Child Labor

The provisions in Federal and state child labor laws and regulations apply to youths under age 18 in most cases.

Child labor is regulated at the Federal level by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which also regulates overtime pay and minimum wage for all eligible workers. (Click the latter link for the FLSA minimum-wage provisions for youths under age 20.)

In a nutshell, the FLSA child labor provisions:

• Set the minimum "legal" work age at 14 for most types of employment
• Prohibit employing youths under 18 in dangerous jobs
• Limit the daily and weekly work hours that employers may schedule for employees under the age of 16

For more information about child labor work hour restrictions under the FLSA, see Work Hours - Child Labor.

Although relatively strict for the sake of children, the FLSA does allow child labor age exceptions for certain types of work.

For example, children of any age may baby-sit, deliver newspapers, perform as actors, work in their parents' businesses (except mining, manufacturing or hazardous jobs), and perform minor chores around private homes; children younger than age 14 may work in agriculture, but only under certain conditions.

The FLSA sets the minimum standards for all states. According to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), all states have enacted child labor laws that include or expand the minimum provisions in the FLSA. State provisions are permitted to be more restrictive, but not less.

Consequently, child labor law provisions vary from state to state and might be even more restrictive than those in the FLSA. Youths in each state are protected by whichever law affords them the most protection.

More about Child Labor Laws

The DOL enforces Federal child labor laws and related rules under the FLSA. For more information about restrictions and exceptions, see FLSA - Child Labor Rules at the DOL Web site.

For summaries of selected types of state child labor laws, see Fair Labor Standards by the DOL. For more detailed information about a state's child labor laws, the Web site of the relevant state labor department is likely to be a good place to start. See also State Labor Laws.