New Teen Work Hours
Changes in Effect as of July 1

Significant changes to teen work hours have been passed by the state Legislature and signed into law by the Governor. In short, state law on teen work hours has changed to match federal law. The main effect will be fewer restrictions for employers in the hours they may schedule 16- and 17-year-olds to work.

16- and 17-year-olds will no longer have limitations on the time of day they can work, nor total hours per week, except that they will not be allowed to work during hours they are expected to be in school. There will still be required breaks similar to current law, as specified by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) which prohibits minors from working longer than 6 consecutive hours without a 30-minute meal break.

Changes affecting employers of 14- and 15-year-olds will impact very few Wisconsin establishments, as most restaurants are already subject to the federal rules under current law. However, for small businesses that aren’t currently subject to federal labor laws, there will be some loss of flexibility in scheduling 14- and 15-year-olds. Under the new law, 14- and 15-year-olds:

• may only work up to 3 hrs/day on school days (previously 4 hrs/day)
• may not work past 7:00 p.m. during school year (previously 8:00 p.m. on school nights or 11:00 p.m. on non-school nights)
• may not work past 9:00 p.m. during summer (previously 11:00 p.m.)
• are still subject to existing restrictions regarding permissible cooking duties

*Don’t forget to post the new teen work hours poster. Download the new poster here.

Call the WRA Hotline at 800-589-3211 with any questions on the details of the new law.