Teen Summer Job Safety Campaign

Teen Wage and Hour Issues/Child Labor Laws

Indianapolis, IN May 15, 2008 - The Indiana Department of Labor reminds employers and teens to work safely. 

Indiana Child Labor laws regulate the employment of persons aged 17 and younger.  Indiana law establishes specific requirements applicable to the employment of minors, including restrictions on the hours teenagers are permitted to work, types of establishments in which minors are prohibited from working, and the types of jobs they are prohibited from performing.

 Work Permits

Minors must obtain a work permit prior to beginning employment.  The work permit requirement applies to all minors, including those who are:

• Enrolled in a public or private school;
• Home-school students;
• Out-of-State residents seeking employment in Indiana;
• No longer enrolled in school, and;
• Married.

Work permits are not required to employ teens that have graduated from high school or have received a General Education Development (GED) diploma. 

 A minor whose attendance is not in good standing or whose academic performance does not meet the school corporation's standard may be denied a work permit.

 Work Hours

During school weeks, 14 and 15 year-olds may not exceed three hours of work per day, may not work later than 7 p.m., may not work more than 18 hours per week and may not work between the hours of 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. 

 For 16 and 17 year-olds, Indiana law allows for extended work hours with written parental or legal guardian permission.  Additional restrictions apply.  For further information please visit http://www.in.gov/dol/files/Teen_Worker_Poster.pdf .

 Prohibited Occupations

Indiana law prohibits minors from performing certain types of work also prohibited under the child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.  For more information about the types of work that minors are prohibited from performing, please contact the U.S. Department of Labor:  

• Indianapolis (Central and Southern Indiana), Phone:  (317) 226-6801
• South Bend (Northern Indiana), Phone:  (574) 236-8331

 For more information or if you have questions, please contact Michelle L. Ellison at (317) 234-4792.

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