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A 15-year-old in Grand Rapids gets hired to scoop ice cream for the summer. A 17-year-old in Dearborn starts stocking shelves at a grocery store. In many states only the younger teen would need paperwork. Michigan is different: under the Youth Employment Standards Act, every worker under 18 needs a work permit before the first shift, and both teens have hour limits.
The work permit: every minor, even volunteers
The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) says a minor cannot work, with or without pay, or volunteer until the employer has a valid work permit on file. The permit comes from a school issuing officer, meaning an official at your school district, intermediate school district, charter school, or private school. Homeschooled teens go through the district where they live or where the job is.
The process has three parts. You and a parent fill in Section I of form CA-6 or CA-7 and show proof of age, such as a certified birth record or a school record. The employer fills in Section II, listing your duties, tools, and hours. The school official checks it and signs Section III.
LEO says that starting Oct. 2, 2026, every youth work permit must go through the state's online Youth Employment Permit Portal (YEPP), run by the Wage and Hour Division.
Hours: two sets of limits, and the stricter one wins
If you are under 16, Michigan law allows work only outside school hours: no more than 3 hours a day and 18 hours a week while school is in session, and 40 hours in a non-school week. Work must fall between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., or 9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day. These match the federal Fair Labor Standards Act rules for 14- and 15-year-olds.
At 16 and 17, federal law sets no hour limits at all. Michigan does. You cannot work more than 10 hours in a day, 6 days in a week, or 48 hours in a week, and only 24 hours a week while school is in session. You cannot work between 10:30 p.m. and 6 a.m., though a student can work until 11:30 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, and school vacations.
At any age under 18, after 5 hours in a row you get a break of at least 30 minutes, and an adult 18 or older must supervise you.
Pay: $13.73, the 85% rule, and the training wage
Michigan's minimum wage is $13.73 an hour starting Jan. 1, 2026, and $15.00 starting Jan. 1, 2027. State law lets an employer pay a worker under 18 at 85% of that rate, which works out to about $11.67 an hour in 2026. An employer can also pay a new worker under 20 a training wage of $4.25 an hour for the first 90 days, but it cannot fire or cut hours for another worker to do it.
States can add these rules on top of federal law because of United States v. Darby (1941). In that case the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and rejected its earlier decision in Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918), which had blocked Congress from limiting child labor.
Where to check and who to call
The LEO Wage and Hour Division enforces these rules. Call 517-284-7800 or toll-free 855-464-9243 (855-4MI-WAGE), or email WHinfo@michigan.gov. If you work too many hours, too late, without a break, without a permit, or in a hazardous job, use the online YESA Complaint Form. If you were not paid, file a wage claim at michigan.gov/wageclaim. A teen or parent can file without a lawyer.
Before your first shift, ask the employer one question: is my permit on file? If the answer is no, the job should not start yet.
Da ricordare
- In Michigan, every worker under 18 needs a work permit before starting, and from Oct. 2, 2026, permits go through the state's YEPP portal.
- Under 16: 3 hours on a school day, 18 in a school week, and nothing after 7 p.m. (9 p.m. in summer).
- At 16 and 17, Michigan caps you at 24 hours in a school week and bars work from 10:30 p.m. to 6 a.m., with 11:30 p.m. allowed on Fridays, Saturdays, and vacations.
- The LEO Wage and Hour Division takes complaints at 855-464-9243 and through its online YESA Complaint Form.
Fonti
- Michigan LEO: Youth Employment Standards Act (YESA) (si apre in una nuova scheda)
- Michigan Legislature: MCL 409.111, hours for minors 16 and older (si apre in una nuova scheda)
- Michigan Legislature: MCL 408.934b, training wage and minors' wage (si apre in una nuova scheda)
- Legal Information Institute (Cornell): United States v. Darby, 312 U.S. 100 (1941) (si apre in una nuova scheda)
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