How late can a 15-year-old work at a restaurant?
The short answer
Example: a school week
Say you’re 15, it’s October, and school is in session Monday through Friday. Here’s a schedule that stays inside the federal limits (illustrative).
| Day | Shift | Hours | Federal check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | 4–7 p.m. | 3 | School day: 3-hour max, done by 7 p.m. |
| Thursday | 4–7 p.m. | 3 | Same |
| Friday | 4–7 p.m. | 3 | Friday counts as a school day |
| Saturday | 10 a.m.–6 p.m. | 8 | Non-school day: 8-hour max |
| Week total | 17 | Under the 18-hour school-week max |
A Friday shift from 5 to 9 p.m. in October would break two rules: it runs past 7 p.m., and it’s 4 hours on a school day. The same shift in July would be fine on time of day, because the evening limit moves to 9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day. Not tax or legal advice.
Plain English
The federal hours limits at 14 and 15
| Rule | Federal limit (29 CFR 570.35) |
|---|---|
| When | Outside school hours only |
| Time of day | 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; 9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day |
| School day | Up to 3 hours, including Fridays |
| Non-school day | Up to 8 hours |
| Week when school is in session | Up to 18 hours |
| Week when school is not in session | Up to 40 hours |
A “week when school is in session” means any week your local school district is in session for at least one day or part of a day. Summer school doesn’t count as school hours. A week here is your employer’s fixed 7-day workweek.
What a 14- or 15-year-old can and can’t do in a restaurant kitchen
- Can: serve food, run a register, bus, wash dishes, and use machines like dishwashers, toasters, milkshake blenders, coffee machines, food warmers and heat lamps.
- Can cook on electric or gas grills that don’t involve an open flame, and use deep fryers only if they automatically lower and raise the baskets.
- Can’t: bake, or use broilers, rotisseries, pressure cookers, fryolators, high-speed ovens or rapid toasters.
- Can’t: work in freezers or meat coolers, except stepping in briefly to grab something.
- Can’t: clean kitchen equipment or handle hot oil or grease unless it’s no hotter than 100°F.
At 16 and 17
DOL says 16- and 17-year-olds may work unlimited hours in any job not declared hazardous. It does bar them from hazardous jobs. In a restaurant, DOL says that includes running, setting up or cleaning power-driven meat slicers, meat saws, patty-forming machines, meat grinders and choppers, commercial mixers and certain bakery machines, and loading or running balers and compactors (with a narrow paper-baler exception). DOL also says no one under 18 may drive on the job, with a narrow exception for some 17-year-olds.
Your state’s rules
DOL says that where a state child labor law is stricter than federal law, the state law applies. Check with your state labor office on DOL’s list of state labor offices, or call DOL’s Wage and Hour Division at 1-866-487-9243.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting Friday is a school day, so the 3-hour limit applies.
- Assuming the 9 p.m. summer limit starts when school lets out. Federally it’s June 1.
- Scheduling a close. The whole shift, closing duties included, has to fit between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. (9 p.m. in summer).
- Letting a 15-year-old help at the fryer or oven because it’s busy.
Official sources
- eCFR: 29 CFR 570.35, Hours of work for minors 14 and 15 years of ageecfr.gov
- eCFR: 29 CFR 570.34, Occupations permitted for minors 14 and 15 years of age (cooking and kitchen work)ecfr.gov
- U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #2A: Child Labor Rules for Employing Youth in Restaurants and Quick-Service Establishmentsdol.gov
- U.S. Department of Labor: YouthRules!dol.gov
- U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division: State Labor Officesdol.gov
Last verified:
Checked 29 CFR 570.35 and 570.34 as of September 1, 2026 (hours, time of day, school-week definitions, permitted cooking and kitchen work), DOL Fact Sheet #2A (revised July 2010: no baking, prohibited cooking equipment, freezers, hazardous jobs at 16 and 17, driving), and YouthRules! (stricter state law applies).