Youth Employment Safety Laws
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Overview
A minor is an individual under 18 years old. Maryland encourages the development of minors by allowing them to engage in work that prepares them to be responsible citizens, while protecting them from jobs that could injure them. Maryland laws protect minors at work by:
- keeping them in safe jobs;
- ensuring that they are not overworked;
- prohibiting discrimination; and
- providing decent pay.
Some laws apply to all minors. Other laws and exceptions apply based on the minor's age.
NOTE: This article does not cover the topics of taxes or work permits.
Who can work?
Generally, Maryland law prohibits children under the age of 14 from working. However, the law does allow children under the age of 14 to perform the following types of work, if the work is performed outside of school hours, does not involve manufacturing or mining, and is not a restricted hazardous occupation:
- Farm work;
- Domestic work;
- Working for a parent’s business;
- Caddying at a golf course;
- Teaching on a sailboat;
- Delivering newspapers;
- Making an evergreen wreath in or near a home;
- Acting as a counselor or instructor at a certified youth camp; or
- Unpaid volunteer work (parent/guardian must consent in writing).
- NOTE: If the unpaid volunteer work is in a volunteer fire department or volunteer rescue squad, the minor must be at least 16 years old and have completed, or be enrolled in, a course about firefighting or rescue.
Entertainer Exception - A minor of any age can apply for a special permit to work as a model, performer, or entertainer. The application and permits are available only at the Baltimore Office of the Maryland Department of Labor. Learn more about work permits.
Read the Law: Md. Code, Labor and Employment § 3-203; 3-207; § 3-209
Types of Work
Prohibitions – All Minors
All minors are forbidden from working in certain dangerous jobs. Minors cannot work at in, about, or in connection with:
- the manufacturing of a hazardous substance,
- blast furnaces,
- distilleries where alcoholic beverages are manufactured, bottled, wrapped, or packed,
- railroads,
- an engineer, fireman, or pilot on a commerce vessel,
- docks or wharves (other than marinas where pleasure boats are sold or served),
- the erection and repair of electrical wires,
- the manufacturing of a hazardous substance.
- the cleaning, oiling, or wiping of machinery, and
- any occupation forbidden by any local, state or federal law.
Prohibitions – Minors Under
In addition to the restrictions listed above, minors under 16 cannot work at, about, or in connection with:
- an acid, dye, gas, lye, or paint,
- an airport,
- a brickyard,
- a lumberyard,
- a workroom or work site where goods are manufactured or processed,
- a scaffolding, a vessel when engaged in navigation or commerce,
- construction,
- an occupation that causes dust in an injurious quantity,
- a manufacturing occupation,
- a mechanical occupation,
- a processing occupation, or
- the adjustment, cleaning, or operation of power-driven machinery except unless it is an office machine or machinery used in a school.
Unpaid Volunteer - Fire and Rescue Squads
Minors may work as unpaid volunteers in a fire station or rescue squad if they are at least 16 years old, and are taking (or have completed) a course about firefighting or rescue work.
Restrictions - Money Handling
Minors may not be employed to carry, to or from a business, money (in any amount) between 8pm and 8am. Minors also cannot carry, to or from a business, more than $100 during the day (8am-8pm). These rules do not apply if the minor:
- is a child of the manager, operator, or owner of the business, or
- is carrying money that the minor received for doing their job.
NOTE: The Commissioner of Labor and Industry ("Commissioner") can prohibit additional occupations if:
- after a public hearing, the Commissioner determines that employment in the occupation should be prohibited to minors;
- the Commissioner adopts a determination by the U.S. Secretary of Labor under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 that an occupation is hazardous; or
- after an investigation, the Commissioner determines that the occupation is injurious to minors' health and welfare or the morals of minors under 16 years old.
Read the Law: Md. Code, Labor and Employment § 3-212, § 3-213
Time Restrictions
Maryland law contains the following restriction on work hours for minors.
Work Hours – All Minors
- You may not work more than 5 consecutive hours without a nonworking period of at least 30 minutes.
- Unless the Commissioner has granted an exception, your total school and work hours may not exceed 12 hours.
- You must have at least 8 consecutive hours that are not school or work hours.
The Commissioner can grant exceptions to these rules if the Commissioner determines that there will be no hazard to the minor's health or welfare.
Read the law: Md. Code, Labor and Employment § 3-210
Work Hours – Minors Under 16
If you are 14 or 15 years old, you may NOT work:
- before 7am,
- after 8pm from the day after Labor Day through the day before Memorial Day
- after 9pm from Memorial Day through Labor Day
- more than
- 4 hours on any day when school is in-session
- 8 hours a day when school is not in-session
- 23 hours in a week when school is in-session for 5 days
- 40 hours in a week when school is not in-session
The Commissioner can grant an exception to these restrictions if:
- your parent/guardian provides written consent; AND
- the Commissioner determines that there will be no hazard to your health and welfare, and the exception will not impede you from fulfilling your school graduation requirements.
Read the law: Md. Code, Labor and Employment § 3-211
Work Hours – Minors Aged 16 or 17 Acting as Election Judge
Minors who are 16 or 17 years old may serve as election judges. A minor serving as an election judge may work more than 12 hours on an early voting day or on election only, but you must have your parent/guardian's consent.
Read the Law: Md. Code, Labor and Employment § 3-210, Election Law § 10-202
Are parents entitled to a minor’s income?
In Maryland, your parents may be allowed to take control of the money you earn if you are under the age of 18. The Supreme Court of Maryland (formerly the Court of Appeals) has stated that a parent has a right to a child’s earnings. However, that right may be lost in certain circumstances. For example, a parent's right to a child’s earnings can be lost where the parent abandons or neglects the child or forces the child to leave the home.
Read the Case: Lucas v. Maryland Drydock Co., 182 Md. 54 (Md. 1943)