Idaho Child Labor Laws: Age, Hours, Wages, and Penalties

Idaho child labor laws let most minors start working at 14, with 12- and 13-year-olds allowed to work only during school vacations of two weeks or longer. The state caps hours for anyone under 16 at nine per day and 54 per week, and bars them from working before 6:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. Federal rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act apply on top of state law, and when the two conflict the stricter rule wins — which, for 14- and 15-year-olds, almost always means the federal one.

Minimum Age To Work in Idaho

Idaho Code § 44-1301 bars children under 14 from working in stores, restaurants, hotels, laundries, factories, and offices. The same statute prohibits employing any child under 14 in any job during school hours, before 6:00 a.m., or after 9:00 p.m.¹

The one exception: children who are at least 12 may be employed during regular school vacations of two weeks or more. Outside those breaks, the under-14 ban is absolute.¹

Idaho does not issue work permits or age certificates for minors. The U.S. Department of Labor confirms the state has no employment certificate or age certification program.² Employers must verify a young hire’s age on their own before the first shift, usually with a birth certificate, passport, or state-issued ID.

How State and Federal Rules Fit Together

Most Idaho employers with at least $500,000 in annual sales and two or more employees fall under the FLSA.³ When both bodies of law apply, employers must follow whichever rule is more protective of the minor.⁴ Federal rules typically govern the hours of 14- and 15-year-olds and every hazardous-job assignment for anyone under 18.

Idaho’s child labor statutes are enforced by local school boards and probation officers, not by the Idaho Department of Labor. Federal provisions are enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.⁵

Work Hour Limits

Under 16 Under Idaho Law

Idaho Code § 44-1304 sets the state cap for any worker under 16: no more than nine hours a day, no more than 54 hours a week, and nothing scheduled before 6:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m.⁶ These limits apply year-round, with no distinction between the school year and summer.

14 and 15 Under Federal Law

This is where employers get tripped up. Idaho’s caps are far more generous than the federal ceilings for 14- and 15-year-olds, so an FLSA-covered employer has to follow the tighter federal rules:

School weeks: no more than 3 hours on a school day, no more than 18 hours for the week, and only between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Non-school weeks: no more than 8 hours a day, no more than 40 hours for the week, and between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day.

All work for this age group must fall outside school hours.⁴ A 15-year-old scheduled for a 9-hour Saturday shift during the school year would violate federal law even though the shift fits Idaho’s cap.

16 and 17

Idaho places no cap on daily or weekly hours for 16- and 17-year-olds and no time-of-day limits. Federal law also imposes no hour caps on this age group, though the hazardous-occupation bans still apply.

Hazardous Jobs Off-Limits Under 18

Idaho does not maintain its own list of hazardous occupations. The federal Hazardous Occupation Orders apply to every FLSA-covered employer in the state, banning anyone under 18 from 17 categories of dangerous work. Among them:

Manufacturing or storing explosives.
Coal mining, metal mining, quarry work, and underground operations.
Timber management, forestry services, sawmill work, and forest firefighting.
Power-driven woodworking machines, metal-forming machines, bakery machines, meat-processing machines, and paper-product balers or compactors.
All work performed on or about a roof.
Driving or serving as an outside helper on a motor vehicle (with a narrow exception for 17-year-olds).
Exposure to radioactive substances and ionizing radiation.
Operating forklifts, cranes, scissor lifts, and similar hoisting equipment.

⁷ These rules reach beyond heavy industry. A grocery store that lets a 16-year-old run a cardboard baler, or a bakery that puts a 17-year-old on a commercial dough mixer, is in violation.

Limited Driving by 17-Year-Olds

Federal law generally bans on-the-job driving by anyone under 18. Seventeen-year-olds can drive only if every one of these conditions is met:

The driving takes place only during daylight hours.
The teen holds a valid state driver’s license, has completed a state-approved driver education course, and has no moving violations on record at the time of hire.
The vehicle weighs no more than 6,000 pounds gross vehicle weight and has seat belts for the driver and all passengers.
Driving is no more than one-third of the workday and no more than 20 percent of the workweek.
The driving does not involve towing, route deliveries, transporting passengers for hire, or trips more than 30 miles from the workplace.

⁸ Miss one condition and the 17-year-old cannot drive on the job at all.

Farm, Domestic, and Odd-Job Exceptions

Idaho’s minimum wage law exempts children under 16 who work part-time or at odd jobs not exceeding four hours per day with any one employer. It also exempts domestic service and many categories of agricultural work.⁹ Harvest laborers 16 and under who work on a piece-rate basis alongside a parent on the same farm fall under a separate agricultural exemption.

Under federal law, children of any age may work at any time and in any job on a farm owned or operated by their parents, including hazardous tasks like operating heavy equipment.¹⁰

Neighborhood work like babysitting, yard work, and house cleaning for private households falls outside child labor rules at both the state and federal level.⁴

Pay Rules for Minors

Minimum Wage and Youth Training Wage

Idaho’s minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, matching the federal rate. Employers may pay a training wage of $4.25 per hour to a new hire under 20, but only for the first 90 consecutive calendar days of employment. After day 90, the rate must rise to at least $7.25.⁵

The 90-day clock is measured in consecutive calendar days from the hire date, not days actually worked, and it restarts when the young worker takes a job with a different employer.¹¹

Tipped Minors

Minors working in tipped roles such as restaurant servers fall under Idaho’s tipped wage rules. The state’s minimum cash wage for tipped employees is $3.35 per hour, higher than the $2.13 federal floor. Employers may claim a tip credit of up to $3.90, provided the employee’s tips bring total pay to at least $7.25. If tips fall short, the employer makes up the difference.¹²

Employer Record-Keeping

Idaho Code § 44-1303 requires every employer who hires a minor aged 14 or 15 to keep a record of the minor’s name, age, and place of residence. The obligation applies to the same commercial settings listed in § 44-1301 — stores, restaurants, hotels, factories, and the like.¹³ Failure to produce these records when a school official or probation officer asks is treated as presumptive evidence of illegal employment.

Penalties for Violations

Idaho’s own penalties are modest. An employer who hires a child under 16 in violation of § 44-1301 or § 44-1302 faces an initial fine of up to $50. If the violation continues after notice from a school official or probation officer, the fine is $5 to $20 for each additional day. A parent or guardian who knowingly lies about a child’s age to obtain an age record commits perjury under the same statute.¹⁴

Federal penalties are the real financial exposure. As of 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor can assess civil money penalties of up to $16,035 per child labor violation. When a violation causes serious injury or death, the maximum rises to $72,876, or $145,752 for a willful or repeated violation. The figures adjust annually for inflation.¹⁵

Breaks and Meal Periods

Idaho law does not require employers to provide breaks or meal periods to any employee, minors included.⁵ Breaks are owed only when the employer’s own policy provides them. Federal law does not mandate rest breaks either, though short breaks of 5 to 20 minutes that an employer chooses to offer must generally be counted as paid work time.

1
Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 44-1301 – Restrictions on Employment of Children Under Fourteen
2
U.S. Department of Labor. Employment/Age Certificate
3
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #14 – Coverage Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
4
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #43 – Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for Nonagricultural Occupations
5
Idaho Department of Labor. Frequently Asked Questions on Labor Laws
6
Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 44-1304 – Working Hours for Children Under Sixteen
7
U.S. Department of Labor. FLSA – Child Labor Rules
8
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #34 – Hazardous Occupations Order No. 2 – Youth Employment – Driving
9
Idaho Department of Labor. Guide to Idaho Labor Laws
10
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #40 – Overview of Youth Employment (Child Labor) Provisions of the FLSA for Agricultural Occupations
11
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #32 – Youth Minimum Wage
12
U.S. Department of Labor. Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees
13
Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 44-1303 – Record of Minors
14
Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 44-1305 – Penalty for Violations
15
U.S. Department of Labor. Civil Money Penalty Inflation Adjustments