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A 15-year-old in Lakeland gets hired to bag groceries after school. The manager asks for a copy of her birth certificate and nothing else. That is correct in Florida. The state does not issue work permits or working papers. Instead, the employer must keep 'proof of age' (a document showing the date of birth) on file for every minor. What Florida does regulate, closely, is hours. The rules come from the state Child Labor Program inside the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), and they changed in 2024.
Ages 14 and 15: the tightest limits
When public school is in session, a 14- or 15-year-old in Florida may work up to 15 hours in a seven-day week. That means no more than 3 hours on a school day, and up to 8 hours on a Saturday, a Sunday, or another non-school day when no school day follows. Work must fall between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., and never during school hours.
Summer is looser. From June 1 through Labor Day, this age group can work up to 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week, between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. One rule holds all year: a worker who is 15 or younger cannot work more than six days in a row.
The federal floor is close but not identical. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA, the national wage and child labor law) allows 14- and 15-year-olds 18 hours in a school week; Florida allows 15. When a state rule and a federal rule differ, the employer must follow the stricter one, so in Florida the 15-hour cap wins.
Ages 16 and 17: the 30-hour school week and the waiver
Federal law puts no hours limit on 16- and 17-year-olds. Florida does. When school is in session, a 16- or 17-year-old may not work before 6:30 a.m. or after 11 p.m. on a night before a school day, may not work more than 8 hours on such a day, and may not work during school hours. The weekly cap is 30 hours.
A 2024 law, HB 49, added a way around the weekly cap. A parent or custodian, or the school superintendent (or someone the superintendent names), can sign DBPR's Parental/School 30-hour waiver form. The waiver adds up to 10 hours, for a maximum of 40 in a school week. It does not remove the 11 p.m. rule.
On Fridays, Saturdays, and any day with no school the next morning, a 16- or 17-year-old may finish a shift that runs past midnight. DBPR's own example is a Saturday shift from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday, which is allowed. During summer vacation and non-school weeks there is no hours limit for this age group.
Pay, and why a federal case matters here
Florida's minimum wage is far above the federal $7.25. The U.S. Department of Labor's state-by-state table lists Florida's basic rate at $14.00 an hour, and it lists one rate for everyone, with no separate teen rate noted. Florida's number rises on a schedule, so check the current figure before your first paycheck. If someone offers a 16-year-old less than the posted rate, ask why.
Why does a state get to set these rules at all? In Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918), the Supreme Court struck down the first federal child labor law and said only the states could regulate it. In United States v. Darby (1941), the Court reversed itself: it held that Congress can regulate child labor under the Commerce Clause, upheld the FLSA, and said Hammer was overruled. That is why a federal floor and a stricter Florida rule both exist today.
Where to check, and how to complain
The Florida Child Labor Program is part of DBPR, based in Tallahassee. Its FAQ page answers the everyday questions: hours by age, the 30-hour waiver, the jobs minors cannot do (called hazardous occupations), and what the 2024 laws changed. Phone: 850-488-3131, or toll-free 800-226-2536. Waiver questions go to ChildLaborWaivers@myfloridalicense.com.
If an employer schedules a 15-year-old for 20 hours in a school week, or keeps a 16-year-old until midnight on a Tuesday, that breaks Florida law. DBPR takes complaints online and through a Complaint Form sent to a regional office, and the complaint stays confidential during the investigation. The federal Wage and Hour Division enforces the FLSA side, and its YouthRules pages explain the federal limits.
Two things to do before a first job: keep your own copy of your proof of age, and write down your schedule each week. If the hours drift past the limits, you will have the record.
请记住
- Florida has no work permit; the employer keeps proof of your age on file instead.
- At 14 or 15, the school-week cap is 15 hours, 3 hours on a school day, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.
- At 16 or 17, the school-week cap is 30 hours, with an 11 p.m. cutoff before school days; a signed DBPR waiver can raise it to 40.
- Florida's minimum wage is $14.00 on the federal table; complaints go to DBPR's Child Labor Program at 850-488-3131.
资料来源
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