Federal law sets minimum standards for child labor in agricultural and nonagricultural employment

Law  Nonagricultural employment  Agricultural employment 
Minimum age for “nonhazardous” employment  14 with exceptions for delivering newspapers; performing in radio, television, movie, or theatrical productions; and performing nonhazardous work for parents in a family business 10 with parental consent on farms not covered by the minimum wage requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act 
 
12 with parental consent 
 
14 with no restrictions on nonhazardous work 
Minimum age for hazardous employment  18 16
Maximum hours of employment for youth under 16  No work during school hours 
 
When school is in session: max 3 hours/day on a school day, max 8 hours/day on a nonschool day, max 18 hours/week
Federal law does not limit the number of hours or times of day, other than outside of school hours, that youth can work in agriculture 
Minimum hourly wage and overtime Adult minimum: $7.25 per hour

“Youth” minimum: $4.25 per hour for employees under 20 years of age during their first 90 consecutive calendar days of employment

Overtime for all workers: 1.5 times regular hourly wage after 40 hours/week 

Many agricultural employers are exempt from federal minimum wage requirements

Agricultural employers are exempt from federal overtime requirements

Source: EPI summary of U.S. Department of Labor Child Labor Bulletins No. 101 and No. 102.

View the underlying data on epi.org.