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Question: How long can 16 - year olds work on school days?

Answer: 16- and 17-year olds may be employed for unlimited hours if they are working in a job considered non-hazardous. There are no federal laws restricting the number of hours of work per day or per week for 16 and 17 year olds.

 

However kids age 14 and 15 may only work outside school hours in certain jobs under the following conditions:

no more than 3 hours on a school day,
18 hours in a school week,
8 hours on a nonschool day, or
40 hours in a nonschool week.

In addition, they may not begin work before 7 a.m. nor work after 7 p.m., except from June 1 through Labor Day, when evening hours are extended until 9 p.m.

For more on Child Labor Laws, visit the United States Department of Labor Web Site. And read the special section on Child Labor Laws.
Comments
6 thru 10 of 48 comments
On 09/12/05
latoya from DC said:
hi my name is latoya and want to know why i can not work for as long as i want and the hours is not right i feel that the parnet should say how long they want the teen to work i thank the law should not have a thing to do about it and i will to work after school not at no 7am no 7pm i want to work any time after school
On 06/01/05
Jocelyn from MA said:
I think that it is not fair that 16 and 17 year olds can leave during school hours to got to work i undersatnd that you need money but go to work after school like the rest of us
On 05/17/05
Amber Shook from GA said:
i work up close to 50 hours a week as a waitress at a mexican resturant and i have honor roll i dont think we should have a limited on the hours we can work i think if you can handle it then do it i get paid GOOD money as a waitress and i like to work i work 7 days a week from 5pm to 11:30 pm and i bring home about $450 a week in tips i thin to me it is worth if i need a day off then i get it but if not then thats just more monry in my pocket so i can go shopping! i guess you all have your own opinion but mine is if you can handle more that 25 hours a week DO IT it is good for you work habit!
On 04/01/05
jon from MI said:
we're "allowed" 18 hours a week, if the business has students working more than that and they are caught, they(the business) can get in trouble
On 03/16/05
tasha from OK said:
I have been working for about 6 months and i still have to keep up with my grades adn i have been pulling 14 hour shifts on the weekends and when mondays come i wanna sleep.. so yea it is hard but i am doing it..
6 thru 10 of 48 comments


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