Guides

Hiring minors at a restaurant in Michigan (2026)

Mays TeamOctober 18, 2026
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Michigan changed how teens get hired on October 2, 2026: work permits now come from the state's online Youth Employment Permit Portal instead of the school, and you register there before you hire. The hours limits reach 16- and 17-year-olds too, and every minor gets a break after 5 hours and an adult on site.

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

Two sets of child labor rules can apply to a restaurant in Michigan: the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Michigan'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.

Michigan's labor department says the same: if both state and federal youth labor laws apply, follow whichever rule is stricter (LEO, youth employment).

Michigan at a glance

Rule

Michigan

Youngest age for restaurant work

14 (MCL 409.103)

Work permit

Through the state's online portal from October 2, 2026; register before you hire (LEO release, permit portal)

14–15, school week

3 hours a day, 18 a week, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

16–17, school week

10 hours a day, 24 a week, not after 10:30 p.m. (11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday)

Break

30 minutes after 5 hours in a row, every minor (MCL 409.112)

Minor wage

$11.67 an hour at 16–17 (Michigan LEO, 2026 minimum wage)

How young can you hire?

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

Michigan sets the same minimum: 14 (MCL 409.103).

Hours for 14- and 15-year-olds

Limit

Federal

Michigan

Hours on a school day

3 (29 CFR 570.35)

3, and on every day of a school week, weekends included (MCL 409.110)

Hours in a school week

18 (29 CFR 570.35)

18 (MCL 409.110)

Hours on a day with no school

8 (29 CFR 570.35)

8 in the state's guidance (LEO, youth employment FAQs)

Hours in a week with no school

40 (29 CFR 570.35)

40 (MCL 409.110)

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 7 p.m.; 9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day (MCL 409.110)

During school hours

Not allowed (29 CFR 570.35)

Not allowed (MCL 409.110)

Michigan is stricter than federal law in one place that matters for weekends: its 3-hour cap covers every day of a week with school, Saturday and Sunday included, where federal law allows 8 hours on a day without school. The state doesn't grant exceptions to these hours at 14 and 15 (LEO, youth employment FAQs).

Hours for 16- and 17-year-olds

Limit

Federal

Michigan

Hours on a school day

No federal limit

10, any day (MCL 409.111)

Hours in a school week

No federal limit

24 for a student (MCL 409.111)

Hours on a day with no school

No federal limit

10 (MCL 409.111)

Hours in a week with no school

No federal limit

48, and an average of 8 hours a day (MCL 409.111)

Days a week

No federal limit

6 (MCL 409.111)

Time of day

No federal limit

6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.; 11:30 p.m. for students on Fridays, Saturdays and school vacations (MCL 409.111)

During school hours

No federal rule

Not allowed (MCL 409.119)

These limits don't apply to a 16- or 17-year-old who has graduated from high school or has a high school equivalency certificate; keep the proof on file (MCL 409.116).

Work permits and age certificates

From October 2, 2026, every worker under 18 needs a permit from the state, not the school. You register your business in the Youth Employment Permit Portal before you hire a minor, with your work sites and a signed statement that you follow the law (MCL 409.104d); the teen applies online, and the state decides within 5 days of both registrations (MCL 409.104a; LEO, permit portal). When the teen leaves, notify the state (MCL 409.104; LEO release, permit portal).

A permit a Michigan school issued before the portal opened still counts, until the teen changes employer or main work location or turns 16 (LEO, permit portal). Permits are free (MCL 409.106).

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

Michigan: Under 18: no more than 5 hours in a row without a meal and rest break of at least 30 minutes; a shorter break doesn't interrupt the 5 hours (MCL 409.112).

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)

Michigan's own rules

  • An employer, or an employee aged 18 or older, must supervise every minor (Mich. Admin. Code R 408.6201 ff.). A minor may not handle cash after sunset or 8 p.m., whichever comes first, unless someone 18 or older is there (MCL 409.112a).
  • Every minor: no running or cleaning power-driven bakery machines, saws or meat-processing machines (Mich. Admin. Code R 408.6201 ff.). Under 16: no ladders or scaffolds (Mich. Admin. Code R 408.6201 ff.).
  • The state's list of tasks it prohibits or restricts when it reviews youth employment marks hot grease or oil above 100 degrees Fahrenheit as prohibited for every minor, 16- and 17-year-olds included (LEO, WHD 9934). Check it before you put a teen on the fryer.
  • Alcohol: 14- and 15-year-olds may not work in the part of a restaurant where alcohol is served, and older teens only where food and other goods make up at least 50% of sales (MCL 409.115). A 17-year-old may serve alcohol after a server training program, with a supervisor of 18 or older on the shift (MCL 436.1707).

Pay: the minimum wage, youth rates and tips

Michigan's minimum wage law covers employees 16 and older (MCL 408.932); the federal rules set the pay of 14- and 15-year-olds. At 16 and 17, the minimum is minors age 16-17 (85%): $11.67 an hour, against the general $13.73. Michigan also has a training wage, employees under 20, first 90 calendar days of $4.25 (Michigan LEO, 2026 minimum wage; MCL 408.934b).

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 Michigan 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 copy of the Act's hours and break sections where minors work (MCL 409.113; LEO, WHD 9919). Keep a time record for each minor with their hours each day and their start and end times, for at least 1 year (MCL 409.113).

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 1 p.m.

None

3

No

Sunday

Noon to 3 p.m.

None

3

No

That's 12 hours over 4 days. How the week measures up:

  • Longest school day: 3 hours; the limit is 3 (federal, 29 CFR 570.35).
  • The week: 12 hours; the limit is 18 (federal, 29 CFR 570.35).
  • Earliest start: 10 a.m.; not before 7 a.m. (federal, 29 CFR 570.35).
  • Latest finish: 7 p.m.; not after 7 p.m. (federal, 29 CFR 570.35).
  • Longest day: 3 hours; the limit is 3 (Michigan, MCL 409.110).
  • Longest stretch without a break: 3 hours; the limit is 5 (Michigan, MCL 409.112).

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:

  • Longest day: 8 hours; the limit is 10 (Michigan, MCL 409.111).
  • The week: 20 hours; the limit is 24 (Michigan, MCL 409.111).
  • Days worked: 4; the limit is 6 (Michigan, MCL 409.111).
  • Latest finish on a night before school: 9 p.m.; not after 10:30 p.m. (Michigan, MCL 409.111).
  • Earliest start: 10 a.m.; not before 6 a.m. (Michigan, MCL 409.111).
  • Longest stretch without a break: 4 hours; the limit is 5 (Michigan, MCL 409.112).

How Mays handles this

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

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