Florida bars 16- and 17-year-olds from work above 6 feet on scaffolding, roofs, superstructures or ladders. Minnesota bars minors under 16 from employment on school days during school hours, except as provided in section 181A.05. This guide covers four teen work limits across Florida, Wisconsin and Minnesota, and each one is drawn from the statute text cited here.
Florida's height limit, according to Online Sunshine, reads "The minor 16 or 17 years of age is not working on any scaffolding, roof, superstructure, or ladder above 6 feet." The Minnesota school-day text, according to Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, is covered in the school-day section below.
Key takeaways: the four limits to check
- Florida height limit: according to Online Sunshine, 16- and 17-year-olds may not work on scaffolding, roofs, superstructures or ladders above 6 feet.
- Florida machinery entry: according to Online Sunshine, work in connection with power-driven machinery is covered, with power mowers that have cutting blades 40 inches or less excluded.
- Wisconsin hours rule: according to Wisconsin Legislature, no minor under 16 may work at hours that may be dangerous or prejudicial to the minor.
- Minnesota school-day rule: according to Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, minors under 16 may not be employed on school days during school hours, subject to the cross-referenced exception.
Who these state limits cover
Each state has its own statute text, so a limit in one state does not carry over to another. Read the three states one at a time, and file the cited sentence for each. The Florida height sentence, according to Online Sunshine, refers to 16 or 17 years of age, so the age on each minor's file should match that wording.
Each cited sentence is a starting point, not a complete rule set for any of the three states. The Wisconsin hours text, according to Wisconsin Legislature, concerns minors under 16 and the hours and days they work. A file should say this plainly so later reviewers do not assume the cited sentence is the whole law.
A practical file records each minor's exact age, the work setting and the scheduled hours, and it keeps the cited sentence beside those details. For the permit side of teen hiring, see teen hire permit paperwork checks and file its results beside the cited sentences.
The table below sets out the quoted wording for each publisher, one row each.
| Publisher | Quoted limit | Quoted scope or exception |
|---|---|---|
| Online Sunshine | "not working on any scaffolding, roof, superstructure, or ladder above 6 feet" | "shall not apply to minors employed in the entertainment industry" |
| Wisconsin Legislature | "dangerous or prejudicial to the life, health, safety, or welfare of the minor" | "absolutely liable for resulting injuries to the minor, other employees, or frequenters of a place of employment" |
| Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes | On school days, during school hours, minors under the age of 16 years may not be permitted employment | "as provided in section 181A.05" |
Florida: height and machinery limits
The height sentence names four kinds of work surface: scaffolding, roofs, superstructures and ladders. A practical file marks each task that uses one of those surfaces and records the working height beside it. A 16- or 17-year-old must not be assigned a task on one of those surfaces above 6 feet, and a task whose surface or height is unclear should be held for review before the first shift.
The machinery entry, according to Online Sunshine, reads "(a) In connection with power-driven machinery, except power mowers with cutting blades 40 inches or less." The entry concerns power-driven machinery rather than age, so it should not be read as an age rule. A practical file lists each task that involves power-driven machinery on its own line, with the worker's age beside it.
Mower specifications matter under that entry, and the file should record the cutting blade length for each mower on the site list. A mower with no recorded blade length cannot be checked against the exception, so it should stay on hold until the length is recorded.
Teams that want a separate look at age and hours rules can read teen hiring age, hours, and permit rules alongside this file. Each check should carry the date it was made, so a later review can tell which version of the file was used.
Wisconsin: dangerous hours and liability for minors
The Wisconsin hours sentence, according to Wisconsin Legislature, reads "103.65(2)(2) No minor under 16 years of age may be employed or permitted to work at any employment for such hours of the day or week, for such days of the week, or at such periods of the day as may be dangerous or prejudicial to the life, health, safety, or welfare of the minor." The sentence covers hours, days of the week and periods of the day. A scheduler should log start and end times and the days for each minor before a shift is confirmed. A shift whose hours are unclear should be flagged for review, with its day recorded beside it. A reviewer should confirm the timing against the sentence before the placement is made.
The occupation note, according to Wisconsin Legislature, states "An occupation must be listed as a prohibited employment in rules adopted by the Department of Workforce Development under s." The job title on the file should be compared with those rules, and the date of that comparison belongs beside the title.
A separate annotation, according to Wisconsin Legislature, says an employer violating a child labor law is absolutely liable for resulting injuries to the minor, other employees, or frequenters of a place of employment. This is a liability statement, not a hiring ban, and the file should describe it that way. Incident reports and sign-off sheets belong with each minor's schedule.
For the paperwork side of minor hiring, see minor-hire paperwork checks and keep its checks beside the schedule log. A gap between the schedule and the file should be recorded before the minor starts work.
Minnesota: school-day and late-evening limits
The school-day sentence applies to minors under the age of 16 on school days during school hours. A reader should compare each under-16 shift with the school calendar before the shift is posted. The sentence also points to an exception, which is covered in the exceptions section of this guide.
That sentence covers minors under 16, so a 17-year-old needs a separate check. A high school student's age should sit on the file beside the school-day line and the late-evening line, and the entry should show the grade level as well.
The late-evening allowance, according to Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, applies to a high school student under 18 who has given the employer a signed note from a parent or guardian. Under that subsection, the student may be permitted to work until 11:30 p.m. on the evening before a school day and from 4:30 a.m. on a school day. The parent-note condition belongs to this separate late-evening allowance in subsection (3), not to the school-day limit. The file should hold a copy of that note with the schedule, because the note is the condition the text sets before the late hours apply.
A reader should not treat the allowance as a rule for every minor, because it applies to a high school student who has supplied that note. Each late shift should show its start time, and the late-evening record should show the date the note was received, so the file shows when the condition was met.
Exceptions to note in the file
The Florida text, according to Online Sunshine, reads "(4) This section shall not apply to minors employed in the entertainment industry." The file should mark any entertainment placement as a separate case, so the height and machinery checks are not applied to it by habit. The record should state the industry for each placement, because the subsection depends on that fact.
The Minnesota school-day sentence carries an exception, "as provided in section 181A.05," and that section must be read before the exception is relied on. The file should list that section number as an open item until then. A placement on school days should not rely on that exception until its terms are on the file.
For the Wisconsin occupation rule, find the full citation on the official page to name the rules section, and keep the job title check open until that citation is on the file.
Each cited sentence should be filed with its page link and the day it was read, so a reviewer can see which wording was used. Label each cited sentence as a partial quotation so no reader mistakes it for the full law.
Checklist to keep on file before the first shift
The age line should be the first thing a reviewer reads, because the Florida height and Minnesota school-day sentences turn on age. The age should be written as a number with the date of birth included, so it can be checked against the date of the shift. The state used for the placement should sit beside the age.
Each limit that applies to the placement should have its cited sentence attached, with the publisher's name and the page link beside it. A placement with no applicable limit should still show that the check was run, and the record should name the state and the date of the review.
The task list should mark whether each task involves scaffolding, roofs, superstructures, ladders or power-driven machinery. Working height should be recorded for any task that uses a surface named in the Florida height sentence, and mower entries should carry the cutting blade length. A task that cannot be marked clearly should be held back until the details are confirmed.
Start and end times, along with the day of the week, should be recorded for each shift, so the hours can be compared with the Wisconsin hours text and the Minnesota school-day and late-evening texts. Each under-16 shift that falls on a school day during school hours should be marked.
Next step: before scheduling anyone under 18, check the state's age and work limit in your table and file the cited sentence you relied on.
FAQ: Which limits apply to a 17-year-old in each state?
Does Florida's height limit cover 16- and 17-year-olds?
Yes, according to Online Sunshine, the height sentence covers a 16- or 17-year-old working on scaffolding, roofs, superstructures or ladders above 6 feet. That range is the one the age line on the file should match. The machinery entry concerns power-driven machinery rather than age, so it does not answer this question.
Does Minnesota's school-day limit cover every minor?
It covers minors under 16 on school days during school hours, according to Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. That makes it narrower than every minor, so the file should read the age on each record. Because that sentence covers under-16s, a 17-year-old needs its own check.
Who is liable if a child labor law is violated in Wisconsin?
Liability falls on the employer, according to Wisconsin Legislature. The annotation covers resulting injuries to the minor and to others at the workplace. It is a liability rule, not a ban on placement, so the file should keep incident records beside each schedule.
Does a parent's note change Minnesota's hours?
It can, under a condition set by Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes: the student is a high school student under 18 who has given the employer a signed note from a parent or guardian. With that note, according to the same page, the student may work until 11:30 p.m. on the evening before a school day. The file should record that note before any late shift is confirmed.
Does Wisconsin's hours limit cover a 17-year-old?
No, not directly: the Wisconsin hours sentence, according to Wisconsin Legislature, concerns minors under 16, so a 17-year-old needs a separate check against the full text. Until that check is done, do not treat a 17-year-old's schedule as covered by this sentence.
Does Florida's entertainment exception change the height limit?
Minors employed in the entertainment industry fall outside that section, according to Online Sunshine. For a placement outside that industry, the height sentence still applies as written. Each placement's industry should be noted on the file before the height check is closed.