Workers Under 18: Wages, Hours, and Permits Employers Get Wrong

Minors have every wage right adults have, plus hour restrictions and permit requirements — and violations against minors carry enhanced penalties.

What California Law Says

Minors must be paid full minimum wage and overtime, with strict daily and weekly hour caps varying by age and school status, work permit requirements, and prohibited occupations. Employers violating child labor rules face civil penalties layered onto ordinary wage remedies.

How to Fight Back, Step by Step

1. Verify the work permit was actually obtained — its absence is a violation on its own.
2. Log hours against the applicable school-day and non-school-day caps.
3. Claim any minimum wage shortfall, off-the-clock time, and break premiums like any adult worker.
4. Report hour-cap and permit violations to the Labor Commissioner’s field enforcement.
5. A parent may assist, but the wage claim and the recovery belong to the minor.

Common Questions

My employer pays a training rate below minimum wage because I am 17. Legal?

California has no youth subminimum wage — full minimum wage applies to minors.

I worked past midnight on school nights. Just a scheduling issue?

No — night-hour restrictions for minors are enforceable rules whose violation creates penalties beyond the unpaid wages.