Child labor law violations in California carry civil penalties from $500 to $10,000 per offense, and willful violations are misdemeanors punishable by up to six months in county jail and fines up to $10,000. The state sorts violations into two severity classes, escalates repeat offenses, and allows federal penalties to stack on top of state fines. The same illegal shift can produce a state citation, a criminal charge, and a separate federal penalty.
Class A and Class B Citations
California Labor Code Section 1288 divides child labor violations into two tiers.1California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 1288 Class A covers the most dangerous conduct: employing minors in prohibited occupations, violating hazardous duty restrictions, working a minor past the eight-hour daily limit under Section 1392, and anything else the Director of Industrial Relations determines poses an imminent danger or substantial risk of death or serious harm. Each Class A violation runs $5,000 to $10,000.
Class B covers violations tied to a minor’s health, safety, or security that fall short of Class A severity. The statute names three in particular: failure to keep work permits on file under Section 1299, entertainment permit violations under Section 1308.5, and first- or second-time violations of the hours restrictions in Section 1391. Each Class B violation runs $500 to $1,000.
Both ranges are assessed per violation and per affected minor. An employer who schedules five minors past the legal cutoff accumulates five separate fines, not one. An employer who sends three minors into a prohibited job faces three Class A penalties.
The escalation rule catches repeat offenders. A Section 1391 hours violation is Class B the first and second time. The third one jumps to Class A. That takes a ceiling of $1,000 and turns it into a floor of $5,000, still per minor.
Criminal Penalties
Civil fines are not the ceiling. Under Labor Code Section 1308, anyone who willfully violates the rules governing minor employment faces up to $10,000 in fines, up to six months in county jail, or both.2California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 1308 Willfulness matters. An employer who genuinely did not know a worker was underage may have a defense. An employer who ignored a missing work permit and put a 15-year-old on a factory shift does not.
Section 1303 offers a broader criminal provision covering the child labor chapter generally, but jail time under that section is reserved for repeat offenders already convicted of a prior child labor offense. First-time offenders under general provisions face fines and a misdemeanor record. First-time violators of Section 1308’s specific provisions can face jail immediately.
Entertainment work is treated the same way. Employing a minor in theater, film, television, radio, music recording, advertising, or photographic modeling without the Labor Commissioner’s written permit is a misdemeanor, and the missing permit creates a legal presumption that the employment was illegal.3California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 1308.5
Liability reaches past the business owner. Any person who permits a minor to work illegally can be prosecuted, including managers, supervisors, and parents or guardians who allow the employment.3California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 1308.5 Civil and criminal penalties also apply independently. The same conduct can produce a $10,000 administrative fine and a separate $10,000 criminal fine with jail time.
Federal Penalties on Top
California employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act face a second enforcement layer. Whichever standard protects the minor more strictly applies, and compliance with one law does not excuse violation of the other.4eCFR. Child Labor Regulations, Orders and Statements of Interpretation
Federal civil penalties run higher than California’s. As of 2026, each federal violation can draw up to $16,035 per affected minor. When a violation causes the death or serious injury of a worker under 18, the penalty jumps to $72,876 and can be doubled for willful or repeated violations.5eCFR. Child Labor Violations – Civil Money Penalties These penalties stack on top of state fines and any criminal consequences. An employer who puts a 16-year-old on a prohibited meat-processing machine can face a $10,000 Class A state citation, prosecution under Section 1308, and a $16,035 federal penalty from the Wage and Hour Division for the same incident.
What Triggers a Citation
Three categories of conduct generate most child labor citations: putting a minor in a prohibited job, working a minor beyond the legal hours, and paperwork failures.
Prohibited and Hazardous Occupations
Labor Code Section 1290 broadly bars employing any minor under 16 in connection with any manufacturing establishment or other place of employment, except where other statutes carve out an exception.6California Department of Industrial Relations. Child Labor Laws Pamphlet A 15-year-old generally cannot work in a factory, warehouse, or construction site regardless of how safe the specific task looks.
For all minors under 18, Section 1294.1 incorporates the 17 federal Hazardous Occupation Orders in 29 CFR Part 570 directly into state law.4eCFR. Child Labor Regulations, Orders and Statements of Interpretation Those orders bar 16- and 17-year-olds from explosives work, radioactive materials, power-driven woodworking machines, meat-processing equipment, roofing, excavation, demolition, and logging, among others. Violations in this category are Class A offenses.
Hours Violations
Hour limits vary by age and by whether school is in session, and every cap is independently enforceable.
For 16- and 17-year-olds during the school year: no more than four hours on a school day, no more than 48 hours in any week, no work past 10:00 p.m. on nights before a school day, and no work past 12:30 a.m. on non-school nights.7California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 1391 The 48-hour weekly ceiling does not reset during school breaks.
For minors under 16 during school weeks: three hours on a school day, 18 hours total per week. During summer and other breaks: up to eight hours a day, no work before 7:00 a.m. or after 7:00 p.m. at any time of year.7California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 1391 Federal rules extend the evening cutoff to 9:00 p.m. between June 1 and Labor Day for 14- and 15-year-olds, but because California’s 7:00 p.m. limit is stricter, it governs.8U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #43: Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for Nonagricultural Occupations
Section 1392 adds a separate criminal provision. Anyone who has control over a minor as a ward or apprentice and requires that minor to work more than eight hours in a single day commits a misdemeanor, independent of the civil penalty system. The same overlong shift can draw both a fine and a criminal charge.
Permit and Record Failures
Before a minor begins work, the employer must have a valid Permit to Employ and Work on file, issued through the minor’s school district under Education Code Section 49110.9California Department of Education. Work Permits for Students Letting the permit expire or never obtaining one is a standalone violation.
Section 1299 requires employers to keep all work permits and employment certificates on file and available at any time for inspection by school attendance officers, probation officers, the State Board of Education, and the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.10California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 1299 Failing to produce records on request is a Class B violation, and inspectors treat missing paperwork as presumptive evidence that the employment itself was illegal.
Entertainment employment runs on its own permit system. Under Section 1308.5, the Labor Commissioner must issue a written permit before any minor under 16 can work in covered entertainment categories, and performers aged 8 to 18 need the permit to work past 10:00 p.m. in productions running until midnight. Applicants between 14 and 17 must complete sexual harassment prevention training before the permit will issue.11California Department of Industrial Relations. Entertainment Work Permit for Minors
One Narrow Exemption Worth Flagging
The parent-employer exemption is the one that trips people up. Parents or guardians who employ their own children in agriculture, horticulture, viticulture, or domestic labor on property they own or control are exempt from work permits, most hour restrictions, and hazardous occupation prohibitions.6California Department of Industrial Relations. Child Labor Laws Pamphlet It stops there. A parent who owns a restaurant or retail store does not qualify and must follow every standard child labor rule when employing their own children.
Reporting a Violation
Anyone who witnesses or suspects a child labor violation can file a complaint with the Labor Commissioner’s Office online, by mail, or in person at the district office covering the location where the violation happened.12California Department of Industrial Relations. Report a Labor Law Violation
Federal law protects workers who report, regardless of immigration status. Under the FLSA’s whistleblower provisions, employers cannot fire, demote, cut hours, deny promotions, or take any other action that would discourage a reasonable person from raising a youth employment concern.13U.S. Department of Labor. Whistleblower Protections Retaliation is itself a separate violation that can trigger additional penalties, reinstatement, and damages.