Your first job in New Mexico: work permits, hours, and the $12 wage

A work permit is a state form that says a young person is old enough for a job and that the job is safe for them. In New Mexico, permits are issued to the young worker by a school superintendent, a school principal, another designated school official, or the Labor Relations Division of the Department of Workforce Solutions (DWS). You must show proof of age, such as a birth certificate, a Tribal ID, a passport, or another government ID. Your future employer also signs to certify that the work is not dangerous to you.

The permit lasts one year from the date it is issued, and it can be renewed. Your employer must keep it on file where you work. DWS publishes the Work Permit Certificate Form in English and Spanish, and blank permits are available at America's Job Center New Mexico offices.

The DWS pages we read did not state the exact age at which a permit stops being required. If you are 16 or 17, call the Child Labor Section at (505) 841-4400 and ask whether your job needs one.

Both state and federal law set 14 as the minimum age for most jobs. If you are 14 or 15, you may not work during school hours. On a school day you can work up to 3 hours, and up to 18 hours in a school week. On a day with no school the limit is 8 hours, and 40 hours in a week with no school. Work must fall between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., except from June 1 through Labor Day, when you can work until 9 p.m.

At 16 and 17, DWS says there are no hour or time limits. Some jobs are still off limits until 18, including roofing, driving a motor vehicle for work, and running power-driven bakery machines. For 14- and 15-year-olds, cooking, baking, and working in freezers are among the tasks federal rules forbid.

Congress's power to set these limits was not always accepted. In Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918), the Supreme Court struck down a federal child labor law. In United States v. Darby (1941), the Court reversed course and upheld the FLSA, ruling that Congress can set wage and hour rules for work connected to trade between states.

The New Mexico minimum wage is $12.00 an hour, well above the federal $7.25. DWS enforces the state rate, and it notes that certain cities have set their own, higher minimum wages. If you work inside city limits, check your city's rate too.

We did not find a separate youth or training wage on the DWS pages we read, so do not assume your employer can pay you less because you are young.