Florida Labor Laws for Minors: Work Hours, Curfews, and What Employers Must Do

Two Layers of Law: Federal Floor, Florida Rules on Top

Federal child labor law sets the nationwide floor. For 14- and 15-year-olds, the FLSA caps work at 3 hours on a school day and 18 hours in a school week, with work allowed only between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. (extended to 9 p.m. in the summer). For 16- and 17-year-olds, federal law sets no hour caps at all — but it bans them from hazardous occupations like operating most power-driven machinery, roofing, and excavation.

Florida layers its own rules on top, and historically Florida's limits for 16- and 17-year-olds were stricter than the federal floor — including school-night hour limits and curfews. Florida's legislature has amended these rules recently, changing what's allowed for older teens in particular. Because the details have moved, don't rely on a years-old handbook: confirm the current hour limits and exemptions with the Florida DBPR Child Labor Program before scheduling any minor.

The rule of thumb that never changes: when federal and state law differ, you must follow the stricter one for that specific minor and situation.

Florida Minor Work Hours by Age Group

For 14- and 15-year-olds, expect tight limits in line with the federal standard: roughly 3 hours on school days, capped weekly hours during school weeks, no work during school hours, and evening curfews that get a little looser in summer. Some jobs — most notably hazardous and manufacturing work — are entirely off-limits at this age regardless of hours.

For 16- and 17-year-olds, the federal government imposes no hour caps, so Florida's rules are what matter. Florida has traditionally limited school-night hours and weekly hours during the school year for this group, with broader allowances when school is out — but recent legislative changes have adjusted these limits and added exemptions (for example, for certain graduates or virtual-school students). Treat any specific number you find online as potentially outdated and verify with DBPR.

Hazardous occupation bans apply to all minors under 18 regardless of hours: no roofing, no most power-driven machinery, no excavation, and a longer federal list. These bans don't relax in summer and can't be waived by a parent.

Proof of Age and Recordkeeping Requirements

Florida does not use a traditional work permit system the way some states do, but employers must keep proof of age on file for every minor employee — typically a copy of a birth certificate, driver's license, or similar document. Some school-attendance-related paperwork or waivers can apply in specific situations, so ask DBPR what applies to your case.

Keep these records organized from day one: proof of age, the minor's schedule, actual hours worked with exact in/out times, and meal break records. If a state inspector or a wage claim ever questions whether a 16-year-old worked past curfew on a school night, your timestamped records are the answer. Without them, you're arguing memory against penalty schedules.

Scheduling Compliance: Where Employers Get Burned

Most minor-labor violations aren't intentional — they're scheduling drift. A 15-year-old picks up a closing shift that runs past curfew. A school-week total creeps past the cap because two managers each scheduled the same teen. A 17-year-old gets asked to run the dough mixer 'just this once.' Each of those is a violation with per-instance penalty exposure.

The fix is structural, not motivational. Build age-based scheduling rules into how shifts get assigned: flag every employee under 18 in your system, encode their hour caps and curfews, and block or alert on shifts that break the rules. Break rules matter too — minors in Florida have meal break requirements that adults don't, so a compliant adult schedule can still be a violation when a 15-year-old works it.

A time clock that records exact punch times closes the loop, because scheduled compliance means nothing if actual hours ran long. Kloqk's free time clock gives you the timestamped actuals; pair it with schedule rules and a manager checklist for every hire under 18.

Penalties and Where to Verify the Current Rules

Both federal and Florida regulators can assess civil penalties per violation, and penalties scale up sharply when violations involve hazardous work or injury to a minor. Florida enforcement runs through the DBPR; federal enforcement through the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division.

Because Florida's minor work rules have changed recently and may change again, bookmark the DBPR Child Labor page and re-check it each school year and each summer before you set teen schedules. When this article and the regulator disagree, the regulator wins — confirm specifics with the Florida DBPR or your state labor department.

Frequently asked questions

Keep reading