Hiring minors at a restaurant in Ohio (2026)

Ohio's minor labor law changed on October 9, 2026: with a parent's approval, a 14- or 15-year-old may now work until 9 p.m. on a night before a day off school. For most restaurants that changes less than it sounds, because federal law still ends their day at 7 p.m. during the school year. Ohio is also stricter than federal law in the kitchen, where it bars 14- and 15-year-olds from cooking.

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

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

Ohio at a glance

How young can you hire?

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

Ohio's work permits, the age and schooling certificates, are issued only to teens of at least 14 (R.C. 3331.01), so 14 is Ohio's minimum too.

Hours for 14- and 15-year-olds

The new later evening doesn't help a restaurant the FLSA covers: federal law still ends a 14- or 15-year-old's day at 7 p.m. outside June 1 through Labor Day, and the stricter rule applies. The legislature's own analysis of the change says the same (LSC analysis, H.B. 455). Ohio's summer evening also ends at the start of September rather than on Labor Day.

Hours for 16- and 17-year-olds

These limits are for 16- and 17-year-olds who are required to attend school. Ohio sets no daily or weekly hours cap at this age (R.C. 4109.07), and a juvenile court or the school superintendent can set different hours for a teen who shows a hardship (R.C. 4109.06).

Work permits and age certificates

A minor of compulsory school age needs an age and schooling certificate before they start (R.C. 4109.02). The teen fills in a pre-application with your part and a parent's approval, and takes it to their school, which issues the permit and files it electronically (Ohio minor work permits; R.C. 3331.01). From October 9, 2026, the application also carries a form, signed by a parent, that sets out the hours a minor may work (R.C. 3331.02). A 16- or 17-year-old working only during the summer vacation needs proof of age and a parent's signed consent instead of a certificate (R.C. 4109.02).

Review the certificate before the first shift, and tell the school that issued it within 5 working days of the teen leaving (R.C. 4109.03).

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

Ohio: Minors (under 18): rest period of at least 30 minutes after no more than 5 consecutive hours; the rest period need not be counted as hours worked (R.C. 4109.07).

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):

• Meat or deli slicer, meat grinder, patty former (29 CFR 570.61)
• Dough or batter mixer, dough sheeter or brake (29 CFR 570.62)
• Cardboard baler or trash compactor (29 CFR 570.63)
• Delivery driving (29 CFR 570.52)

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)

Ohio's own rules

• Under 16: no cooking, except at a soda fountain, lunch counter, snack bar or cafeteria serving counter, and no baking (Ohio Adm. Code 4101:9-2-02). Ohio has no exception for grills or automatic fryers, so a 14- or 15-year-old stays off the line in most restaurant kitchens.
• Under 18: no running, setting up, cleaning or oiling dough mixers, batter mixers, dough sheeters and other bakery machines (Ohio Adm. Code 4101:9-2-05), or power-driven meat-processing machines such as grinders, choppers and patty formers (Ohio Adm. Code 4101:9-2-04).
• Alcohol: no one under 18 may handle, serve or sell beer or liquor; selling beer across a bar takes 19, and wine, mixed drinks or spirits across a bar 21 (R.C. 4301.22). Teens may still clear tables and handle empty glasses (R.C. 4301.22).

Pay: the minimum wage, youth rates and tips

Ohio's minimum wage is $11.00 an hour for non-tipped employees from January 1, 2026. For 14- and 15-year-old workers, and at businesses with annual gross receipts of $405,000 or less, the state minimum wage stays tied to the federal $7.25 (Ohio Commerce, 2026 minimum wage). At 16 and 17 the full state rate applies: Ohio's constitution allows only its own listed exemptions, and it has no youth or training rate (Ohio Const. art. II, § 34a).

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 Ohio 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).

Keep a list of all the minors at each location posted in plain view where most of them can see it, and post the state's abstract of the minor labor law on the premises or online where your employees can reach it (R.C. 4109.08). Keep a time record for each minor with their hours each day, start and end times and meal periods, for 2 years (R.C. 4109.11).

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

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).
• The week: 16.5 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 school day: 3 hours; the limit is 3 (Ohio, R.C. 4109.07).
• The week: 16.5 hours; the limit is 18 (Ohio, R.C. 4109.07).
• Longest stretch without a break: 4.5 hours; the limit is 5 (Ohio, R.C. 4109.07).

Leo, 17, in a school week

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. (Ohio, R.C. 4109.07).
• Longest stretch without a break: 4 hours; the limit is 5 (Ohio, R.C. 4109.07).

How Mays handles this

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

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

• US Department of Labor, state child labor standards, checked October 5, 2026
• US Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #14: coverage under the FLSA, checked October 5, 2026
• Ohio Revised Code § 4109.02, checked October 5, 2026
• Ohio Revised Code § 4109.07, as in force from October 9, 2026, checked October 5, 2026
• Ohio Administrative Code rule 4101:9-2-02 (jobs barred at 14 and 15), checked October 5, 2026
• 29 CFR 570.2 (minimum age standards), checked September 24, 2026
• Ohio Revised Code § 3331.01, checked October 5, 2026
• 29 CFR 570.35 (hours for 14- and 15-year-olds), checked September 24, 2026
• Ohio Legislative Service Commission, analysis of House Bill 455, checked October 5, 2026
• Ohio Revised Code § 4109.06, checked October 5, 2026
• Ohio Department of Commerce, minor work permit system, checked October 5, 2026
• Ohio Revised Code § 3331.02, as in force from October 9, 2026, checked October 5, 2026
• Ohio Revised Code § 4109.03, checked October 5, 2026
• US Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #43: child labor provisions for nonagricultural occupations, checked October 5, 2026
• 29 CFR 570.5 (certificates of age), checked October 5, 2026
• Ohio Revised Code § 4109.07, checked September 24, 2026
• US Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #2A: child labor rules for restaurants, checked October 5, 2026
• 29 CFR 570.61 (Hazardous Occupations Order 10: meat slicers and processing machines), checked October 5, 2026
• 29 CFR 570.62 (Hazardous Occupations Order 11: bakery machines), checked October 5, 2026
• 29 CFR 570.63 (Hazardous Occupations Order 12: balers and compactors), checked October 5, 2026
• 29 CFR 570.52 (Hazardous Occupations Order 2: driving), checked October 5, 2026
• 29 CFR 570.33 (jobs barred at 14 and 15), checked October 5, 2026
• 29 CFR 570.34 (jobs allowed at 14 and 15), checked October 5, 2026
• Ohio Administrative Code rule 4101:9-2-05 (bakery machines), checked October 5, 2026
• Ohio Administrative Code rule 4101:9-2-04 (meat-processing machines), checked October 5, 2026
• Ohio Revised Code § 4301.22, checked October 5, 2026
• Ohio Department of Commerce, "Ohio Minimum Wage Set to Increase in 2026" (September 30, 2025), checked October 5, 2026
• Ohio Constitution, Article II, Section 34a, checked October 5, 2026
• US Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #32: youth minimum wage, checked October 5, 2026
• US Department of Labor, the FLSA minimum wage poster, checked October 5, 2026
• Ohio Revised Code § 4109.08, checked October 5, 2026
• Ohio Revised Code § 4109.11, 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: 30 days, every module, no card needed.