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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
11 thru 15 of 48 comments
On 03/13/05
Kaiti from AZ said:
There's no law for how many hours a 16-year-old can work? It sucks ... My best friend just got a job a few days ago, and she's already been working all day every day since she got the job, well, starting after school on Friday and she's working all day today too ... How are teens supposed to keep their grades up when they work so many hours?
On 11/23/04
JC from MO said:
Does anyone realize that tons of teenagers work outrageous hours and are still expected to keep good grades
On 04/23/04
SASHE from TX said:
WELL KIDS MY AGE SHOULD WORK IN SOMEBODY'S JOB BECAUSE THAT GIVES YOU A HEAD START ON LIFE AND HARD WORK?
On 04/22/04
Alicia from NY said:
but you need to understand that kids have parents for a reason and they shouldn't push there kids into having a job to soon.Parents want us kids to go to scholl then let is go and have fun stop pushing us to get a job when the time is right yes we should go and get a same part time job but for now let us young ones live our lives and go to school and have fun!!!
On 04/22/04
Alici from NY said:
you are to young to get a job you need to worry about school you are goin go to make your life way to hard if you try and get a job at your age!!!!!!
11 thru 15 of 48 comments


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