How Many Hours Can a Minor Work in Maryland: Age, Breaks, Permits

In Maryland, how many hours a minor can work depends on age. Workers who are 14 or 15 can put in up to 3 hours on a school day and 18 hours during a school week, rising to 8 hours a day and 40 a week when school is out. Workers who are 16 or 17 have no fixed daily or weekly cap, but their school hours and work hours combined cannot exceed 12 in a day, and they must get 8 consecutive non-work, non-school hours in every 24. State and federal rules both apply, and whichever is stricter controls.

Hours for 14- and 15-Year-Olds

This is the age group with the tightest limits, and the numbers can look contradictory because Maryland Code Section 3-211 and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act don’t agree. Maryland allows up to 4 hours on a school day and 23 hours in a school week. The FLSA caps the same age group at 3 hours on a school day and 18 hours in a school week. Because both laws apply, the stricter federal number wins in practice: 3 hours on school days, 18 hours per school week.¹

When school is not in session, both laws allow up to 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week.¹

Clock-hour limits work the same way. Federal rules bar work before 7:00 a.m. or after 7:00 p.m. during most of the year. Maryland’s own cutoff is 8:00 p.m. from the day after Labor Day through the day before Memorial Day, but the stricter federal 7:00 p.m. controls during the school year. From June 1 through Labor Day, both laws stretch the evening cutoff to 9:00 p.m.²

Hours for 16- and 17-Year-Olds

Once a minor turns 16, federal law stops setting daily and weekly hour caps. Maryland law is the sole limit, and it works differently than the fixed numbers for younger teens.²

The core rule: school hours and work hours added together cannot exceed 12 hours in a day. A 16-year-old who spent 7 hours in school has 5 hours of legal work time left. On a day with no school, the full 12 hours could be work time in theory.³

The second rule acts as a check: every minor aged 16 or 17 must get at least 8 consecutive hours of non-work, non-school time within each 24-hour period.³

Unlike younger teens, 16- and 17-year-olds have no state-mandated start or end times. Early mornings and late evenings are fine as long as the 12-hour combined cap and the 8-hour rest window are both respected.¹

The 30-Minute Break Rule

Every working minor in Maryland, at any age covered by the law, must receive a non-working break of at least 30 minutes after every 5 consecutive hours of work. A 6-hour shift with no break violates the law even if the total hours are otherwise within the limits.¹

Jobs That Are Off-Limits Regardless of Hours

Hour rules only matter if the job itself is legal for the minor’s age. Under Maryland Code Section 3-213, no one under 18 may work in hazardous substance manufacturing, blast furnaces, distilleries, railroads, or as an engineer or fireman on a commercial vessel. Erecting or repairing electrical wires and cleaning or oiling machinery are also barred.⁴

Federal law adds 17 categories of Hazardous Occupations closed to anyone under 18 nationwide, including roofing, excavation, demolition, mining, operating forklifts, and running power-driven meat-processing equipment in places like restaurants and delis.⁵

Workers under 16 face a longer list. They cannot work at airports, brickyards, lumberyards, on scaffolding, or in any manufacturing, mechanical, or processing occupation. They cannot operate power-driven machinery other than office equipment or machinery used in school vocational training. Jobs involving acids, dyes, gases, paint, or injurious dust are also prohibited.⁴

The minimum working age for a standard permit is 14. Child models, performers, and entertainers are the narrow exception, using a special permit issued directly by the Commissioner’s office.¹

The Work Permit Requirement

Every minor under 18 must have a work permit before starting a job in Maryland. Applications go through the Maryland Department of Labor’s online portal. Under Maryland Code Section 3-206, the application must include verification of the minor’s age, a description of the work, and parental approval.⁶

You’ll also need the employer’s name and address and a clear description of the job duties so the system can confirm the work is age-appropriate. The portal generates a printable permit, which becomes valid only after three signatures: the minor’s, a parent or legal guardian’s, and the employer’s. The employer is expected to keep the signed permit on file at the worksite for at least three years, and labor inspectors may ask to see it.¹

Penalties for Employer Violations

Employers who break Maryland’s child labor rules or federal hour restrictions face enforcement from both state and federal agencies. The U.S. Department of Labor can impose civil penalties of up to $16,035 per child for each child labor violation. When a violation causes serious injury or death to a minor, the ceiling rises to $72,876, and it doubles to $145,752 for willful or repeated violations that cause death or serious injury.⁷

Maryland state penalties are set in the Labor and Employment code, with amounts depending on the type and severity of the violation. Between state and federal enforcement, the financial exposure is real, and it grows sharply when a young worker gets hurt on the job.

1
Maryland Department of Labor. Employment of Minors (Work Permit) – Employment Standards Service (ESS)
2
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 43 – Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act for Nonagricultural Occupations
3
Maryland Department of Labor. Minor Fact Sheet
4
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Labor and Employment 3-213
5
U.S. Department of Labor. Fair Labor Standards Act Advisor
6
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Labor and Employment 3-206 – Work Permits
7
eCFR. 29 CFR Part 579 – Child Labor Violations Civil Money Penalties