Work Permits are required for minors 14 to 17 years old. The law restricts hours of work and prohibits employment in hazardous occupations. Click Here to download the Work Permit Form.

Delaware’s Minimum Wage will be increasing on 1/1/2025.
Click Here to download the Wage & Hour Announcement.

General Provisions

• The minimum age for employment is 14.
• Work Permits are required for all employed minors under the age of 18.
• Employers are required to keep work permits on file for each employed minor.
• A new work permit is required when a minor changes employers.
• There are seperate hours restrictions and prohibited occupation requirements for 14 and 15 year-olds and 16 and 17 year-olds.

Specific Provisions for Individuals 14 and 15 Years of Age

Minors 14-15 years of age shall not work:

• Before 7:00 a.m. or after 7:00 p.m.- except from June 1st through Labor Day when the evening hour shall be extended to 9:00 p.m.,
• More than four (4) hours per day on school days,
• More than eight (8) hours per day on non-school days,
• More than eighteen (18) hours in any week when school is in session for 5 days,
• More than six (6) days in any week,
• More than forty (40) hours per week when school is not in session, or
• More than five (5) hours continuously without a non-work period of at least 30 consecutive minutes.

Specific Provisions for individuals 16 and 17 Years of Age.

Minors 16-17 years of age:

• May not work more than twelve (12) hours in a combination of school and work hours per day.
• Must have at least eight (8) consecutive hours of non-work, non-school time in each 24-hour period.
• May not work more than five (5) hours continuously without a non-work period of at least 30 consecutive minutes.

Prohibited Occupations

Delaware’s Child Labor law prohibits minors from working in certain hazardous occupations. The law also incorporates by reference those hazardous/prohibited occupations set forth under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

Employers are generally subject to both state child labor laws and the federal child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. 212(c), and the FLSA regulations at 29 CFR Part 570. Certain provisions of Delaware state law may be less restrictive than federal law, and employers covered by the FLSA that only follow a less restrictive provision of Delaware state law will be in violation of federal law. See 29 U.S.C. 218(a). For more information on federal child labor law, please visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division Website at www.dol.gov/whd.

Contact the Delaware Department of Labor’s Child Labor Law unit for more details.

• Delaware Child Labor Law
• Teens Rights
• Work Permit
• Limited Theatrical Exemption

Related Topics:  Labor Law