Child Labor Laws in Arizona: Hours, Hazards & Penalties

Child labor laws in Arizona come from two places at once: the state’s Title 23 statutes and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. When the two disagree, whichever rule gives the young worker more protection is the one an employer has to follow. The baseline minimum age for most non-farm jobs is 14, hour limits apply through age 15, and a list of hazardous occupations is off-limits to anyone under 18. Arizona does not issue work permits, but employers are still on the hook for verifying age and following every applicable restriction.

Minimum Age to Work in Arizona

For most non-agricultural jobs, a worker has to be at least 14. A handful of jobs are open to younger children under federal rules — newspaper delivery to consumers is the main one, and acting and performing work has its own carve-out. Farm work follows a separate federal framework that allows children as young as 12 to work on a farm outside school hours with parental consent, and sets no minimum age at all on a farm owned or operated by the child’s parents.

Hours and Curfews for Workers Under 16

Arizona Revised Statutes 23-233 caps when and how long 14- and 15-year-olds can work. On school days, the limit is 3 hours a day and 18 hours a week. On non-school days or when the minor is not enrolled, it rises to 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week.¹

The state also sets evening curfews. On a night before a school day, work has to stop by 9:30 p.m. and can’t start before 6:00 a.m. On a night before a non-school day, the window is 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. Door-to-door sales and deliveries end earlier: 7:00 p.m. most nights, with an extension to 9:30 p.m. only on nights before non-school days.¹

Federal law is stricter in the evenings. Under the FLSA, 14- and 15-year-olds cannot work past 7:00 p.m. during the school year, and that cutoff only moves to 9:00 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day.² Because the more protective rule controls, that 7:00 p.m. federal limit is the one that matters for most of the year, not Arizona’s later state curfew.

What Changes at 16 and 17

Arizona places no cap on the daily or weekly hours a 16- or 17-year-old can work, and no state curfew applies.³ Federal law likewise sets no hour limits for workers 16 and older.⁴ The practical constraints are that they cannot work during required school hours, and the hazardous-occupation list still applies in full until they turn 18.

One thing that does not change at any age: neither Arizona nor federal law requires meal or rest breaks. If an employer offers a short break of 5 to 20 minutes, federal rules treat that time as paid, but there is no legal duty to provide the break at all.

Jobs Minors Can’t Do

Hazardous Jobs Off-Limits to Anyone Under 18

Arizona Revised Statutes 23-231 lists 16 categories of hazardous work that no one under 18 can perform. Most of the state list tracks the federal hazardous occupation orders. The barred work includes jobs involving explosives, mining and quarrying, logging, demolition and wrecking, roofing, excavation and tunneling (with a narrow exception for manual digging in trenches up to two feet deep), slaughtering and meat packing, clay and silica manufacturing, and occupations exposing a worker to radiation exceeding 0.5 rem per year. Operating, cleaning, or repairing power-driven woodworking machines, metal-forming machines, meat-processing machines, bakery machines, paper-products machines, or power saws is also off-limits, as is running a power-driven hoist over one-ton capacity or a non-automatic elevator.⁵ The Industrial Commission of Arizona can add further occupations to the hazardous list by regulation.

Broader Industry Bans for Under-16 Workers

Workers under 16 face a second layer of restrictions beyond the hazardous-task list. Arizona Revised Statutes 23-232 bars this age group from entire industries: manufacturing or processing, construction, commercial laundries or dry-cleaning operations, warehousing, and work in boiler, furnace, or engine rooms.⁶ Federal law adds another layer for 14- and 15-year-olds, including a ban on any work requiring ladders or scaffolds.⁷

Driving for Work

Driving as part of a job is off-limits to under-18 workers, with a limited exception. Under ARS 23-231, a licensed minor can drive incidentally if the driving stays within either no more than 2 hours per day (or 25 percent of the work period), or fewer than 50 miles total per day.⁵ Federal Hazardous Occupation Order No. 2 is tighter: it applies only to 17-year-olds and imposes vehicle-weight, daylight, radius, and total-time conditions on top.⁸ Employers need to check both and follow whichever is stricter in the situation.

Pay for Minor Workers

Minors in Arizona have to be paid the state minimum wage, which rises to $15.15 per hour on January 1, 2026.⁹ Federal law allows a youth sub-wage of $4.25 per hour for workers under 20 during their first 90 consecutive calendar days with an employer, provided it does not displace other workers.¹⁰ Arizona’s higher minimum wins, so the practical floor in the state is $15.15 even for new teen hires.

Exceptions Worth Knowing

A few situations fall outside the standard rules under ARS 23-235 and the FLSA. A minor working in a business entirely owned by their parents is generally exempt from the hour and age limits, though the hazardous-occupation ban still applies in full — a parent cannot put their under-18 child to work in any job on the ARS 23-231 list.⁴

Child actors and performers in film, television, radio, or theater are exempt from the hour restrictions and the minimum-age rules under federal law.¹¹ Arizona adds a reporting requirement: before filming, the production company has to give the Industrial Commission the minor’s name, address, work location, hours, and the length of the production.¹²

Newspaper delivery to consumers is exempt from the ARS 23-233 hour rules, so young newspaper carriers are not bound by the curfew or daily-hour caps that apply to other under-16 workers.¹ Federal law treats delivery as one of the few jobs available to children under 14.¹³

Agricultural employment is a separate regime. Children as young as 12 can work on a farm outside school hours with parental consent on non-hazardous tasks, and there is no minimum age at all on a parent-owned farm. Under-16 farmhands are barred from 11 federal categories of hazardous agricultural work, including operating a tractor over 20 PTO horsepower, handling anhydrous ammonia, working inside grain storage structures or manure pits, and working with certain high-toxicity chemicals.

Employer Duties: Age Verification, Records, and Posting

Arizona doesn’t issue work permits, which puts the age-verification burden on the employer. Under Arizona Administrative Code R20-5-1210, an employer has to keep records with each worker’s full name, home address, and — for anyone under 19 — date of birth.¹⁴ Payroll records showing hours and wages have to be retained for the most recent four calendar years. Employers also have to post notices of employee rights, including the current minimum wage, somewhere visible in the workplace.

Penalties for Violating the Rules

Under Arizona law, when the Industrial Commission finds a youth employment violation, it issues a cease-and-desist order and can assess a civil penalty of up to $1,000.¹⁵ That cap is per violation, and a single investigation often turns up several, so the total can climb.

Federal exposure is much larger. FLSA civil penalties are adjusted annually for inflation, and as of January 2025 the maximums are:¹⁶

Up to $16,035 per employee for a general child labor violation
Up to $72,876 per violation that causes serious injury or death
Up to $145,752 per willful or repeated violation causing serious injury or death

Criminal charges are also possible. A willful violation can bring a fine of up to $10,000, and a second offense after a prior conviction can carry up to six months in prison.¹⁷

How to Report a Violation

Suspected federal child labor violations can be reported to the Wage and Hour Division at 1-866-487-9243. Complaints are confidential: the agency will not disclose the caller’s name, the nature of the complaint, or even that a complaint exists. Retaliating against someone who files a complaint or cooperates with an investigation is illegal.¹⁸ Violations of Arizona-specific rules can be reported to the Industrial Commission of Arizona. You don’t need to be the minor affected — parents, coworkers, or any third party can file.¹⁹

1
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 23 – Section 23-233
2
U.S. Department of Labor. Non-Agricultural Jobs – 14-15
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. Fact Sheet 43 – Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act for Nonagricultural Occupations
5
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 23-231 – Prohibited Employments of Persons Under the Age of Eighteen
6
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 23-232 – Prohibited Employments of Persons Under the Age of Sixteen
7
U.S. Department of Labor. Fair Labor Standards Act Advisor – Prohibited Occupations for Non-Agricultural Employees
8
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 34 – Hazardous Occupations Order No. 2
9
The Industrial Commission of Arizona. New 2026 Minimum Wage
10
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 32 – Youth Minimum Wage
11
U.S. Department of Labor. FLSA Child Labor Rules Advisor
12
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 23-235 – Exemptions
13
U.S. Department of Labor. Non-Agricultural Jobs – Under 14
14
Justia. Arizona Administrative Code R20-5-1210 – General Recordkeeping Requirements
15
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 23 – Section 23-236 – Cease and Desist Order
16
U.S. Department of Labor. Civil Money Penalty Inflation Adjustments
17
U.S. Department of Labor. FLSA – Child Labor Rules Advisor
18
U.S. Department of Labor. How to File a Complaint
19
Industrial Commission of Arizona. Labor – Youth Employment – Frequently Asked Questions