Youth Employment Home
Indiana Department of Labor Youth Employment Division monitors and enforces Indiana youth employment laws.
Indiana Youth Employment laws may be viewed here.
Changes to Indiana's Youth Employment Laws (January 1, 2025)
Effective January 1, 2025, Indiana’s Youth Employment rules will change to closer mirror federal child labor laws, with a few notable differences.
Changes to the Youth Employment laws include:
- 16- and 17-year-olds may now work the same hours and days as an adult. No parental permission is required for 16- and 17-year-olds to work longer or later hours.
- 14- and 15-year-olds are still bound by the same hour and day restrictions but may now work until 9:00 PM on any day between June 1st and Labor Day. (Some exceptions may apply. Please see our website at www.in.gov/dol/youth-employment/youth-employment-home/ or refer to Indiana Code 22-2-18.1-16.)
- The restrictions on minors working in prohibited or hazardous occupations continue to mirror federal law.
- Any employer that employs five (5) or more minors (14-, 15-, 16, or 17-year-olds) must register the minor in the Youth Employment System (YES).
- The minor’s date of hire is the first day on which the minor attends orientation or performs work for the employer.
- Any new or changed information regarding a qualifying location, or the names and numbers of minors at each qualifying location, must now be entered on or before the fifteenth and last business day of each month.
- Employers of 14- and 15-year-olds must update their youth employment posters to reflect the changes in law. This and other labor posters are available for free online at www.in.gov/dol/publications/ . These posters may also be offered by other, for-profit organizations. Please ensure whatever poster you choose contains complete and correct information.
If you have specific questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us by phone at (317) 232-2655 or by e-mail at YouthEmployment@dol.in.gov .
Youth Employment System (YES)
Effective July 1, 2021, Indiana eliminated work permits completely, and now requires all employers with five or more minor employees (under age 18) to use Indiana Department of Labor’s Youth Employment System (YES) to track and report minor-employee information.
Youth Employment (YE) FAQs
Do minors have to receive a break/lunch when working 6 hours or longer?
As of April 1, 2020, the Indiana youth employment law removed the break/lunch requirement for minors. Employers are no longer required to provide a minor with a break or lunch regardless of the number of hours worked in a day.
My child is a homeschool/online school student, what hours are they allowed to work?
Students who are homeschooled or enrolled in an online school are considered the same as a minor who attends school in person. The school district calendar where the minor lives is used to determine beginning/end of school year, breaks, and holidays.
If I employ 4 or less minors, do I need to register my company in YES?
Employers are only required to register in YES if they employ 5 or more minors. Employers may voluntarily register on YES if they employ 4 or less minors.
Do I have to include summer help on my YES registration?
Yes. If you employ 5 or more minors, you are required to register your company and keep an updated list of minors regardless of length of employment.
Can a 14/15 year old work until 9:00pm on the weekends during the school year?
No. A 14/15 year old can only work until 7:00pm regardless of the day of the week except from June 1 to Labor Day.
From June 1 to Labor Day, a 14/15 year old can work until 9:00pm except once school is back in session. When school starts but it is before Labor Day, a 14/15 year old can only work until 7:00pm on a night before a school day.
They would still be allowed to work until 9:00 pm on a night not followed by a school day until Labor Day. After Labor Day, they would return to only being allowed to work until 7:00 pm.
View all FAQs with Knowledge Base.