Massachusetts child labor laws set a minimum working age of 14, require a work permit for every employee under 18, cap daily and weekly hours by age, and prohibit a long list of hazardous jobs. The rules sit in Chapter 149 of the Massachusetts General Laws and run alongside the federal Fair Labor Standards Act; when the two differ, whichever is more protective of the minor controls.
Minimum Age to Work
Children under 14 generally cannot be employed in Massachusetts. Two narrow exceptions exist. A child under 14 may work on a farm for up to four hours a day and 24 hours a week, but only if related by blood or marriage to the owner or operator. And under Chapter 149, Section 60, a child under 16 may appear in a play or musical comedy with the written consent of the Attorney General, who must first confirm adequate supervision, healthful living conditions, and no neglect of schooling. A child under 15 may participate in a fashion show if a parent accompanies them.
At 14, a much wider range of work opens up, subject to the hour caps, job prohibitions, and permit rule described below.
Work Permits Are Required for Every Worker Under 18
No one under 18 can start a new job in Massachusetts without a Youth Employment Permit. There is no fee and no online portal. The application comes from the Department of Labor Standards and has sections completed by the minor, the employer, and a parent or guardian; a doctor’s signature may also be required. The completed form goes to the superintendent of schools where the minor lives or attends school. A minor who lives out of state applies through the superintendent where the job is located.
Each permit is tied to one employer, one work address, and one job description. A change of job means a new permit. Superintendents can delegate the paperwork within the district, so in practice a school counselor or designated staff member often handles it.
Hour Limits by Age
Massachusetts caps how many hours minors can work, on which days, and how late into the evening. The limits tighten for younger workers and loosen when school is out.
Ages 14 and 15
During the school year, a 14- or 15-year-old may work up to 3 hours on a school day and 8 hours on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, with a weekly ceiling of 18 hours. Work is allowed only between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Work during school hours is off-limits unless the student is in a school-approved career or experience-building job, in which case the weekly cap rises to 23 hours.
When school is not in session, the same age group can work up to 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week, and 6 days a week. The evening cutoff stays at 7 p.m., except from July 1 through Labor Day, when it moves to 9 p.m. Federal law extends the evening cutoff starting June 1, but because Massachusetts is stricter for that first month of summer, the 7 p.m. cutoff applies from June 1 through June 30.
Ages 16 and 17
Older teens can work up to 9 hours a day, 48 hours a week, and 6 days a week. On nights before a school day, no work is allowed between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. On non-school nights, they can stay until 11:30 p.m., or until midnight if the job is at a restaurant or racetrack.
One rule catches employers off guard: after 8 p.m., every minor under 18 needs direct, on-site adult supervision. The supervising adult must be in the workplace and reasonably accessible. The only carve-out is for minors staffing kiosks or carts in the common area of an enclosed shopping mall with its own security.
Jobs Minors Cannot Do
The prohibited-job lists combine state law with the federal Hazardous Occupations Orders, and the stricter standard wins. The list grows longer the younger the worker.
Off-Limits for Everyone Under 18
- Driving a vehicle or forklift (golf carts are allowed in limited circumstances)
- Operating, cleaning, or repairing power-driven meat slicers, grinders, choppers, or bakery machines
- Working 30 feet or more above ground or water, or on or about a roof
- Handling, serving, or selling alcoholic beverages
- Using power-driven saws, woodworking machines, metal-forming or shearing machines, paper balers, or compactors
- Excavation, demolition, wrecking, or shipbreaking
- Logging, sawmilling, mining, or roofing
- Slaughtering or meat packing
- Handling explosives or radioactive substances
- Working in foundries, blast furnaces, or railway operations
- Using or possessing a firearm as part of the job
Additional Restrictions Under 16
- Operating most power-driven machinery (some office and retail or food-service equipment is exempt)
- Cooking over open flames, operating fryers, rotisseries, or pressure cookers, or cleaning surfaces hotter than 100°F
- Working in freezers or meat coolers
- Manufacturing, construction, transportation, communications, or public utilities work (clerical work away from heavy machinery is permitted)
- Loading or unloading trucks, railroad cars, or conveyors
- Warehouse work outside clerical roles
- Working in amusement places such as bowling alleys or pool halls
- Working as a public messenger
The full list is longer than what appears here and is published by Mass.gov. Any role that involves equipment, heat, heights, or physical labor should be checked against it before hiring a teen.
Wages for Minors
Massachusetts has no youth subminimum wage. Every minor must be paid the full state minimum wage of $15.00 per hour, in effect since January 1, 2023. The federal provision allowing employers to pay workers under 20 as little as $4.25 per hour during their first 90 days has no practical effect here, because the stricter state rule controls.
Tipped minors are paid the state service rate of $6.75 per hour if they regularly receive more than $20 per month in tips, and the employer must top up any shortfall so total pay reaches $15.00 per hour. Employers cannot keep any portion of a minor’s tips, and managers and supervisors cannot participate in tip pools.
How State and Federal Rules Interact
The governing principle sits in 29 U.S.C. § 218(a): whichever law is more protective of the minor applies. In Massachusetts, that usually means state law. The $15.00 minimum wage overrides the federal youth wage, the state’s prohibited-occupations list is longer than the federal Hazardous Occupations Orders, and the state’s mandatory permit system has no federal equivalent.
Federal law is stricter on one common point of confusion. The federal summer evening extension for 14- and 15-year-olds begins June 1, while the Massachusetts extension begins July 1. Because the state rule is tighter during June, the 7 p.m. cutoff applies through June 30 even though federal law would allow 9 p.m.
Penalties for Violations
State fines under Chapter 149, Section 90, are modest, but federal penalties and criminal exposure raise the stakes considerably.
An employer who hires a child under 16 without complying with the permit requirements faces a fine of $10 to $50, or up to one month of imprisonment. Keeping the child working after being notified of the violation is a separate offense each day, punishable by $50 to $200 per day or up to two months of imprisonment. Forging or falsifying age documentation to obtain a permit is the steepest state offense: a fine of $10 to $500, up to a year in jail, or both. Knowingly certifying a false statement on a permit brings a $10 to $200 fine.
Federal civil penalties are much higher. The U.S. Department of Labor can assess up to $16,035 per minor for each child labor violation under the FLSA. When a violation causes the death or serious injury of a worker under 18, the penalty rises to $72,876 per violation and can be doubled for willful or repeat offenders. Federal and state investigators share information, so a state violation can open a federal case at the same time.
Exceptions and Special Permits
A handful of situations sit outside the standard rules.
Entertainment. Children under 16 can perform in plays and musical comedies with the written consent of the Attorney General, limited to two performances a day and eight per week. Children under 15 may take part in a fashion show if accompanied by a parent.
Agriculture. Children under 14 may work on a family farm up to 4 hours a day and 24 hours a week if related to the owner or operator. Hazardous tasks and heavy machinery remain off-limits regardless of the family relationship.
Student-learner exemption. Federal rules let 16- and 17-year-olds perform certain otherwise-prohibited hazardous tasks if they are enrolled in a cooperative vocational training program. The work must be incidental to training, intermittent, for short periods, and under the direct supervision of a qualified adult, with a written school-employer agreement describing the work, safety instructions, and training progression. A graduate who completed such a program may continue in that occupation before turning 18.
School-approved career programs. The bar on 14- and 15-year-olds working during school hours does not apply to school-approved career or experience-building jobs, which allow up to 23 hours per week during the school year.