# Hiring minors at a restaurant in Louisiana (2026)

*Guides · Mays Team · November 12, 2026*

![Mays cover card: Hiring minors at a restaurant in Louisiana (2026) — Under 16: a 30-minute meal every 5 hours](https://mays-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/site/blog__hiring-minors-restaurant-louisiana-2026__cover.b165fe51ee.png)

Louisiana's child labor law covers every worker under 18, and since May 11, 2026 the paperwork runs through you: the teen and a parent sign Louisiana Works' employment certificate, you check their age, and the certificate is filed with the state before the first shift. Under 16, a state rule keeps teens away from cooking and baking altogether, and their meal break, at least 30 minutes in every 5 hours, has to show on your time clock. At 16 and 17 there are no hours limits, but there are school-night cutoffs and a rest of at least 8 hours between one workday and the next.

This page is about hiring teenagers in Louisiana: the youngest age you can hire, how long and how late 14- to 17-year-olds may work, work permits, breaks, the kitchen jobs they can't do, posters, two example weeks checked against every limit, and what Mays checks for you. Wages, tips and overtime are on [Louisiana restaurant pay rules (2026)](https://www.mays.app/blog/louisiana-restaurant-pay-rules-2026); they apply to teenagers too, and this page adds only what is different for them.

**Checked October 5, 2026:** every figure on this page was read on its official source; the Sources list at the end gives the date of each check.

*This is general information, not legal advice. Whether a rule applies can depend on your business's size and your own facts; the note at the end says more.*

## Federal and Louisiana law: follow the stricter one

Two sets of child labor rules can apply to a restaurant in Louisiana: the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Louisiana's own law. Where the state law is less strict, the federal law applies, and where the state law is stricter, the state law applies ([US DOL, state child labor](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/child-labor)). The FLSA covers a business with at least two employees and annual sales of at least $500,000 ([DOL Fact Sheet #14](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/14-flsa-coverage)), and it can cover workers at a smaller one individually, when their work regularly involves trade between states.

## Louisiana at a glance

| Rule | Louisiana |
| --- | --- |
| Youngest age for restaurant work | 14; 12 in a business a parent owns, under the parent's supervision ([La. R.S. 23:162](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83629)) |
| Employment certificate | Required for every worker under 18; you fill in your part, check their age and file it with Louisiana Works ([Louisiana Works, employment certificates](https://www.laworks.net/FAQs/FAQ_YEP_Certificates.asp); [Louisiana Works, downloads](https://www.laworks.net/Downloads/Downloads_WFD.asp)) |
| 14–15, school week | 3 hours a day, 18 a week, 6 days, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. |
| 16–17 | No hours limits; school-night cutoffs and a rest of 8 hours between workdays ([La. R.S. 23:215](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83837); [Louisiana Works, minor labor placard](https://www.laworks.net/Downloads/Posters/PRPosters/Minor_Labor_Law.pdf)) |
| Meal break | Under 16: at least 30 minutes in every 5 hours, recorded on your time clock ([La. R.S. 23:213](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83835)) |
| Cooking | Not under 16, not even the cooking federal law allows ([LAC Title 40, Part VII](https://www.doa.la.gov/media/tdfhsrwf/40.docx)) |
| Serving alcohol | Not under 18 ([Louisiana ATC, FAQs](https://atc.louisiana.gov/about-us/faqs/); [La. R.S. 26:90](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=84838)) |

## How young can you hire?

Under federal law, 14 is the youngest age for restaurant work ([29 CFR 570.2](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.2)).

Louisiana sets the same minimum: no one under 14 may work in any gainful occupation ([La. R.S. 23:162](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83629)). The one exception is a family business: a child of 12 or older may work in a business their parent or legal guardian owns or is a partner in, only under that parent's direct supervision, with every protection a 14- or 15-year-old has and an employment certificate ([La. R.S. 23:162](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83629)).

## Hours for 14- and 15-year-olds

| Limit | Federal | Louisiana |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Hours on a school day | 3 ([29 CFR 570.35](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.35)) | 3 ([La. R.S. 23:214](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83836)) |
| Hours in a school week | 18 ([29 CFR 570.35](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.35)) | 18 ([La. R.S. 23:214](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83836)) |
| Hours on a day with no school | 8 ([29 CFR 570.35](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.35)) | 8, on any day ([La. R.S. 23:211](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83832)) |
| Hours in a week with no school | 40 ([29 CFR 570.35](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.35)) | 40, in any week ([La. R.S. 23:215](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83837)) |
| Days a week | No federal limit | 6 in a row ([La. R.S. 23:211](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83832)) |
| Time of day | 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; 9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day ([29 CFR 570.35](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.35)) | 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; 9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day ([La. R.S. 23:215](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83837); [Louisiana Works, minor labor placard](https://www.laworks.net/Downloads/Posters/PRPosters/Minor_Labor_Law.pdf)) |
| During school hours | Not allowed ([29 CFR 570.35](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.35)) | Not allowed ([La. R.S. 23:166](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83659)) |

Louisiana's numbers at this age match the federal ones, with one more: no more than 6 days in a row in any week ([La. R.S. 23:211](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83832)). Louisiana counts a school day or a school week from the calendar of the teen's own school, or of the public schools where the teen lives ([La. R.S. 23:214](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83836)). Outside June 1 through Labor Day, the 7 p.m. cutoff holds every night, Fridays and Saturdays included ([La. R.S. 23:215](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83837)).

## Hours for 16- and 17-year-olds

| Limit | Federal | Louisiana |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Time of day | No federal limit | Before a school day: not from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. at 16, or from midnight to 5 a.m. at 17, unless they have graduated ([La. R.S. 23:215](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83837)) |

Louisiana sets no limit on how many hours 16- and 17-year-olds work in a day or a week, but each of them gets a rest of at least 8 hours at the end of every workday before the next one starts ([Louisiana Works, minor labor placard](https://www.laworks.net/Downloads/Posters/PRPosters/Minor_Labor_Law.pdf); [LAC Title 40, Part VII](https://www.doa.la.gov/media/tdfhsrwf/40.docx)). Keep that in mind for a closing shift followed by an opening shift.

The school-night cutoffs apply to teens who haven't graduated from high school; one who has passed the GED and holds a high school equivalency diploma counts as a graduate. A school day is one the local school superintendent where the teen lives has set as a day school is in session, and any local curfew ordinance applies on top ([La. R.S. 23:215](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83837)).

## Work permits and age certificates

Every worker from 14 to 17 needs an employment certificate before they start ([Louisiana Works, employment certificates](https://www.laworks.net/FAQs/FAQ_YEP_Certificates.asp)), and you may not employ a minor until you have one on file ([Louisiana Works, minor labor placard](https://www.laworks.net/Downloads/Posters/PRPosters/Minor_Labor_Law.pdf)). Since May 11, 2026, schools no longer issue them ([Louisiana Works, employment certificates](https://www.laworks.net/FAQs/FAQ_YEP_Certificates.asp); [Act 61 of 2026](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1486861)). The form comes from Louisiana Works' website ([Louisiana Works, employment certificates](https://www.laworks.net/FAQs/FAQ_YEP_Certificates.asp)). The teen fills in and signs their part and a parent or legal guardian signs their consent. The form lists the teen's proposed hours for each day of the week, and you fill in your business's name, the address where the teen will work, their job and their specific duties; you tick the proof of age you checked, such as a birth certificate, passport or school record, and certify the teen won't do prohibited work ([Louisiana Works, certificate form](https://www.laworks.net/Downloads/WFD/YouthEmploymentCertificateForm.pdf)). The certificate is valid only once it is submitted to Louisiana Works' Youth Employment Division, by email ([Louisiana Works, certificate form](https://www.laworks.net/Downloads/WFD/YouthEmploymentCertificateForm.pdf)), and Louisiana Works lists it as a form employers complete and submit ([Louisiana Works, downloads](https://www.laworks.net/Downloads/Downloads_WFD.asp)).

A certificate is good only for the employer named on it, so a teen who changes jobs needs a new one ([Louisiana Works, employment certificates](https://www.laworks.net/FAQs/FAQ_YEP_Certificates.asp)). Keep it where an inspector can see it at the job site at all times ([La. R.S. 23:182](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83739)), and on file for at least 14 days after the teen leaves ([Louisiana Works, employment certificates](https://www.laworks.net/FAQs/FAQ_YEP_Certificates.asp)). If Louisiana Works revokes a certificate, the teen may not keep working until a new, valid one is in place ([Louisiana Works, employment certificates](https://www.laworks.net/FAQs/FAQ_YEP_Certificates.asp)).

Federal law itself doesn't require work permits ([DOL Fact Sheet #43](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/43-child-labor-non-agriculture)). An age certificate on file protects you from unknowingly hiring someone too young, and the federal rules suggest getting one whenever a teen says they are only a year or two over the minimum age for the job ([29 CFR 570.5](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.5)).

## Breaks for minors

Louisiana: Under 16: at least a 30-minute meal break in every five hours of work, documented in the employer's normal timekeeping system; a break of 20 minutes or more, or a work period no more than 10 minutes over five hours, is not a violation. A time edit for a missed punch is acknowledged in writing by the minor and the manager who makes it ([La. R.S. 23:213](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83835)).

The meal interval isn't counted in the day's working hours ([La. R.S. 23:213](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83835)). Since August 1, 2024, Louisiana owes this break only to workers under 16 ([Act 603 of 2024](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1388070)); from 16, the rule to schedule by is the rest of 8 hours between workdays ([Louisiana Works, minor labor placard](https://www.laworks.net/Downloads/Posters/PRPosters/Minor_Labor_Law.pdf)).

Federal law doesn't require meal or rest breaks at any age ([DOL Fact Sheet #43](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/43-child-labor-non-agriculture)).

## Jobs minors can't do in your restaurant

Some jobs are off limits whatever the hours. Under federal law, no one under 18 may do these ([DOL Fact Sheet #2A](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/2a-child-labor-restaurants)):

- Meat or deli slicer, meat grinder, patty former ([29 CFR 570.61](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.61))
- Dough or batter mixer, dough sheeter or brake ([29 CFR 570.62](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.62))
- Cardboard baler or trash compactor ([29 CFR 570.63](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.63))
- Delivery driving ([29 CFR 570.52](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.52))

And 14- and 15-year-olds also may not do these:

- Baking ([29 CFR 570.33](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.33))
- Cooking other than on an electric or gas grill with no open flame, or a fryer that lowers and raises its baskets automatically ([29 CFR 570.33](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.33))
- Power-driven food slicers, grinders, choppers, processors, cutters or mixers ([29 CFR 570.33](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.33))
- Work in freezers or meat coolers (more than stepping in to fetch an item) ([29 CFR 570.33](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.33))
- Ladders or scaffolds ([29 CFR 570.33](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.33))
- Filtering, pouring or carrying hot oil or grease above 100 °F ([29 CFR 570.34](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.34))
- Loading or unloading trucks ([29 CFR 570.33](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.33))

### Louisiana's own rules

- Under 16: Louisiana's rules let 14- and 15-year-olds do kitchen work and other work preparing and serving food and drinks, including running dishwashers, toasters, dumbwaiters, popcorn poppers, milkshake blenders and coffee grinders, but not cooking and baking ([LAC Title 40, Part VII](https://www.doa.la.gov/media/tdfhsrwf/40.docx)). That is stricter than the federal list above, which allows some cooking on grills and fryers. They also may not work in freezers and meat coolers, use ladders, operate, set up, clean or oil power-driven food slicers, grinders, choppers, cutters or bakery-type mixers, or load and unload trucks ([LAC Title 40, Part VII](https://www.doa.la.gov/media/tdfhsrwf/40.docx)). The statute itself bars them from work in, about or in connection with power-driven machinery ([La. R.S. 23:163](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83640)), while the rules allow the kitchen machines named above ([LAC Title 40, Part VII](https://www.doa.la.gov/media/tdfhsrwf/40.docx)).
- Under 16, too: no work close to a lounge or other place where alcohol is sold, except as Louisiana's alcohol laws allow ([La. R.S. 23:163](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83640)).
- Under 18: no oiling, cleaning or wiping machinery ([La. R.S. 23:161](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83619)). No driving on a public road for work at 16 or younger; a 17-year-old may drive only if driving is no more than a third of their work time in a day and 20 percent in a week, and within the federal limits ([La. R.S. 23:161](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83619)).
- Alcohol: a restaurant whose main business isn't selling alcohol may employ teens under 18, but not to sell, mix, dispense or serve alcohol for drinking on the premises ([La. R.S. 26:90](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=84838); [La. R.S. 23:161](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83619)); Louisiana's Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control puts the minimum age to prepare, sell or serve drinks in a bar or restaurant at 18, and keeps anyone under 18 out of any area where alcohol is the main thing served ([Louisiana ATC, FAQs](https://atc.louisiana.gov/about-us/faqs/)). Where selling alcohol is the main business, as in a bar, no one under 18 may work at all, apart from a musician playing under contract with a parent supervising ([La. R.S. 26:90](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=84838)).

## Pay: the minimum wage, youth rates and tips

Louisiana has no minimum wage law of its own ([US DOL, state minimum wage laws](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/state)), and Louisiana Works sends minimum wage questions to the US Department of Labor ([Louisiana Works, labor law information](https://www.laworks.net/laborlawinfo.asp)), so there's no Louisiana youth, training or learner rate either. A teen whose job federal law covers is owed the federal $7.25 an hour ([US DOL, minimum wage](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage)).

Federal law lets an employer pay $4.25 an hour to a worker under 20 during their first 90 consecutive calendar days on the job, but not to push out other workers, and not where a state or local law requires more and makes no exception for workers under 20 ([DOL Fact Sheet #32](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/32-minimum-wage-youth)).

Everything else about pay, from the tipped cash wage to tip pools and overtime, is on [Louisiana restaurant pay rules (2026)](https://www.mays.app/blog/louisiana-restaurant-pay-rules-2026).

## Posters and records

Every employer the federal minimum wage law covers must display the federal poster, *Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act*, where employees can readily read it; it includes a section on child labor ([US DOL, FLSA poster](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/posters/flsa)).

Keep Louisiana's minor labor law poster up where minors work: the law requires a printed abstract of the minor labor law and a list of the jobs barred to minors, both furnished by the state, conspicuously posted at the workplace ([La. R.S. 23:217](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83842)), and Louisiana Works' state-mandated minor labor law placard has both ([Louisiana Works, posters](https://www.laworks.net/Downloads/Downloads_Posters.asp); [Louisiana Works, minor labor placard](https://www.laworks.net/Downloads/Posters/PRPosters/Minor_Labor_Law.pdf)). Keep each teen's employment certificate on site, as above ([La. R.S. 23:182](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83739)), and record each under-16 meal break in your normal timekeeping system ([La. R.S. 23:213](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83835)).

Breaking the minor labor law can cost a fine of $100 to $500 and a civil penalty of up to $500 for each violation, and each day a violation continues is a separate offense ([Louisiana Works, minor labor placard](https://www.laworks.net/Downloads/Posters/PRPosters/Minor_Labor_Law.pdf)).

## Two example weeks

Two made-up schedules for a week in October, when school is in session Monday to Friday: Maya, 15, and Leo, 17. Each line under a schedule is a limit from this page, and the week stays inside every one of them.

### Maya, 15, in a school week

| Day | Shift | Unpaid break | Hours | School day? |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monday | Off |  |  | Yes |
| Tuesday | 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. | None | 3 | Yes |
| Wednesday | Off |  |  | Yes |
| Thursday | 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. | None | 3 | Yes |
| Friday | Off |  |  | Yes |
| Saturday | 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. | 30 minutes at 1 p.m. | 6 | No |
| Sunday | Noon to 4:30 p.m. | None | 4.5 | No |

That's 16.5 hours over 4 days. How the week measures up:

- Longest school day: 3 hours; the limit is 3 (federal, [29 CFR 570.35](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.35)).
- The week: 16.5 hours; the limit is 18 (federal, [29 CFR 570.35](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.35)).
- Earliest start: 10 a.m.; not before 7 a.m. (federal, [29 CFR 570.35](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.35)).
- Latest finish: 7 p.m.; not after 7 p.m. (federal, [29 CFR 570.35](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.35)).
- Longest school day: 3 hours; the limit is 3 (Louisiana, [La. R.S. 23:214](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83836)).
- Longest day: 6 hours; the limit is 8 (Louisiana, [La. R.S. 23:211](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83832)).
- The week: 16.5 hours; the limit is 18 (Louisiana, [La. R.S. 23:214](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83836)).
- Days worked: 4; the limit is 6 (Louisiana, [La. R.S. 23:211](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83832)).
- Earliest start: 10 a.m.; not before 7 a.m. (Louisiana, [La. R.S. 23:215](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83837)).
- Latest finish: 7 p.m.; not after 7 p.m. (Louisiana, [La. R.S. 23:215](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83837)).
- Longest stretch without a break: 4.5 hours; the limit is 5 (Louisiana, [La. R.S. 23:213](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83835)).

### Leo, 17, in a school week

| Day | Shift | Unpaid break | Hours | School day? |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monday | Off |  |  | Yes |
| Tuesday | 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. | None | 4 | Yes |
| Wednesday | Off |  |  | Yes |
| Thursday | 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. | None | 4 | Yes |
| Friday | 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. | None | 4 | Yes |
| Saturday | 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. | 30 minutes at 2 p.m. | 8 | No |
| Sunday | Off |  |  | No |

That's 20 hours over 4 days. How the week measures up:

- Latest finish on a night before school: 9 p.m.; not after 11 p.m. (Louisiana's limit at 16, [La. R.S. 23:215](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83837)).

Maya's Saturday runs longer than 5 hours, so it has a 30-minute meal break in the middle, recorded on the time clock ([La. R.S. 23:213](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83835)).

Leo is 17, so his own school-night cutoff is later, midnight; his week stays inside the earlier one for a 16-year-old too. Every gap between two of his workdays is longer than the 8-hour rest Louisiana requires ([Louisiana Works, minor labor placard](https://www.laworks.net/Downloads/Posters/PRPosters/Minor_Labor_Law.pdf)).

## How Mays handles this

Mays builds the schedule, runs the time clock and keeps each person's details for every location. For teenagers in Louisiana:

- **Turn on minors' rules per location.** Work rules for minors are part of Labor law compliance: switch on **Minors (under 18)** on the location's Labor & compliance card. Mays then works out each person's age on every shift date from their date of birth.
- **The federal limits, and Louisiana marked "Not checked yet".** Mays checks the federal limits everywhere. Louisiana's own limits aren't built into Mays yet: the location's card lists Louisiana as **Not checked yet**, so check the Louisiana rules on this page yourself, above all the ones stricter than federal law.
- **Warnings on the schedule, never a block.** A shift that breaks a limit is outlined with **Minor rule**, each minor's row shows their age band and the week's hours against their limit, and the warnings before publishing name the law. You can still publish.
- **The auto-scheduler stays inside the limits.** It never puts a minor on a shift that would break one of their limits: it gives the shift to someone else or leaves it open, and tells you why.
- **Tasks by position.** Give a position a minimum age and tick the federal tasks it involves, such as a meat slicer or delivery driving. A minor scheduled in it gets a warning, and the auto-scheduler won't put them there.
- **School days from a calendar.** By default Mays counts Monday to Friday as school days from the day after Labor Day through May, with school from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. You can add your school district's own calendar, breaks included.
- **Hours across every location.** A teen who works at two of your locations is held to one weekly limit, because the limits apply per employer.
- **What Mays doesn't check yet:** minors' meal breaks, work permits and clock-ins. Keep the permits on file yourself, and schedule the breaks above.

How to set it up: [Scheduling minors](https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling/scheduling-minors).

## Sources

Every figure on this page comes from these official pages, as they read on the date shown.

- [US Department of Labor, state child labor standards](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/child-labor), checked October 5, 2026
- [US Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #14: coverage under the FLSA](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/14-flsa-coverage), checked October 5, 2026
- [Louisiana Revised Statutes § 23:162 (minors under fourteen)](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83629), checked October 5, 2026
- [Louisiana Works, minors’ employment certificates FAQ](https://www.laworks.net/FAQs/FAQ_YEP_Certificates.asp), checked October 5, 2026
- [Louisiana Works, workforce development downloads (youth employment)](https://www.laworks.net/Downloads/Downloads_WFD.asp), checked October 5, 2026
- [Louisiana Revised Statutes § 23:215 (prohibited hours for minors)](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83837), checked October 5, 2026
- [Louisiana Works, Louisiana minor labor law placard (rev. September 2026)](https://www.laworks.net/Downloads/Posters/PRPosters/Minor_Labor_Law.pdf), checked October 5, 2026
- [Louisiana Revised Statutes § 23:213 (meal periods for minors under 16)](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83835), checked October 5, 2026
- [Louisiana Administrative Code, Title 40 (Labor and Employment), Part VII: conditions under which minor labor may be used](https://www.doa.la.gov/media/tdfhsrwf/40.docx), checked October 5, 2026
- [Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control, FAQs](https://atc.louisiana.gov/about-us/faqs/), checked October 5, 2026
- [Louisiana Revised Statutes § 26:90 (acts prohibited on licensed premises)](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=84838), checked October 5, 2026
- [29 CFR 570.2 (minimum age standards)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.2), checked September 24, 2026
- [29 CFR 570.35 (hours for 14- and 15-year-olds)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.35), checked September 24, 2026
- [Louisiana Revised Statutes § 23:214 (hours of minors under 16 when school is in session)](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83836), checked October 5, 2026
- [Louisiana Revised Statutes § 23:211 (maximum hours for minors under 16)](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83832), checked October 5, 2026
- [Louisiana Revised Statutes § 23:166 (work permitted for minors 14 and 15)](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83659), checked October 5, 2026
- [Louisiana Legislature, HB 232 (Act 61 of 2026) résumé digest](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1486861), checked October 5, 2026
- [Louisiana Works, youth employment certificate form](https://www.laworks.net/Downloads/WFD/YouthEmploymentCertificateForm.pdf), checked October 5, 2026
- [Louisiana Revised Statutes § 23:182 (employment certificates for minors)](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83739), checked October 5, 2026
- [US Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #43: child labor provisions for nonagricultural occupations](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/43-child-labor-non-agriculture), checked October 5, 2026
- [29 CFR 570.5 (certificates of age)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.5), checked October 5, 2026
- [Louisiana Legislature, HB 156 (Act 603 of 2024) résumé digest](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1388070), checked October 5, 2026
- [US Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #2A: child labor rules for restaurants](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/2a-child-labor-restaurants), checked October 5, 2026
- [29 CFR 570.61 (Hazardous Occupations Order 10: meat slicers and processing machines)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.61), checked October 5, 2026
- [29 CFR 570.62 (Hazardous Occupations Order 11: bakery machines)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.62), checked October 5, 2026
- [29 CFR 570.63 (Hazardous Occupations Order 12: balers and compactors)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.63), checked October 5, 2026
- [29 CFR 570.52 (Hazardous Occupations Order 2: driving)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.52), checked October 5, 2026
- [29 CFR 570.33 (jobs barred at 14 and 15)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.33), checked October 5, 2026
- [29 CFR 570.34 (jobs allowed at 14 and 15)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-570.34), checked October 5, 2026
- [Louisiana Revised Statutes § 23:163 (prohibited employments for minors under 16)](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83640), checked October 5, 2026
- [Louisiana Revised Statutes § 23:161 (prohibited employments for minors)](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83619), checked October 5, 2026
- [US Department of Labor, state minimum wage laws](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/state), checked September 24, 2026
- [Louisiana Works, labor law information resources](https://www.laworks.net/laborlawinfo.asp), checked October 5, 2026
- [US Department of Labor, federal minimum wage](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage), checked September 24, 2026
- [US Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #32: youth minimum wage](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/32-minimum-wage-youth), checked October 5, 2026
- [US Department of Labor, the FLSA minimum wage poster](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/posters/flsa), checked October 5, 2026
- [Louisiana Revised Statutes § 23:217 (posting for employers of minors)](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=83842), checked October 5, 2026
- [Louisiana Works, workplace posters](https://www.laworks.net/Downloads/Downloads_Posters.asp), checked October 5, 2026

*This page is general information, not legal advice. Laws change, and coverage rules (your business's size, whether federal law covers you, a teen's schooling) decide which of them apply. Check the pages above, and ask an employment lawyer about your situation.*

## Schedule teenagers without the guesswork

Add each teen's date of birth, turn on minors' rules for the location, and Mays warns you before a shift runs too long or too late.

[**Start your free trial**](https://go.mays.app/register): 30 days, every module, no card needed.

## Related help articles

- Scheduling: [Scheduling minors](https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling/scheduling-minors) — Turn on work rules for minors at a location (part of Labor law compliance), and Mays checks the hours and times of anyone under 18 against federal and state law. You get warnings on the schedule, and the auto-scheduler stays inside the limits. Nothing is ever blocked.
- Time clock: [Labor & compliance (per location)](https://www.mays.app/help/time-clock/labor-compliance) — Where: Locations & Users → Locations → a location → Scheduling tab → Labor & compliance card.
- Scheduling: [Positions and wages](https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling/positions-and-wages) — Create the jobs people work — Barista, Cashier, Line Cook — with a colour and a default hourly wage, give people their positions and pay, and see where Mays uses them.
- Team & roles: [Add and invite team members](https://www.mays.app/help/team-roles/add-team-members) — Add people on the web or from the app. Employees get a text with a link to the app; managers and admins get an email to set a password. Plus resending invites and checking delivery.
- Scheduling: [Building the weekly schedule](https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling/build-the-schedule) — Build a location's week on the web — add, move, copy and edit shifts, add open shifts, and keep an eye on time off, availability and labor cost while you work.

Canonical: https://www.mays.app/blog/hiring-minors-restaurant-louisiana-2026