Teen jobs in Vermont: certificates, hour caps, and the student wage gap

Vermont law says a worker under 16 cannot work more than 3 hours on a school day or more than 18 hours in a school week. On other days the cap is 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week, and no more than six days in a week. Work must fall between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., except from June 1 through Labor Day, when the end time moves to 9 p.m.

Those numbers line up with the federal floor. The U.S. Department of Labor's rules for 14- and 15-year-olds set the same 3-hour, 18-hour, 8-hour, and 40-hour limits and the same 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. window. So in Vermont, a 15-year-old gets the same protection from both levels.

A child under 14 can work only in jobs the Commissioner of Labor has approved by rule for that age, and only during vacation or before and after school.

Vermont's word for a work permit is a certificate: a paper from the Commissioner of Labor saying a child under 16 is eligible to work. To issue one, the Commissioner needs the child's school record, proof of age such as a birth certificate, and a note from a Vermont-licensed doctor saying the child is fit for the job. The law does not require the certificate for work done during vacations or before or after school hours. The Department of Labor posts a Child Labor Certificate Form, so if you are not sure whether your job needs one, ask your employer to check with the state before you start.

At 16 and 17, the Vermont hour caps above stop applying. Federal law also lets 16- and 17-year-olds work unlimited hours. What stays is the ban on hazardous work: no one under 18 may do jobs or run machines that the U.S. Secretary of Labor or the Vermont Commissioner has named hazardous.

Vermont's minimum wage is $14.42 an hour starting January 1, 2026, and $7.21 for tipped workers.

Here is the part many families miss. Vermont's minimum wage law leaves out 'students working during all or any part of the school year or regular vacation periods,' along with farm work and a few other jobs. That does not always mean a student can be paid less. The federal minimum wage can still cover the job, and many employers pay the state rate anyway. If your paycheck is under $14.42, ask the state Wage and Hour Program whether the student exception really applies to you.

The federal power behind all of this comes from United States v. Darby (1941), where the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Congress can set wage and hour rules for work tied to interstate commerce, and it overruled Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918), the case that had struck down an earlier federal child labor law.