How Many Hours Can 16-Year-Olds Work a Week?

Federal law sets no weekly hour limit for a 16-year-old, so how many hours a 16-year-old can work in a week is decided by state law. During the school year, state caps commonly land between 18 and 30 hours per week. During summer and other school breaks, many states allow 40 hours or more. The Fair Labor Standards Act is silent on hours for this age group, which means your state’s child labor rules are the ones that actually govern your schedule.¹

Why Federal Law Doesn’t Cap Your Hours at 16

The FLSA draws a sharp line at age 16. Workers who are 14 or 15 are held to strict federal limits: no more than 3 hours on a school day, no more than 18 hours in a school week, and work only between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. (extended to 9 p.m. in summer). Once you turn 16, those federal restrictions disappear.¹ There is no federal cap on your daily hours, weekly hours, or the time of day you work. As far as the FLSA is concerned, a 16-year-old’s schedule can look identical to an adult’s, so long as the job itself isn’t on the federal list of prohibited hazardous occupations.

Federal law also doesn’t require meal or rest breaks for workers of any age, including minors.¹ Many states fill that gap for teen workers, so don’t assume a long shift comes with a guaranteed lunch period without checking your state’s rules.

State Law Is What Actually Limits Your Week

Because federal law is silent, state child labor laws are where the real numbers live. Nearly every state has its own daily and weekly caps, time-of-day curfews, and mandatory break rules for teen workers. When a state law is more protective than the federal standard, the stricter state rule controls.² If your state caps 16-year-olds at 30 hours per week during the school year, that cap is the law you follow.

The variation between states is wide. Some cap the workweek at 48 hours even outside of school. Others mirror the federal approach and impose almost no restrictions on 16- and 17-year-olds. Most states also set a nighttime curfew barring work past a certain hour on nights before a school day. The U.S. Department of Labor keeps a state-by-state comparison chart, and it’s the fastest way to pin down your own limits.³

School-Year Hours

States get most restrictive when school is in session. Typical school-year rules for 16-year-olds include a weekly cap somewhere between 18 and 30 hours, a daily limit of about 4 hours on school days, and a nighttime curfew that usually falls between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. on evenings before a school day. Some states relax the curfew on Friday and Saturday nights since you don’t have class the next morning. The point of these rules is to keep the job from crowding out homework, sleep, and attendance.

Homeschooled teens are a partial exception. A handful of states exempt 16- and 17-year-olds enrolled in approved home-education or virtual-instruction programs from the school-session hour limits that apply to their traditionally-schooled peers. The exemption varies, so verify with your state labor department before assuming standard school-year caps don’t apply.

Summer and Break Hours

When school is out for summer, winter, or spring break, state rules loosen. Weekly caps often expand to 40 or 48 hours, daily limits rise to 8 or 10 hours, and nighttime curfews push later. This is when most teens load up on hours, and the law is built to allow it.

A higher state weekly cap doesn’t eliminate overtime, though. Under the FLSA, any non-exempt employee who works more than 40 hours in a single workweek is entitled to time-and-a-half pay for every hour beyond 40, and that rule applies regardless of age. If your state permits a 48-hour week for 16-year-olds, the last 8 hours should be paid at the overtime rate.

Jobs You Still Can’t Do at 16

Hour limits are only part of the picture. Even in states with no weekly cap, federal law prohibits workers under 18 from performing certain dangerous tasks. The Secretary of Labor has issued 17 Hazardous Occupations Orders that apply nationwide, and no state law or parental permission can override them.⁴ Ones a 16-year-old is most likely to run into include:

Power-driven machinery such as woodworking machines, metal-forming machines, commercial bakery equipment, meat slicers, and circular or band saws.
Driving a motor vehicle on public roads as part of the job, or riding as an outside helper on a truck.
Roofing, demolition, excavation, and any work on or about a roof.
Coal mining, other mining operations, and manufacturing or storing explosives.
Logging, forest firefighting, operating forklifts or hoisting equipment, and exposure to radioactive substances.

The hazardous orders target specific tasks and equipment, not whole industries. A 16-year-old can work in a restaurant kitchen; they just can’t operate the commercial deli slicer. Retail, most food service, office work, lifeguarding, and tutoring are all legal at 16.

The driving prohibition catches teens and employers off guard often enough to flag on its own. No worker under 17 may drive a motor vehicle on public roads as part of the job, period.⁵ A valid driver’s license doesn’t change that. If a manager asks you to run to the bank or drop off a delivery, the answer is no.

Pay at 16

Employers can pay workers under 20 a youth minimum wage of $4.25 per hour during the first 90 consecutive calendar days of employment.⁶ Those 90 days run on the calendar, not on days you actually work, so the clock keeps moving during weeks with no shifts. After 90 days (or on your 20th birthday, whichever comes first), your employer has to pay at least the standard federal minimum of $7.25 per hour.⁷

Many states set their minimum wage well above the federal floor, and those higher rates apply to teen workers. If your state minimum is $15, the federal youth rate is largely beside the point. Federal overtime rules also apply fully to 16-year-olds. Some employers wrongly believe minors are exempt from overtime. They aren’t.

If Your Employer Is Breaking the Rules

Employers who violate child labor rules face significant federal penalties. The current maximum civil penalty is $16,035 for each minor affected by a violation, whether the problem is illegal hours, prohibited work, or missing paperwork. If a violation causes a worker under 18 to be seriously injured or killed, the maximum jumps to $72,876, and that figure can be doubled for willful or repeated violations.⁸ The figures are adjusted for inflation each year.

If you think an employer is pushing you past your state’s hour limits or assigning you to prohibited tasks, you can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division online or by phone at 1-866-487-9243.⁹ You don’t need a lawyer, your identity can be kept confidential, and a field office will typically follow up within two business days.

1
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #43: Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for Nonagricultural Occupations
2
U.S. Department of Labor. YouthRules – Resources on Young Workers’ Rights
3
U.S. Department of Labor. Selected State Child Labor Standards Affecting Minors Under 18 in Non-Farm Employment
4
U.S. Department of Labor. elaws – FLSA – Child Labor Rules – Hazardous Occupations
5
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #34: Hazardous Occupations Order No. 2 – Youth Employment in Motor Vehicle Related Occupations
6
U.S. Department of Labor. Youth Minimum Wage – Fair Labor Standards Act
7
U.S. Department of Labor. State Minimum Wage Laws
8
eCFR. 29 CFR Part 579 – Child Labor Violations – Civil Money Penalties
9
Worker.gov. Filing a Complaint With the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD)