Working Under Eighteen
ORC 4109.07 — the hours a school night closes off, and the break nobody is told about
The hours rules are in the statute rather than in a company handbook, they are different for the two age bands, and they hinge on whether school is in session rather than on the day of the week. A shift that is lawful in July is not always lawful in October.
Who handles this in Ohio: Ohio Department of Commerce, Wage and Hour Bureau; and legal aid programs, lawyer referral and the state offices, listed in the Ohio directory.
| Under sixteen | The limit |
|---|---|
| Under sixteenDuring school hours | The limitNot employed, except where the chapter specifically permits it |
| Under sixteenEarliest | The limitNot before seven in the morning |
| Under sixteenLatest, first of June to first of September, or a school holiday of five school days or more | The limitNot after nine at night |
| Under sixteenLatest, at any other time | The limitNot after seven at night, except until nine on a night before a day school is not in session, with a parent's or legal guardian's approval |
| Under sixteenA school day | The limitNot more than three hours |
| Under sixteenA week while school is in session | The limitNot more than eighteen hours |
| Under sixteenA day that is not a school day | The limitNot more than eight hours |
| Under sixteenA week that school is not in session | The limitNot more than forty hours |
Sixteen and seventeen: the limits are about the night before school. A person sixteen or seventeen years of age who is required to attend school is not employed before seven in the morning on any day that school is in session, except that they may be employed after six in the morning where they were not employed after eight the previous night. They are not employed after eleven at night on any night preceding a day that school is in session.
School here means the school the child actually attends or the one they are required to attend under the compulsory attendance chapter, so it is the child's own calendar that governs and not a general one.
Five consecutive hours is where a thirty minute break becomes owed. No employer employs a minor more than five consecutive hours without allowing the minor a rest period of at least thirty minutes. It applies to every minor rather than only to the younger band, it is a statute rather than a courtesy, and it is the rule on this page that is most often not known by either side of the counter.
| The moment | What the chapter asks for |
|---|---|
| The momentMore than five consecutive hours worked | What the chapter asks forA rest period of at least thirty minutes |
| The momentBefore seven in the morning, school in session, aged sixteen or seventeen | What the chapter asks forNot employed, unless after six and not employed past eight the night before |
| The momentAfter eleven at night before a school day, aged sixteen or seventeen | What the chapter asks forNot employed |
| The momentAny hours at all, under sixteen, during school hours | What the chapter asks forNot employed, except as the chapter permits |
The chapter also covers age and schooling certificates, the occupations a minor may not be employed in at all, the records an employer keeps, and the exemptions for agricultural and domestic work and for certain training programs, and none of those are set out here. Whether a particular job or a particular shift is lawful is a question for a licensed Ohio attorney, and the Ohio Department of Commerce's division of industrial compliance enforces this chapter.
Sources for this section (2)
- ORC 4109.07 — Restrictions on the hours a minor may be employed
- ORC 4109.22 — Rest periods, work permits and the records an employer keeps for a minor
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Ohio attorney.