Working as a teen in California: the school permit, hour limits, and $16.90

In California, almost every worker under 18 needs a Permit to Employ and Work. The employer and the teen share one form. The Labor Commissioner's Office (the state agency that enforces wage and child labor law) says the permit is usually issued by an authorized person at the minor's school. In summer, or whenever school is out, the superintendent of the school district where the teen lives issues it instead.

The path is short. After an employer agrees to hire you, you pick up a California Department of Education form called the 'Statement of Intent to Employ Minor and Request for Work Permit.' You and the employer fill it in, a parent or guardian signs it, and the school issues the permit. A permit issued during the school year expires five days after the next school year opens, so plan to renew it every fall.

A student who has dropped out is still covered by California's compulsory education law and still needs the permit. An emancipated minor (a teen a court has declared legally independent from their parents) can apply without a parent's signature.

California sets its own caps on how many hours a 14- or 15-year-old and a 16- or 17-year-old may work on school days, on non-school days, and per week, and on how early or late a shift may run. Those caps sit on top of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (the FLSA, the national wage and hour law). The U.S. Department of Labor puts it plainly: where a state's child labor law is stricter than federal law, the state law applies. Whichever rule protects you more is the one your employer must follow.

The exact numbers differ by age, by whether school is in session, and by the kind of job, so read them at the source, not from a manager's memory. The Labor Commissioner's Child Labor Law Pamphlet has a section titled 'Hours of Work' and a summary chart by age near the end. If a manager asks a 15-year-old to close at midnight on a school night, that chart is where the answer lives.

California's minimum wage is $16.90 per hour starting January 1, 2026. Fast food workers and some health care workers have higher state minimums, and many cities and counties set their own higher rates. When the rates conflict, the employer must pay the highest one. The state's minimum wage FAQ lists no general lower rate for teenagers. If someone offers a 16-year-old in Bakersfield less than the minimum because of age, ask them to show where the law allows it.

The federal floor exists because of United States v. Darby (1941). The Supreme Court upheld the Fair Labor Standards Act and held that Congress may use its power over interstate commerce to set wage, hour, and child labor rules for goods shipped across state lines. Darby overruled Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918), which had said Congress could not do this.