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A 15-year-old in Rehoboth Beach gets a summer job scooping ice cream on the boardwalk. Before the first shift, the owner needs one piece of paper: a Delaware employment certificate, which most people call a work permit. Delaware's child labor law lives in Title 19, Chapter 5 of the Delaware Code, and it sits on top of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the national law that sets the minimum rules for young workers. When the two disagree, the stricter rule wins.
The employment certificate: who needs it and how to get it
Delaware law says a minor, meaning anyone under 18, may not work unless the employer holds a verified and validated employment certificate for that minor. The employer keeps it on file and must show it to the Delaware Department of Labor on request. The rule covers 16- and 17-year-olds too; in some states permits stop at 16, but not here.
Who issues it? Under the statute, each school district's superintendent designates a year-round school employee to issue certificates, and the Department of Labor can issue them as well. To prove age, the law accepts a certified birth certificate, a baptismal certificate with the date of birth, a school record, a passport, or a valid driver's license.
Nobody under 14 may be employed in Delaware, with a short list of exceptions written into the law: delivering newspapers, caddying, nonhazardous farm work, work in a parent's business, and unpaid volunteering for a charity with a parent's written consent.
Hours: where Delaware and the federal floor differ
For workers under 16, Delaware sets these limits: 4 hours on a school day, 8 hours on a non-school day, 18 hours in a week when school is in session for 5 days, 40 hours in a non-school week, and no more than 6 days a week. Work must happen between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., extended to 9:00 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day. No work during the school day.
Here is the catch. The federal FLSA rule for 14- and 15-year-olds allows only 3 hours on a school day, not 4. The stricter rule controls, so at most stores and restaurants a 15-year-old in Delaware is really limited to 3 hours on a school day. The other numbers match.
For 16- and 17-year-olds, the FLSA sets no hour limits at all. Delaware adds three protections for everyone under 18: no more than 12 combined hours of school and work in a day, at least 8 consecutive hours off each day, and a break of at least 30 minutes after 5 hours of continuous work.
Pay, and why the federal government can regulate this at all
Delaware's minimum wage is $15.00 an hour, set by Title 19, Chapter 9 of the Delaware Code, more than double the federal $7.25. The subsection that once allowed a lower youth rate has been repealed, so a 16-year-old at a Newark grocery store earns the same base rate as an adult. Tipped workers, such as a busser in Wilmington, can be paid a cash wage as low as $2.23 an hour only if tips bring them up to $15.00.
One case explains the layering. In Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918), the Supreme Court struck down the first national child labor law, saying Congress could not use its power over interstate trade to control factory work inside a state. The Court reversed itself in United States v. Darby (1941), which upheld the FLSA. Since then federal law is the floor, and Delaware builds higher.
Where to check and who to call
Start at your school's main office and ask who issues employment certificates for your district. Bring one proof of age from the list above. If the school cannot help, the Delaware Department of Labor's Division of Industrial Affairs issues them too.
If an employer schedules you past the limits, skips the 30-minute break, or pays under $15.00, the Labor Law Enforcement Section of the Delaware Department of Labor handles complaints. The law sets a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation, and a separate penalty of $1,000 to $5,000 if an employer fires or punishes a worker for complaining. That protection is in the statute; you are allowed to speak up.
Read the text yourself at delcode.delaware.gov, Title 19, Chapter 5 for child labor and Chapter 9 for wages. For the federal floor, the U.S. Department of Labor's Fact Sheet 43 lists the FLSA limits.
À retenir
- Every Delaware worker under 18 needs an employment certificate, issued by the school district or the Department of Labor.
- Under 16: Delaware allows 4 hours on a school day, but the federal FLSA allows 3, and the stricter rule wins.
- Everyone under 18 gets a 30-minute break after 5 hours and at least 8 consecutive hours off each day.
- Delaware's minimum wage is $15.00 with no youth rate; complaints go to the Department of Labor's Labor Law Enforcement Section.
Sources
- Delaware Code Online: Title 19, Chapter 5, Child Labor (s'ouvre dans un nouvel onglet)
- Delaware Code Online: Title 19, Chapter 9, Minimum Wage (s'ouvre dans un nouvel onglet)
- U.S. Dept. of Labor: Fact Sheet 43, Child Labor Provisions for Nonagricultural Occupations (s'ouvre dans un nouvel onglet)
- Legal Information Institute: Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918) (s'ouvre dans un nouvel onglet)
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