Your first job in Pennsylvania: the school work permit, hour caps, and pay

In Pennsylvania, every worker under 18 needs a work permit, which is an official paper showing you are allowed to be employed. You get it from your school district, not from the employer. The Department of Labor and Industry says you can meet the school's issuing officer in person or online.

If you are under 16, there is one more step. A parent or guardian must sign a written statement that describes the job and the hours and gives permission for you to work.

Most children under 14 cannot be hired at all. The state lists narrow exceptions, such as a family farm, babysitting, yard work, caddying, delivering newspapers, and performing with a special permit.

For 14- and 15-year-olds, the state and federal rules line up closely. During the school year you can work up to 3 hours on a school day and 18 hours in a school week (Monday to Friday), between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. When school is out, the limit is 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week, and you can work until 9 p.m. The federal rule, 29 CFR 570.35, uses the same numbers, with 9 p.m. allowed from June 1 through Labor Day.

The bigger difference is at 16 and 17. The federal hours rule in 29 CFR 570.35 is written only for 14- and 15-year-olds. Pennsylvania adds its own caps. In a school week you can work up to 8 hours a day and 28 hours Monday through Friday, between 6 a.m. and midnight. When school is out, the limit is 10 hours a day and 48 hours a week, between 6 a.m. and 1 a.m. An employer cannot force you to work more than 44 hours a week.

Two rules cover every age. No minor may work more than six days in a row, except newspaper carriers. And you get a 30-minute meal break for every five hours in a row that you work.

Minors in Pennsylvania, full-time or part-time, must be paid at least the minimum wage. The Department of Labor and Industry lists it as $7.25 an hour, the same as the federal minimum.

Federal child labor rules exist because of a 1941 Supreme Court case. In United States v. Darby (1941), the Court held that Congress can set wage and hour rules for workers who make goods sold across state lines. That decision overruled Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918), which had said Congress could not keep goods made by children out of interstate trade.