New York Child Labor Laws: Hours, Working Papers, and Penalties

New York child labor laws set 14 as the general minimum working age, require most workers under 18 to get an employment certificate (working papers) from their school before starting a job, cap how many hours minors can work by age and by whether school is in session, and place a long list of hazardous jobs off-limits until 18. Federal rules apply on top of the state’s, and where the two differ, the stricter one controls.¹

How Old You Have to Be to Work

Under 14, a job is generally off the table in New York. A few narrow exceptions exist. Kids 11 and up can deliver newspapers, shopping papers, or periodicals to homes and businesses outside school hours. Children 12 and older can do hand-harvest work picking berries, fruits, and vegetables. Child performers have no minimum age at all, but they fall under a separate permit system.²

At 14, most non-factory, non-hazardous jobs open up. A 14- or 15-year-old can work in retail, offices, and service stores like dry cleaners and shoe repair shops. Factory workrooms and dangerous materials remain off-limits. Federal law adds a specific limit for this age group: any delivery work for a retail store must be on foot, by bicycle, or by bus.³

At 16 and 17, options widen considerably, including factory work and a broader range of trades. A long list of hazardous occupations, though, remains closed until 18.

Student-Learner Exception

One narrow route lets a 16- or 17-year-old perform otherwise prohibited hazardous work: a federally recognized student-learner program. The minor must be enrolled in a cooperative vocational training program through a recognized school. The employer signs a written agreement stating that the hazardous work will be short, intermittent, and directly supervised by a qualified adult. The school provides safety instruction, and the employer reinforces it on the job. If those precautions aren’t followed, the exemption can be revoked for that student.⁴

Working Papers

Every minor aged 14 through 17 needs an employment certificate before starting a job. You get one through your school, not through the employer. The paperwork involves three pieces: proof of age (birth certificate, state photo ID, or passport), a certificate of physical fitness from a doctor’s exam within the last 12 months, and, depending on the permit type, parental consent or a schooling record.⁵

Which certificate you receive depends on your age and school status:

Student Non-Factory Employment Certificate (blue paper, AT-18) goes to 14- and 15-year-olds for permitted jobs during vacations or after school hours. It is valid for two years from issuance or until the student turns 16, whichever comes first.⁶
Student General Employment Certificate (green paper, AT-19) goes to 16- and 17-year-olds still attending school. It covers factory work and most trades, but not the hazardous occupations reserved for adults.
Full-Time Employment Certificate (salmon paper, AT-20) goes to 16- and 17-year-olds who are no longer attending school or are leaving school for full-time work. A parent or guardian must appear in person before school authorities to give consent, unless the minor has graduated.
Farm Work Permit (AT-24) goes to 14- and 15-year-olds for farm work during vacations and outside school hours.
Newspaper Carrier Permit (AT-23) goes to minors 11 through 17 for delivering or selling newspapers and periodicals.

When a job ends, the employer must return the working papers to the minor. Those papers can be reused at the next job, as long as the minor is still the right age for that certificate type.⁵

Digital Working Papers in 2027

The state’s fiscal year 2026 budget directs the Department of Labor, working with the State Education Department, to build an electronic database for issuing employment certificates. Once the system launches in 2027, permits will be issued digitally. Both employers and job-seeking minors will need to register in the database, and information about individual minors will remain confidential.⁵

How Many Hours Minors Can Work

Every minor under 18 is capped at six days of work per week. Daily and weekly hour limits, and the earliest and latest times a shift can run, depend on age and on whether school is in session.⁷

Ages 14 and 15

When school is in session, 14- and 15-year-olds can work no more than three hours on a school day, eight hours on a non-school day like Saturday, and 18 hours total per week. They may work only between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. from Labor Day through June 20. From June 21 through Labor Day, the evening cutoff extends to 9 p.m., the weekly cap rises to 40 hours, and the eight-hour daily limit still applies.⁷

Ages 16 and 17

Sixteen- and 17-year-olds get more flexibility. During the school year they can work up to four hours Monday through Thursday, eight hours on Fridays, weekends, and holidays, and 28 hours per week total. Their permitted window runs from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. on nights before a school day.⁸

To work past 10 p.m. and up to midnight on a night before a school day, a 16- or 17-year-old needs two things: written permission from a parent or guardian, and a certificate of satisfactory academic standing from their school. When school is not in session, these minors can work up to 48 hours per week with an eight-hour daily cap, but the window between midnight and 6 a.m. is still off-limits.⁷

Jobs Minors Can’t Do

Section 133 of the Labor Law keeps two tiers of prohibited occupations: jobs banned for everyone under 18, and a longer list that also applies to those under 16.

Off-Limits for Everyone Under 18

No parental consent or permit unlocks these. They include:⁹

Construction work, including demolition, wrecking, roofing, excavation, and painting or exterior cleaning of buildings from elevated surfaces.
Power-driven woodworking, metal-forming, metal-punching, metal-shearing, bakery, and paper products machines, plus circular saws, band saws, and guillotine shears.
Any work in or around a slaughterhouse, meat-packing establishment, or rendering plant.
Any work connected to a mine, quarry, sawmill, lath mill, shingle mill, or cooperage-stock mill.
Manufacturing, packing, storing, using, or delivering explosives.
Jobs involving radioactive substances, ionizing radiation, silica, or other harmful dust; packing paints, dry colors, or lead compounds; or preparing compositions with dangerous or poisonous acids.
Operating freight or passenger elevators (though minors over 16 can operate automatic push-button elevators) and power-driven hoisting apparatus.
Working as a helper on a motor vehicle.
Any job relating to the custody or care of inmates in a correctional facility.

The commissioner can add occupations to the banned list after investigation if a trade or process is found dangerous to minors’ health.⁹

Extra Restrictions for Minors Under 16

Fourteen- and 15-year-olds face further limits. They cannot do any factory work (except office and delivery tasks in an enclosed factory office), operate any machinery with exposed moving parts, or work with washing, grinding, cutting, slicing, pressing, or mixing machinery. Door-to-door sales and peddling are also banned for this age group under both state and federal law.³

Federal regulations define “youth peddling” broadly. It covers selling goods or services at customers’ homes, on street corners, at transit stations, or anywhere outside the employer’s own premises. Even preparatory tasks like loading vans, stocking sales kits, and exchanging cash count as prohibited peddling. The one exception: a minor can promote products inside or directly in front of the employer’s own establishment.¹⁰

Employer Duties and Pay

Before a minor works a single shift, the employer must have a valid employment certificate on file for that worker. The employer must also keep accurate records of each minor’s schedule, including daily start and end times, and make them available to the Department of Labor on request. When the job ends, the employer returns the working papers to the minor.⁵

Minors must be paid at least the state minimum wage. As of 2026 that is $17.00 per hour in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County, and $16.00 per hour in the rest of the state. Fast food workers follow the same regional split. New York has no lower training wage or youth subminimum wage.¹¹

OSHA expects employers to train young workers to recognize hazards and use safe work practices, in language the worker actually understands, covering fire prevention, accident avoidance, and what to do if injured. OSHA also recommends pairing a new young worker with a mentor or experienced coworker, and making young-worker safety a clear part of a first-line supervisor’s role.¹²

Penalties for Violations

The state Department of Labor enforces child labor laws through investigations and workplace inspections. Investigators can show up unannounced, review employment records, and interview minor workers directly.¹³

Section 141 of the Labor Law authorizes the commissioner to impose civil penalties for any violation of Article 4, which covers all child labor rules. The Department publishes a penalty guideline schedule (form LS 163.1) with ranges for different violation types, including employing a minor without a valid certificate, exceeding permitted hours, and assigning prohibited work. Penalties escalate with repeat violations, and where a violation results in serious injury or death, fines can be tripled. Willful violations may bring criminal charges on top of civil fines, and the Department can restrict or revoke an employer’s ability to hire minors going forward.¹⁴

Federal penalties stack on top of state penalties when a violation also breaks the Fair Labor Standards Act. The federal civil fine is up to $16,035 per minor for each child labor violation. When a violation causes the death or serious injury of a worker under 18, the maximum jumps to $72,876, and that amount doubles for repeated or willful violations.¹⁵

Child Performers Follow Different Rules

The age floors, hour caps, and prohibited-job lists above do not govern acting, modeling, music, dance, stunt work, or voice-over work by minors. Those roles fall under Article 4-A of the Labor Law, which has no minimum age, requires the employer to obtain a child performer permit, and lets the Department of Labor revoke a permit for a performance that harms the child’s welfare, development, or education.¹⁶

1
eCFR. Part 570 Child Labor Regulations, Orders and Statements of Interpretation
2
New York State Department of Labor. Laws Governing the Employment of Minors
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Department of Labor. State Prohibited Occupations for Minors
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eCFR. Subpart E – Occupations Particularly Hazardous for the Employment of Minors Between 16 and 18 Years of Age
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Department of Labor. Working Papers
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New York State Department of Labor. Laws Governing the Employment of Minors
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Department of Labor. Hours of Work for Minors
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Department of Labor. Youth Ages 14-17
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New York State Senate. New York Labor Law Section 133 – Prohibited Employments of Minors
10
eCFR. Occupations That Are Prohibited to Minors 14 and 15 Years of Age
11
NY.Gov. New York State’s Minimum Wage
12
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Employer Responsibilities for Keeping Young Workers Safe
13
Department of Labor. New York State Child Labor Laws
14
Department of Labor. Employment of Minors
15
eCFR. Part 579 – Child Labor Violations – Civil Money Penalties
16
New York State Department of Labor. Article 4-A Employment and Education of Child Performers