Legal Age to Work in MN: Hours, Restricted Jobs, and Pay

In Minnesota, the legal age to work is 14 for most jobs, with a few narrow exceptions that let younger children take on specific kinds of work. Once a teenager is old enough to be hired, state and federal rules control how many hours they can work, when those hours can fall, and which jobs are off-limits until they get older. The Minnesota Child Labor Standards Act (Chapter 181A) sets the state rules, and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act layers on top. When the two conflict, whichever is more protective of the young worker applies.

Who Can Work Before 14

No one under 14 can be hired for regular employment in Minnesota. The exceptions are tied to specific types of work and don’t open the door to general jobs:¹

Children as young as 11 can deliver newspapers to homes or businesses.
Children 12 and older can work on a farm with a parent or guardian’s consent.
Children of any age can work as actors or models in film, theater, or television, with careful oversight.

A 12-year-old cleared to help on a neighbor’s farm still can’t take a shift at a retail store. Each exception stays inside its own lane.¹

How Many Hours a Teen Can Work

The hour rules split at 16.

Under 16

Workers under 16 can put in up to eight hours in a 24-hour period and no more than 40 hours in a week. They can’t start before 7:00 a.m. or work past 9:00 p.m. on any day of the year.² Those limits hold in summer just as they do during the school year.

Federal law tightens things further while school is in session. For 14- and 15-year-olds, the FLSA caps work at three hours on a school day and 18 hours during a school week.³ Because the stricter rule wins, an FLSA-covered employer follows those school-day caps even though Minnesota’s own statute doesn’t spell them out. In practice, a 15-year-old works short after-school shifts and picks up longer hours on weekends and over breaks.

Ages 16 and 17

Minnesota doesn’t cap the total weekly hours for 16- and 17-year-olds. It does enforce a school-night curfew: no work after 11:00 p.m. on an evening before a school day and none before 5:00 a.m. on a school day. Written permission from a parent or guardian stretches those windows to 11:30 p.m. and 4:30 a.m.⁴

On non-school nights, weekends, and during summer, the state sets no time-of-day limits for this age group. Standard labor rules still apply. Minnesota requires a 30-minute meal break on any shift of six or more consecutive hours, and that rule covers minors and adults alike.

Jobs That Are Off-Limits

Age also decides what a teen can be scheduled to do.

Under 16

Workers under 16 can’t operate any power-driven machinery. That includes lawnmowers, drills, sanders, laundry equipment, and meat slicers. They can’t work in manufacturing warehouses, processing plants, walk-in meat freezers, or around airport landing strips. Welding is out. So is loading patients in hospitals or nursing homes, and working as an outside helper on a motor vehicle.⁵

Two carve-outs exist. A minor working in a business solely owned and directly supervised by a parent is exempt from these prohibited-work rules, and so is a minor whose work keeps them away from the hazardous equipment or materials themselves.⁵

Under 18

Turning 16 opens up more work, but the most dangerous jobs stay closed until 18. Workers under 18 can’t work in construction, operate forklifts or power-driven saws, or handle alcohol in any capacity, whether that’s selling, serving, or dispensing. They also can’t operate, build, or tear down rides or heavy machinery at amusement parks or traveling shows.²

Federal law adds its own under-18 list: explosives, mining, logging, and roofing. Driving on public roads for the job is generally banned under 18, though 17-year-olds can drive cars or small trucks during daylight hours under limited circumstances.³

Paperwork Before the First Shift

An employer has to verify a minor’s age before putting them on the schedule. Minnesota Statutes § 181A.06 accepts four forms of proof: an age certificate, a copy of the birth record, a copy of the driver’s license, or a federal Form I-9.⁶ A passport isn’t listed as standalone proof.

An age certificate carries the minor’s name, date of birth, a physical description, the employer’s name, and the proposed duties. It notes what was accepted as proof of age and requires an issuing officer’s signature. Employers keep this documentation on file during the minor’s employment.

A separate document comes into play for workers under 16 who need to work during school hours. Under Minnesota Statutes § 181A.05, they need an employment certificate from their school district, which is not the same as the age certificate. Homeschooled students get this certificate through their local district as well.⁷

What a Teen Gets Paid

As of January 1, 2026, Minnesota’s minimum wage is $11.41 per hour for all employers. The state dropped its separate large- and small-employer tiers, so one rate covers everyone.⁸

There’s one exception aimed at young workers. Employers can pay a worker under 20 a training wage of $9.31 per hour during the first 90 consecutive calendar days of employment. After those 90 days, or once the worker turns 20, the wage jumps to the full $11.41.⁸ The law also blocks employers from cutting an existing worker’s hours or replacing them with a training-wage hire to save on payroll.⁹ An employer who underpays owes the missing wages plus an equal amount in liquidated damages.¹⁰

If a Teen Is Hurt on the Job

Minnesota’s workers’ compensation law covers minors the same way it covers adults. The statute’s definition of “employee” includes minors and part-time workers, so any injured teenager qualifies for benefits regardless of age.¹¹

Coverage holds even when the employer broke the rules. A minor injured while working in a prohibited occupation or during prohibited hours is still entitled to benefits. The violation doesn’t cancel the claim; it just exposes the employer to additional child labor penalties.

Taxes on a Teen’s Paycheck

Employers withhold federal and state income tax from a minor’s paycheck the same as for anyone else. Whether the teen owes tax at year’s end depends on how much they earned. For 2025, a dependent with earned income over $15,350 generally had to file a federal return, and the IRS adjusts that threshold each year for inflation, so check irs.gov before filing.¹² A teen who earned under the threshold can still file to get their withheld taxes refunded.

Social Security and Medicare (FICA) taxes usually apply at the same rates as for adult workers. One exception: if a child under 18 works for a parent’s sole proprietorship, or for a partnership where both partners are the child’s parents, those wages are exempt from FICA withholding. If the parent’s business is a corporation, the exemption doesn’t apply.¹³

1
Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. A Guide to Minnesota’s Child Labor Standards Act
2
Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. Wage and Hour Bulletin: Child Labor
3
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #43: Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for Nonagricultural Occupations
4
Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. Age, Hours Restrictions
5
Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. Prohibited Work for Workers Under Age 16
6
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181A.06 – Age Certificates
7
Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. Child Labor Exemptions
8
Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. Minimum Wage in Minnesota
9
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 177.24 – Payment of Minimum Wages
10
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes 177.27 – Powers and Duties of the Commissioner
11
Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. Work Comp: Who Needs Workers’ Compensation Coverage?
12
Internal Revenue Service. Check if You Need to File a Tax Return
13
Internal Revenue Service. Family Employees