The Feds Want 14-Year-Olds Working Longer Shifts — Here's What Changes

If you've ever had to send a 15-year-old cashier home at 7 p.m. on a busy Friday because federal law required it, relief may be coming. The U.S. Department of Labor has placed a rule on its 2026 regulatory agenda that would loosen the work-hour limits for 14- and 15-year-old employees — the first serious change to those limits in more than four decades.

For small businesses in retail, restaurants, grocery, and seasonal hospitality — the industries that rely most heavily on teen labor — this is worth watching closely, even though the rule hasn't been finalized yet.

What the Rule Currently Says

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 14- and 15-year-old workers face some of the tightest scheduling restrictions of any employee group. Right now, federal law limits them to:

• No more than 3 hours of work on a school day, including Fridays
• No more than 8 hours of work on a non-school day
• No more than 18 hours total during a week when school is in session
• No more than 40 hours total during a week when school is not in session
• Work only between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., extended to 9 p.m. between June 1 and Labor Day

These limits have been in place, largely unchanged, since 1980. The Department of Labor hasn't revisited the core hour restrictions for this age group in the decades since — until now.

What's Being Proposed

The DOL's Wage and Hour Division listed the change on its regulatory agenda as a deregulatory action, meaning the goal is to expand, not restrict, how many hours young teens can legally work. The department has scheduled a proposal for release this September, though as of this writing it had not yet been published in the Federal Register. Once it is, it will trigger a public comment period before any final rule takes effect — realistically pushing implementation into 2027 at the earliest.

The administration has signaled this is part of a broader look at youth employment rules, alongside proposed changes to independent contractor classification and joint employer standards that are also on this year's Wage and Hour Division agenda.

Why This Is Happening Now

Several states have already moved in this direction on their own. Indiana, Florida, Washington, and West Virginia have all loosened their state-level child labor laws in recent years, in some cases removing hour restrictions entirely for older teens or eliminating work permit requirements. Federal law sets a floor, but states can — and increasingly do — set their own rules that go further, as long as employers also comply with whichever standard is stricter where both apply.

Supporters of loosening the federal rule argue it would help address labor shortages in retail and food service and give teens more flexibility to earn money. Labor advocates and some enforcement officials have pushed back, pointing to data showing child labor violations — especially in food service — have been rising, not falling, in recent years.

What This Means for Your Business Right Now

Nothing changes today. The current federal limits — 3 hours on a school night, 8 hours on a non-school day, an 18-hour weekly cap during the school year, and the 7 p.m. cutoff — remain fully in effect and fully enforceable. Businesses that violate them still face civil penalties, and those penalties have been trending upward as DOL enforcement in food service has increased.

That said, if you regularly schedule workers under 16, there are a few things worth doing now:

• Don't get ahead of the rule. Scheduling a 15-year-old for a 6-hour shift on a school night based on an anticipated rule change would violate current law and expose you to penalties.
• Check your state's rules separately. If you operate in a state that has already loosened its own youth labor laws, confirm exactly what's allowed there — federal changes won't override stricter state protections, and state changes don't override federal minimums until the federal rule itself changes.
• Watch for the Federal Register publication. Once the proposed rule is formally published, there will be a public comment period. Businesses and trade associations that want to weigh in will have a window to do so before any final rule is adopted.
• Review your youth employment paperwork. Work permits, age certificates, and hour-tracking systems vary by state — this is a reasonable moment to confirm yours are current regardless of what happens federally.

The Bigger Staffing Picture

For many small retailers and restaurants, teen workers fill a scheduling gap that's hard to cover any other way — after-school shifts, weekend coverage, and summer staffing during the exact hours when adult employees are hardest to find. If the federal rule does eventually loosen, it could give owners more flexibility to build schedules around this age group rather than working around the current restrictions. But that's a 2027 conversation, not a today conversation.

In the meantime, it's worth remembering that however this rule shakes out, the workers themselves remain employees, not contractors, with all the protections and paperwork that status requires. If you're unclear on where the lines are between an employee and a contractor for any of your seasonal or part-time staff, it's worth reviewing the distinction — misclassifying any worker, teen or adult, carries its own set of penalties separate from child labor rules. Our guide on the difference between independent contractors and employees covers what actually determines the classification.

It's also a good time to double check that your business insurance coverage, particularly workers' compensation, properly accounts for any minors on your payroll, since some carriers apply different underwriting rules to younger workers in certain roles.

What to Watch For

• Formal publication of the proposed rule in the Federal Register, expected this fall
• The length and content of the public comment period once it opens
• Whether the final rule mirrors changes already made in Indiana, Florida, Washington, or West Virginia, or takes a different approach
• Any accompanying changes to related youth employment paperwork requirements

This is a rule to track, not to act on yet. The moment it's formally proposed, the specifics — including exactly how many additional hours teens could work and whether the 7 p.m. cutoff moves — will become clearer, and we'll cover the details as they're published.

Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash