How Many Hours Can a Student Work in California by Age?

In California, how many hours a student can work depends on age and whether school is in session. On a school day, 14- and 15-year-olds are capped at 3 hours and 16- and 17-year-olds at 4 hours. On days without school, both age groups can work up to 8 hours. Weekly totals are limited to 18 hours during a school week for ages 14–15 (40 hours in a non-school week) and 48 hours for ages 16–17.¹

Hours Allowed on a School Day

The school-day caps are the tightest limits a student worker will run into, because they apply on any day the student is required to attend at least 240 minutes of instruction.

Ages 14 and 15: up to 3 hours on a school day, and no more than 18 hours across a school week. Students enrolled in a school-supervised work experience program can work up to 23 hours in a school week, with some of those hours falling during school time.¹
Ages 16 and 17: up to 4 hours on a school day. Students in a school-approved work experience program or holding a special permit under Education Code 49112 can exceed this.²

Summer school matters here. A day with summer school classes counts as a school day, so the 3- and 4-hour caps come back even though the regular academic year is over. And if a student holds more than one job, the caps apply to combined hours across all employers, not to each employer separately.

Hours Allowed on a Non-School Day

When there is no school the next day, or no school at all that day, the daily cap opens up but the weekly cap still holds.

Ages 14 and 15: up to 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week.
Ages 16 and 17: up to 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week.¹

For 14- and 15-year-olds, California’s school-day cap matches the federal rule, so there is no gap between the two systems. For 16- and 17-year-olds, federal law sets no hour limits at all, which means California’s caps are the only ones that apply to that age group.³

What Hours of the Day Are Allowed

Total hours are only part of it. California also fences in the time of day a minor can be on the clock, and the window depends on age and on whether the next day is a school day.

Ages 14 and 15: no work before 7:00 a.m. or after 7:00 p.m. From June 1 through Labor Day, the evening cutoff moves to 9:00 p.m.¹
Ages 16 and 17: no work before 5:00 a.m. Shifts must end by 10:00 p.m. on an evening before a school day and by 12:30 a.m. on an evening before a non-school day.¹

The 5:00 a.m. floor for older minors catches employers off guard. A restaurant scheduling a 17-year-old for a 4:30 a.m. opening shift is violating state law, even if the total hours that day stay within the 4- or 8-hour cap.

A Work Permit Is Required First

None of these hours can be worked at all until the student has a work permit. In California, permits for minors under 18 are issued through school officials rather than a state agency.⁴ The issuing authority can be the district superintendent, the student’s school principal, a charter school’s chief executive, or other designated credentialed staff.⁵

The student submits a “Statement of Intent to Employ a Minor and Request for Work Permit” (Form B1-1), signed by a parent or guardian and the prospective employer, who fills in the job duties, hours, and schedule. If the job complies with state labor law, the school issues a “Permit to Employ and Work” (Form B1-4), which the employer keeps on file. The permit is tied to that specific job; changing employers means getting a new one. If the school finds the work is hurting the student’s grades or health, it can revoke the permit.²

A few kinds of work fall outside the permit system: self-employed minors, newspaper carriers age 12 or older delivering on a regular route to consumers, and occasional odd jobs like babysitting or yard work for private homes.⁶

Breaks Count Against the Shift

Because student shifts are already short, the meal and rest rules can eat into a workday quickly. Any shift over five hours triggers a 30-minute unpaid meal break, and a second unpaid meal break kicks in past ten hours.⁷ For shifts of six hours or less, the meal break can be waived by mutual agreement.

Rest breaks are separate and paid. A 10-minute rest break is required for every four hours worked or “major fraction” of four, which the state treats as anything over two hours.⁸ A student on a three-hour school-day shift is still entitled to one rest break. An employer who pressures a student to skip breaks owes an extra hour of pay at the regular rate for each missed break.

Entertainment Work Uses a Different System

Film, television, theater, music, and other entertainment work run on their own permit and hour rules, so the caps above do not describe that work. Entertainment permits come from the Labor Commissioner’s office rather than the school. Applicants ages 14 through 17 must complete sexual harassment prevention training before receiving one.⁹ No minor in entertainment can work more than 8 hours in a day or 48 hours in a week, and at least 12 hours must pass between dismissal and the next day’s call time. When school is in session, minors attending regular school are capped at 3 hours of work on a school day.¹⁰

What Happens When an Employer Breaks the Hour Rules

Violations of the hour limits are penalized on a sliding scale. A first violation of the hour rules runs $500 to $1,000, and a second violation is set at $1,000. A third or later hour-limit violation jumps to $5,000 to $10,000 per violation. Working a minor without a required permit, employing one in a prohibited occupation, or exposing one to dangerous conditions also falls in that higher tier.¹¹

If a student is injured while working in violation of these rules, the employer’s workers’ compensation liability can rise by 50 percent under California’s serious-and-willful-misconduct provision.¹² That increase applies on top of the civil penalty structure, so a single injury on an over-hours shift can be far more expensive than the fine alone.

Students who report violations are protected against retaliation. Firing, demoting, or disciplining a worker for filing a complaint with the Labor Commissioner is prohibited, and a court can award up to $10,000 per retaliatory act on top of any lost wages. A retaliation complaint has to be filed within one year of the act.¹³

1
California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 1391 – Working Hours
2
California Legislative Information. California Code EDC 49116 – Employment of Minors During School Session
3
U.S. Department of Labor. Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act for Nonagricultural Occupations
4
California Legislative Information. California Code EDC 49160 – Employment of Minors
5
California Legislative Information. California Code EDC 49110-49110.1 – Permits to Work
6
California Department of Industrial Relations. Summary Chart – Child Labor Law Requirements in California
7
California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 512 – Meal Periods
8
California Department of Industrial Relations. Rest Periods – Frequently Asked Questions
9
California Department of Industrial Relations. Entertainment Work Permit for Minors
10
California Department of Industrial Relations. Entertainment Industry Summary Chart – Hours of Work
11
California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 1288 – Citations Issued Pursuant to This Chapter
12
California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 4553 – Increase of Compensation
13
California Department of Industrial Relations. Laws That Prohibit Retaliation and Discrimination