Kentucky Child Labor Law

Last update: June 10, 2023

Minimum Hiring Age in Kentucky

What is the minimum age to be employed in Kentucky? The legal age to work in Kentucky is 14, but governed by state and federal child labor laws and varies based on:

  • The type of work (e.g., agricultural or non-agricultural)
  • Whether the job is considered hazardous or has prohibited duties.
  • Whether school is in session.
  • The legal status of the minor (e.g., emancipated minors).
  • Whether the job is exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

According to Federal Law (FLSA), a minor must be at least 14 years old to work for an employer (e.g. retail stores, food service establishments and gasoline service stations), with an exception for minors working for a parent or legal guardian who owns the business. This is the reason why you will never see job postings for children under the age of 14.

Age Restrictions

Minors under the age of 18 are prohibited from working in/as: Occupations in or about Plants or Establishments Manufacturing or Storing Explosives or Articles Containing Explosive Components; Motor-vehicle Driver and outside helper on a motor vehicle; Coal Mine Occupations; Logging or Sawmill Operations; Operation of Power-Driven Woodworking machines; Exposure to Radioactive Substances; Power-driven hoisting apparatus, including forklifts; Operation of Power-Driven Metal Forming, punching, and shearing machines; Mining, other than coal mining; Operation of Power-driven bakery machines including vertical dough or batter mixers; Manufacturing bricks, tile, and kindred products; Wrecking, demolition, and shipbreaking operations; Roofing operations and all work on or about a roof; In, about or in connection with any establishment where alcoholic liquors are distilled, rectified, compounded, brewed, manufactured, bottled, sold for consumption or dispensed unless permitted by the rules and regulations of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (except they may be employed in places where the sale of alcoholic beverages by the package is merely incidental to the main business actually conducted); Pool or Billiard Room.

Minimum age to drive motor vehicles (cars and small trucks) on public roads as part of jobs is basically 17 years old, with certain requirements.

Minimum age to serve and bartend alcohol in Kentucky:

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Work Hours

  • 14: May not work (more than): before 7:00 a.m. and after 7:00 p.m. (9:00 p.m. June 1 through Labor Day); 3 Hours per day on a school day; 8 Hours per day on a nonschool day; 18 Hours per week (if school is in session) and 8 Hours per day 40 Hours per Week (if school is not in session)
  • 16: May not work (more than): before 6:00 a.m. and after 10:30 p.m. preceding aschool day/1:00 a.m. preceding a nonschool day;6 Hours per day on a school day; 8 Hours per day on a nonschool day; 30 Hours per week (if school is in session); No restrictions if school is not in session.
  • 18: Unrestricted

Maximum daily and weekly hours and days per week for minors ages 14 and 15:
8-40 school day/week: 3 (8 on non-school days) -18

Nightwork prohibited for minors ages 14 and 15:
7 p.m. (9 p.m. June 1 through Labor Day) to 7 a.m.

Maximum daily and weekly hours and days per week for ages 16 and 17:
6 (8 Saturday and Sunday) 30, if attending school (40 with parental permission and at least a 2.0 school grade point average)

Nightwork prohibited for ages 16 and 17:
10:30 p.m. (1 a.m. Friday and Saturday) to 6 a.m. when school in session.

Work Permit

Employment certificate is not issued. Employers are required to maintain proof of age on file for each minor under eighteen (18) years of age. A copy of a birth certificate, a driver's license, or school identification is acceptable.

Minimum Wages

The minimum wages in Kentucky is $7.25. FLSA allow employers to pay a youth minimum wage of not less than $4.25 an hour to employees who are under 20 years of age during the first 90 consecutive calendar days after initial employment.


Next reading: Find jobs for teens in Kentucky

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