Nebraska Child Labor Laws for 16-Year-Olds: Hours, Wage, Breaks

Under Nebraska child labor laws for 16-year-olds, the state sets no limits on work hours, shift timing, breaks, or work permits once a teenager turns 16, and pays them the full state minimum wage. The real restrictions come from federal law, which bars anyone under 18 from 17 categories of hazardous work and from driving on public roads as part of the job. A Nebraska 16-year-old can legally work a 40-hour week on an overnight shift, but cannot operate a deli slicer, climb onto a roof, or deliver pizzas.

Work Hours and Scheduling

Nebraska’s hour caps apply only to workers under 16. The Nebraska Department of Labor states it plainly: “Once a minor turns 16 years of age, there is no longer any restriction on working hours.”¹ Federal law adds nothing on top. The FLSA imposes hour and time-of-day limits on 14- and 15-year-olds, but has no comparable rules for workers 16 and older.²

So a 16-year-old in Nebraska can work overnight shifts, early mornings, long weekends, and more than 40 hours a week without violating any wage-and-hour statute. The only legal brake on scheduling is Nebraska’s compulsory school attendance law, discussed below.

Minimum Wage

Nebraska’s minimum wage is $15.00 per hour in 2026, and it applies to 16-year-olds the same as adults. The rate took effect January 1, 2026, and starting in 2027 it adjusts each year with the Midwest Region Consumer Price Index, rounded up to the nearest five cents. The Department of Labor publishes the new rate by October 15 each year.³

There is no general youth or training wage in Nebraska. The one carve-out is for student-learners enrolled in a bona fide vocational training program, who may be paid 75 percent of the minimum ($11.25 in 2026).³ That doesn’t cover regular on-the-job training at a restaurant or store. A 16-year-old in an ordinary job earns the full $15.00 from day one.

Federal law contains a separate youth minimum wage of $4.25 per hour for workers under 20 during their first 90 days with an employer.⁴ When the state rate is higher, the employer pays the state rate. In Nebraska, the federal youth wage is irrelevant.

Jobs a 16-Year-Old Cannot Do

Nebraska’s own hazardous-work statute only applies to children under 16.⁵ But federal law fills the gap with 17 Hazardous Occupation Orders that cover every worker under 18. The Nebraska Department of Labor warns that employers who follow only the state rules risk federal violations.⁶

The federal prohibitions most likely to affect a Nebraska teen’s job search:

Meatpacking and meat processing, including power-driven meat slicers, saws, and choppers. This reaches deli slicers in grocery stores and restaurants, not just packing plants.
All work on or about a roof.
Trenching, tunneling, and other excavation work.
Operating or riding on forklifts, skid-steers, backhoes, scissor lifts, cranes, and non-automatic elevators. Chair lifts at ski resorts are an exception.
Operating power-driven woodworking machines, including chain saws, nailing machines, and sanders.
Operating power-driven bakery machines such as vertical dough mixers, dough rollers, dividers, and sheeters.
Work where explosives are manufactured or stored, though retail stores selling ammunition are exempt.

² The full federal list also covers coal mining, logging and sawmill work, metalworking machines, radioactive materials, brick manufacturing, wrecking and demolition, and certain paper-product machines. Narrow exemptions exist for apprentices and student-learners in approved programs, but the default rule holds: dangerous machinery, heavy equipment, and high-risk environments are off-limits.

Driving for Work

A Nebraska driver’s license does not unlock on-the-job driving. Hazardous Occupation Order No. 2 bars any employee under 17 from driving a motor vehicle on public roads as part of their work, with no exceptions for 16-year-olds.⁷ Delivering pizzas, running errands between locations, and shuttling supplies are all out. A limited incidental-driving exemption kicks in at 17, but 16-year-olds have no access to it.

Workers under 18 are also completely barred from serving as an outside helper on a motor vehicle, meaning riding outside the cab to assist with deliveries.⁷

Meal and Rest Breaks

Nebraska does not require rest or meal breaks for any employee, at any age. The one break law on the books covers workers in assembly plants, manufacturing, and workshops, who get a 30-minute unpaid break during an eight-hour shift.¹ Federal law doesn’t require breaks for 16-year-olds either. A long shift at a restaurant or retail store can legally pass without one. Many employers provide breaks voluntarily, but no statute compels it.

Work Permits and Paperwork

Nebraska’s employment certificate requirement only applies to workers under 16.⁸ A 16-year-old does not need a state-issued work permit.

Federal Form I-9 still applies to every new hire, regardless of age. Minors without a driver’s license or state ID can satisfy the identity portion with a school record, report card, or medical record.⁹ If an inspector suspects a worker is under 16, the employer carries the burden of proving otherwise,⁸ so a copy of a birth certificate or driver’s license in the file is sensible practice.

School Attendance Still Applies

Nebraska requires school attendance for every child who hasn’t turned 18.¹⁰ A 16-year-old can be formally withdrawn under a separate statute, but short of that withdrawal, skipping class to work violates compulsory attendance law. Employers don’t face direct liability for a teen’s truancy, but scheduling a student during school hours sets up a conflict that catches up with everyone involved. Since the hour laws impose no limit, families and employers have to set the sensible ceiling themselves.

Who Gets Penalized When the Rules Break

Nebraska’s own penalty statute reaches violations involving children under 16: employing one without the proper certificate, allowing prohibited work, or falsifying paperwork is a Class I misdemeanor, with each day of continued violation after notice counting as a separate offense.¹¹ For 16-year-olds, state penalties don’t apply because state rules don’t apply.

Federal violations are the real exposure. The U.S. Department of Labor enforces the Hazardous Occupation Orders through civil monetary penalties that can reach tens of thousands of dollars per violation, with amounts rising sharply when a worker is seriously injured or killed. An employer who puts a Nebraska 16-year-old on a forklift, a roof, or a delivery route faces federal consequences even though the state statute is silent. The gap between Nebraska law and federal law is where most 16-year-old employment problems happen, and the stricter standard controls every time both apply.

1
Nebraska Department of Labor. Frequently Asked Questions
2
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 43 – Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act for Nonagricultural Occupations
3
Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 48-1203 – Wages Minimum Rate Adjustments
4
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 32 – Youth Minimum Wage – Fair Labor Standards Act
5
Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 48-313 – Children Under Sixteen Dangerous Unhealthy or Immoral Employment
6
Nebraska Department of Labor. Employment of Minors
7
U.S. Department of Labor. Hazardous Occupations Order No. 2 – Youth Employment Provision and Driving Automobiles and Trucks Under the Fair Labor Standards Act
8
Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 48-302 – Children Under Sixteen Employment Certificate Required Enforcement of Section
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-9 Acceptable Documents
10
Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 79-201 – Compulsory Education Attendance Required
11
Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 48-311 – Penalties