In Connecticut, a 17-year-old enrolled in school can work up to 6 hours on a school day and no more than 32 hours in any week when classes are in session. During summer, winter, and spring breaks, those caps rise to 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week, with at least one day off every week. How late you can stay on the clock depends on the kind of business you work for.
School-Week Limits
When your school is in session, the ceiling is 32 hours for the week and 6 hours on a regular school day.1Justia Law. Connecticut Code 31-12 – Hours of Employment in Manufacturing and Mechanical Establishments The same caps apply in retail and similar jobs.2Justia Law. Connecticut Code 31-13 – Hours of Employment in Mercantile Establishments
Two things loosen that daily number. If a school day falls right before a day with no school, you can work 8 hours that day instead of 6. So a Friday before a free Saturday allows a full 8-hour shift. Saturdays, Sundays, and other non-school days during the school year also allow 8 hours. The 32-hour weekly total still holds, no matter how the daily hours fall.
The work week is capped at six days, so at least one full day off is built into the law.3CT Department of Labor. Time and Hour Restrictions for 16 and 17 Year-Old Minors
Hours spent in a school-sponsored co-op placement, work-study assignment, or school-to-work program don’t count toward your daily or weekly limits.1Justia Law. Connecticut Code 31-12 – Hours of Employment in Manufacturing and Mechanical Establishments You can do an approved program during the school day and still work your regular job within the standard caps afterward.
Summer and Vacation Hours
When school isn’t in session, the limits open up to 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week, still with a six-day maximum.3CT Department of Labor. Time and Hour Restrictions for 16 and 17 Year-Old Minors This covers summer break, winter break, spring break, and any other stretch when classes aren’t held.
Federal law sets no hour limits at all for workers 16 and older,4U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 43 – Child Labor Provisions of the FLSA for Nonagricultural Occupations but when the state rule is stricter, the state rule controls. Connecticut’s 48-hour weekly cap is the one that applies.
Once you cross 40 hours in a single week, overtime pay kicks in. Your employer owes time-and-a-half for every hour past 40 unless a specific exemption applies. Age doesn’t exempt anyone.5U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 23 – Overtime Pay Requirements of the FLSA
How Early and How Late You Can Work
Every job covered by these rules has the same earliest start: 6:00 a.m. The latest hour depends on the industry.
Manufacturing, Mechanical, and Retail
In manufacturing, mechanical, and retail jobs, the baseline cutoff is 10:00 p.m. On any night that doesn’t come before a scheduled school day, you can stay on until 11:00 p.m. Supermarkets larger than 3,500 square feet get an extra hour on those non-school nights, allowing shifts until midnight.6Justia Law. Connecticut Code 31-14 – Night Work of Minors Regulated
You cannot be fired or disciplined for refusing to work past 10:00 p.m. That protection is written into the statute and still applies even if you agreed to later hours when hired.6Justia Law. Connecticut Code 31-14 – Night Work of Minors Regulated
Restaurants, Amusement, and Recreational Jobs
Restaurants, theaters, bowling alleys, and amusement and recreational businesses run on a different schedule. If you’re in school, you can work until 11:00 p.m. the night before a school day and until midnight on non-school nights and during vacation periods. If you’re not attending school, you can work until midnight.7Connecticut General Assembly. Connecticut General Statutes Chapter 557 – Employment Regulation
If You’ve Graduated or Left School
The hour limits above assume you’re a 17-year-old in school. Different numbers apply if you’re not.
High school graduates aren’t bound by Connecticut’s daily or weekly caps or the time-of-day restrictions. You can keep an adult schedule. Federal hazardous-occupation rules still apply until you turn 18.8Connecticut Department of Labor. Employment of Minors
If you’ve left school without graduating, the ceilings shift. In manufacturing, restaurants, and similar businesses, you can work up to 9 hours a day and 48 hours a week. In retail, the cap is 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week, with the six-day limit still in place.1Justia Law. Connecticut Code 31-12 – Hours of Employment in Manufacturing and Mechanical Establishments2Justia Law. Connecticut Code 31-13 – Hours of Employment in Mercantile Establishments
A narrower extension exists in manufacturing. If an employer shows the Labor Commissioner that an emergency or seasonal peak exists, out-of-school minors can be approved for up to 10 hours a day and 55 hours a week, capped at 12 such weeks in any 12-month period.1Justia Law. Connecticut Code 31-12 – Hours of Employment in Manufacturing and Mechanical Establishments
Hours Alone Don’t Make a Job Legal
Even inside the legal hours, some jobs are off-limits until you turn 18. Federal rules prohibit anyone under 18 from operating meat slicers (including in delis and restaurants), driving motor vehicles for the job, roofing, operating forklifts or backhoes, running power saws and woodworking machines, mining, demolition, and handling explosives or radioactive materials.9U.S. Department of Labor. What Jobs Are Off-Limits for Kids Connecticut adds its own list through state regulations, covering construction, dry cleaning machine operation, printing press operation, spray painting, exposure to electrical circuits beyond double-insulated tools, and work with flammable or corrosive materials.10Connecticut eRegulations. Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies Title 31 Section 31-23
Limited exemptions exist for students in approved apprenticeship or student-learner programs, with required documentation and supervision.11U.S. Department of Labor. FLSA Child Labor Rules – Youth Under 18
Working Papers Before Your First Shift
Before you start any job, your employer needs a document called a Statement of Age on file. Most people call these working papers. The form confirms you’re old enough for the position and the hours involved.
To get one, you need a promise of employment from the employer and proof of age such as a birth certificate. Bring both to the public high school in your town, or contact your local superintendent of schools.12Connecticut Department of Labor. Employment of Minors – Frequently Asked Questions The employer has to keep the Statement of Age at the workplace and show it to a Department of Labor inspector on request.
If your schedule starts crossing the limits above, you can file a complaint with the Connecticut Department of Labor’s Wage and Workplace Standards Division.