Nevada Child Labor Laws: Age, Hours, and Permits

Nevada’s child labor laws generally prohibit employment of children under 14, cap the hours 14- and 15-year-olds can work, and restrict night shifts and hazardous or gaming-related jobs for everyone under 18. Both NRS Chapter 609 and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act apply, and whichever rule offers more protection controls.¹

How Old a Child Must Be to Work

Nevada draws the main line at 14. A child under 14 cannot work during school hours except as a motion picture performer, and any other employment requires written permission from a district court judge in the county where the child lives.²³ That’s a deliberately high bar, and in practice most employers hiring minors are hiring 14 and up.

At 14, a minor can take a non-hazardous job. At 16, most federal hour restrictions fall away and a wider range of work opens up, though Nevada’s night curfew and the hazardous-occupation rules still apply until 18.

Farm work runs on a separate federal schedule, with lower age thresholds for non-hazardous jobs and no restrictions at all when a parent owns or operates the farm.⁴ There’s also a family-business exception outside agriculture: a child of any age can work in a non-agricultural business solely owned by a parent, at any hour, though never in manufacturing, mining, or a federally declared hazardous occupation.⁵

How Many Hours a Minor Can Work

Ages 14 and 15

Federal law tightly limits when and how long 14- and 15-year-olds can work:

No more than 3 hours on a school day.
No more than 18 hours in a school week.
No more than 8 hours on a non-school day.
No more than 40 hours in a non-school week.
Work must fall between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., extending to 9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day.⁶

Nevada’s statute sets a higher ceiling of 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week for workers under 16, but the stricter federal numbers govern.⁷

Ages 16 and 17

Federal hour caps disappear at 16, but Nevada adds its own nighttime rule. A minor under 19 who’s enrolled in high school and not emancipated cannot work between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. on any night before a school day. Lifeguards, arcade workers, stage performers, motion picture workers, and farm employees are exempt, and a school or governing body can grant an individual exemption if it determines the arrangement serves the minor’s best interest.³

Jobs Minors Cannot Do

Nevada’s occupation ban in NRS 609.190 applies to children under 16, not under 18. It bars work with poisonous substances, in tobacco manufacturing, in distilleries, around dangerous machinery, in railroad operations, around explosives, and in any job the Labor Commissioner has declared dangerous to health or safety.⁸

For anyone under 18, the federal FLSA Hazardous Occupation orders take over. They cover 17 categories of dangerous work, including operating power-driven equipment like meat slicers and bakery machinery, roofing, demolition, mining, logging, and any job involving radioactive materials.¹

Casinos, Bars, and Adult Venues

Given Nevada’s economy, this restriction matters. State law prohibits employing a minor in any casino area where gaming happens or where alcohol sales are the primary business, unless the minor is performing entertainment under a contract. Public dance halls that serve alcohol are off-limits, as is any work “dangerous or injurious to life, limb, health, or morals.” Violations are misdemeanors.⁹

Driving on the Job

Work driving is generally prohibited under 17. A 17-year-old can drive as part of a job only when every one of these conditions is met:

Daylight only, no driving after dark.
A valid state license for the type of driving the job requires.
Completion of a state-approved driver education course, with no moving violations at time of hire.
A vehicle no heavier than 6,000 pounds gross vehicle weight.
Driving takes no more than one-third of the workday or 20 percent of the workweek.
No driving beyond 30 miles from the workplace, and no more than two delivery or passenger trips per day.

The employer must also make sure the vehicle has seat belts and instruct the teen to use them.¹⁰ Miss any one condition and the driving isn’t allowed.

Wages and Breaks

Nevada’s minimum wage of $12.00 per hour applies to minor employees.¹¹ Federal law allows a $4.25 youth wage for the first 90 days for workers under 20, but Nevada’s higher rate controls.¹²

Break rules apply to minors the same as adults. Any employee who works 3.5 continuous hours gets a 10-minute paid rest break, and 7 or more continuous hours triggers two rest breaks.¹³ A continuous 8-hour shift requires at least a 30-minute meal break, which can be unpaid if the worker is fully relieved of duties.¹⁴ An employee can voluntarily agree to skip a break, but the employer has to prove the agreement exists.

Permits and Written Permission

Nevada has no universal state-issued work permit. Some school districts require a work permit signed by school officials before a minor starts a job, typically after the minor provides proof of age through a birth certificate, passport, or school records, with a parent signing off. A school district can deny or revoke a permit if the job interferes with the minor’s education.

For anyone under 14, the requirement is stricter. A district court judge in the child’s county of residence must sign written permission before the child can be employed at all.³

If a Minor Gets Hurt at Work

Nevada’s workers’ compensation law defines “employee” to include minors “whether lawfully or unlawfully employed.”¹⁵ A minor injured on the job is entitled to workers’ compensation even if the employer broke child labor rules by hiring them. The employer can’t defeat the claim by pointing to its own violation.

Penalties and Enforcement

Employers must keep accurate records of proof of age, work schedules, and job descriptions, and must make them available for inspection.

The Nevada Labor Commissioner can impose an administrative penalty of up to $2,500 for each violation under NRS 609.652. Anyone who employs a child in violation of NRS Chapter 609, and any parent or guardian who permits it, is guilty of a misdemeanor.⁹ Serious or repeated violations, especially those involving hazardous conditions, can also draw a federal investigation from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division under its own penalty structure.

The Nevada Office of the Labor Commissioner is the primary state enforcer.¹⁶ It acts on both routine inspections and complaints, and can require payroll records, conduct workplace visits, and interview employees. Confirmed violations lead to citations, corrective orders, fines, and in serious cases criminal prosecution.

1
U.S. Department of Labor. Youth Worker Safety and Health
2
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes 609.250 – Employment of Child Under 14 Years of Age Unlawful When School in Session; Exceptions
3
Nevada Office of the Labor Commissioner. Chapter 609 – Employment of Minors
4
eCFR. Part 575 – Waiver of Child Labor Provisions for Agricultural Employment of 10 and 11 Year Old Minors in Hand Harvesting of Short Season Crops
5
U.S. Department of Labor. Child Labor Rules Advisor – Exemptions From Child Labor Rules in Non-Agriculture
6
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 43 – Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act for Nonagricultural Occupations
7
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes 609.240 – Maximum Hours of Employment of Child Under 16 Years of Age
8
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes 609.190 – Employing or Permitting Child Under 16 Years of Age to Work in Certain Occupations Prohibited
9
Justia. Nevada Code NRS 609
10
U.S. Department of Labor. Teen Driving on the Job
11
U.S. Department of Labor. State Minimum Wage Laws
12
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 32 – Youth Minimum Wage
13
Cornell Law Institute. Nevada Administrative Code 608.145 – Periods for Rest and Meals
14
Nevada Office of the Labor Commissioner. Overview of Wage and Hour and 2019 Legislation
15
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 616A – Industrial Insurance
16
State of Nevada Department of Business and Industry Office of the Labor Commissioner. Labor Commissioner