Guides

Hiring minors at a restaurant in Maryland (2026)

Mays TeamOctober 31, 2026
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Maryland's own hours for 14- and 15-year-olds are looser than the federal ones, so most restaurants schedule them by federal law. What Maryland adds reaches every worker under 18: a work permit from the state before the first shift, a half-hour break after 5 hours in a row, and no more than 12 hours of school and work in a day. Under 16, it also keeps teens away from every power-driven machine except office machines.

This page is about hiring teenagers in Maryland: 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 Maryland 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 Maryland law: follow the stricter one

Two sets of child labor rules can apply to a restaurant in Maryland: the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Maryland'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). The FLSA covers a business with at least two employees and annual sales of at least $500,000 (DOL Fact Sheet #14), and it can cover workers at a smaller one individually, when their work regularly involves trade between states.

Maryland's labor department says the same: some of Maryland's rules are less strict than federal law, and an employer the FLSA covers that follows only the less strict Maryland rule breaks federal law (MD Labor, work permits).

Maryland at a glance

Rule

Maryland

Youngest age for restaurant work

14 (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-209)

Work permit

Required for every worker under 18, from the Maryland Department of Labor, applied for online (MD Labor, work permits)

14–15, school day

3 hours under federal law (Maryland alone allows 4), 18 a school week, until 7 p.m.

16–17

No more than 12 hours of school and work together in a day; no weekly cap or curfew (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-210)

Break

Half an hour after 5 hours in a row, every minor (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-210)

Youth wage

$12.75 an hour under 18, 85% of the state minimum (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-413)

How young can you hire?

Under federal law, 14 is the youngest age for restaurant work (29 CFR 570.2).

Maryland sets the same minimum: no one under 14 may be employed (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-209), and the labor department issues no work permits below that age (MD Labor, work permits).

Hours for 14- and 15-year-olds

Limit

Federal

Maryland

Hours on a school day

3 (29 CFR 570.35)

4 (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-211)

Hours in a school week

18 (29 CFR 570.35)

23 in a week with five school days (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-211)

Hours on a day with no school

8 (29 CFR 570.35)

8 (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-211)

Hours in a week with no school

40 (29 CFR 570.35)

40 (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-211)

Days a week

No federal limit

No state limit

Time of day

7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; 9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day (29 CFR 570.35)

7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; 9 p.m. from Memorial Day through Labor Day (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-211)

During school hours

Not allowed (29 CFR 570.35)

Not allowed (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-213)

Every Maryland limit at this age is looser than the federal one, so a restaurant the FLSA covers schedules by the federal column: 3 hours on a school day, 18 in a school week, and done by 7 p.m. outside June 1 through Labor Day. That's why the labor department's own summary lists the federal numbers for 14- and 15-year-olds (MD Labor, work permits). Maryland's daily cap on school and work together, 12 hours, applies at this age too (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-210).

Hours for 16- and 17-year-olds

Limit

Federal

Maryland

Hours on a school day

No federal limit

12 hours of school and work together, with at least 8 hours in a row free of both, in a calendar day (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-210)

Maryland sets no weekly hours cap and no time-of-day limit at 16 and 17, and federal law sets none either; the daily cap on school and work, the 8 free hours and the break are the limits to schedule by (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-210; MD Labor, work permits).

Work permits and age certificates

Every worker under 18 needs a work permit, and a minor may not work for you until you hold one (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-205; MD Labor, work permits). The Maryland Department of Labor issues it, not the school: once you've offered the job, the teen or a parent applies online (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-206; MD Labor, work permits), and the permit is valid only when the teen, a parent and you have each signed it (MD Labor, minor fact sheet).

A permit covers one job: if the teen changes jobs, they need a new one (MD Labor, work permits). The department's fact sheet says to keep each permit on file for 3 years (MD Labor, minor fact sheet), and its permit page strongly encourages the same (MD Labor, work permits).

Federal law itself doesn't require work permits (DOL Fact Sheet #43). 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).

Breaks for minors

Maryland: A minor (under 18) can't work more than 5 consecutive hours without a nonworking period of at least half an hour. In a calendar day, a minor's school and work hours together can't pass 12, and they must have at least 8 consecutive hours free of school and work (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-210).

Maryland requires no meal or rest break for adults in a restaurant (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-710), so a teen's half hour after 5 hours in a row is a rule of its own: build it into any longer shift.

Federal law doesn't require meal or rest breaks at any age (DOL Fact Sheet #43).

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):

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

  • Baking (29 CFR 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)
  • Power-driven food slicers, grinders, choppers, processors, cutters or mixers (29 CFR 570.33)
  • Work in freezers or meat coolers (more than stepping in to fetch an item) (29 CFR 570.33)
  • Ladders or scaffolds (29 CFR 570.33)
  • Filtering, pouring or carrying hot oil or grease above 100 °F (29 CFR 570.34)
  • Loading or unloading trucks (29 CFR 570.33)

Maryland's own rules

  • Under 16: no adjusting, cleaning or running power-driven machinery; the only exceptions are office machines and machines used for vocational training in a school (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-213). There's no exception for kitchen appliances, so keep 14- and 15-year-olds off powered kitchen equipment.
  • Under 16: no work during their school hours, and none on or around scaffolding (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-213).
  • Every minor: no cleaning, oiling or wiping of machinery (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-213).
  • Cash runs: no minor may carry checks, cash or other payments to or from the business, such as the night deposit, between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m., or more than $100 at other times, unless the teen is a child of the owner, operator or manager (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-212).

Pay: the minimum wage, youth rates and tips

Maryland has a youth rate: an employer may pay 85 percent of the state minimum wage to a worker under 18 (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-413), which comes to $12.75 an hour against the full $15.00 (MD Labor, minimum wage). The state wage law also leaves out a worker under 16 who works no more than 20 hours in a week (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-403); at a restaurant the FLSA covers, that teen is still owed the federal minimum, and the federal youth wage below can apply. Where the state wage law does apply, even its under-18 rate is far above the federal youth wage.

Montgomery County has its own youth rules: its minimum wage leaves out a worker under 19 who works no more than 20 hours a week, and an employer may pay 85 percent of the county minimum to a worker under 20 during their first 6 months on the job (MD Labor, 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).

Everything else about pay, from the tipped cash wage to tip pools and overtime, is on Maryland 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).

Post the state's printed notice about employing minors, in the form the Commissioner of Labor and Industry requires, in each place where a minor works (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-214). The labor department lists it as Employment of Minors on its posters and notices page (MD Labor, posters).

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:

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:

Both weeks also leave at least 8 hours in a row free of school and work in every calendar day, Maryland's other daily rule, counting school as Mays's default school day.

How Mays handles this

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

  • 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 Maryland marked "Not checked yet". Mays checks the federal limits everywhere. Maryland's own limits aren't built into Mays yet: the location's card lists Maryland as Not checked yet, so check the Maryland 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.

Sources

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

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.

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