. It’s also why the real answer for this age group usually comes from state law rather than federal law. The job restrictions still apply. A 16- or 17-year-old cannot work in any occupation the Secretary of Labor has declared hazardous, no matter what time of day it happens.² But the clock itself is unregulated federally.

State Curfews Fill the Gap

Federal rules set the floor. When a state law is stricter, the stricter rule wins.³ For 16- and 17-year-olds, this is where the actual nighttime limit comes from in most of the country.

A typical state curfew for older teens prohibits work past 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. on school nights, with later cutoffs on weekends and during summer. Some states also set weekly hour caps for 16- and 17-year-olds during the school year. The specifics vary widely enough that no single number covers the country. Check your own state’s Department of Labor site for the exact times.

States can also tighten the rules for 14- and 15-year-olds beyond the federal 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. cutoffs, though the federal minimum already does most of the work for that age group. Employers are responsible for following whichever rule gives the minor more protection.

When the Cutoffs Don’t Apply

A few situations sit outside the standard federal hour rules entirely.

Working in a Parent’s Business

If your parent or legal guardian solely owns the business, the federal hour restrictions do not apply to you. The safety limits still do: a child under 16 cannot do manufacturing or mining work in a parent’s business, and no one under 18 can perform any of the jobs on the Hazardous Occupations Orders list. The exemption applies only when the parent truly owns the business outright. A minor helping a parent who is an employee of someone else’s company gets no exemption.⁴

Farm Work

Agriculture runs on separate rules. Children as young as 12 can work on a farm outside of school hours with written parental consent or when a parent works on the same farm. At 14, a minor can hold any non-hazardous agricultural job. The nighttime cutoffs that apply to retail and food service do not carry over to farm work in the same form.⁵

Actors, Newspaper Delivery, and Babysitting

Federal child labor rules do not apply to children working as actors or performers in movies, theater, radio, or television. Newspaper delivery to consumers is fully exempt, as is casual babysitting. A child actor can legally work outside the normal hour windows under federal law.⁶ State law may still impose its own limits, and states often have detailed rules for child performers specifically.

What Happens If an Employer Ignores the Rules

The Wage and Hour Division can impose civil penalties of up to $16,035 per employee for a child labor violation. If the violation causes serious injury or death to a minor, the maximum climbs to $72,876 per incident, and doubles to $145,752 when the violation was willful or repeated.⁷ Because these are per-employee figures, an employer who schedules several teens past the cutoff on the same night can accumulate penalties quickly.

Willful FLSA violations can also lead to criminal prosecution, with fines up to $10,000 and up to six months in prison. A second criminal conviction can result in imprisonment.⁸

If you think an employer is scheduling minors past the legal cutoff, you can file a confidential complaint with the Wage and Hour Division at 1-866-487-9243. The agency does not disclose the name of the person who filed, and employers are prohibited from retaliating against anyone who reports a violation or cooperates with an investigation.⁹

1
U.S. Department of Labor. Non-Agricultural Jobs – 14-15
2
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 43 – Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act for Nonagricultural Occupations
3
U.S. Department of Labor. Wages and the Fair Labor Standards Act
4
eCFR. 29 CFR 570.126 – Parental Exemption
5
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 40 – Overview of Youth Employment (Child Labor) Provisions of the FLSA for Agricultural Occupations
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 213 – Exemptions
7
U.S. Department of Labor. Civil Money Penalty Inflation Adjustments
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 216 – Penalties
9
U.S. Department of Labor. How to File a Complaint