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When you are under the age of 20 a minimum wage of $4.25 per hour applies during your first 90 consecutive calendar days of employment with an employer, as long as your work does not displace other workers.

After 90 consecutive days of employment or if you become 20 years of age - whichever comes first - you must receive the federal minimum wage of $7.25  per hour - or state minimum wage.

When you are a full-time student employed in retail or service stores, agriculture, or colleges and universities, your salary must be at least 85% of the minimum wage.

The employer that hires you while you are a full-time student can obtain a certificate from the Department of Labor which allows you to be paid not less than 85% of the minimum wage. The certificate also limits the hours that you may work: to 8 hours in a day and no more than 20 hours a week when school is in session and 40 hours when school is out, and the certificate requires the employer to follow all child labor laws.

Once you graduate or leave school for good, you must be paid the federal minimum wage, or state minimum wage, the highest rate applies.

High school students who are at least 16 years old and who are enrolled in vocational education (shop courses) should be paid at least 75% of the minimum wage.

The employer that hires you can obtain a certificate from the Department of Labor which allows you to be paid not less than 75% of the minimum wage, for as long as you are enrolled in the vocational education program as a high school student.

Employers interested in applying for a student learner certificate should contact the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Regional Office with jurisdiction over their state. The Regional Office addresses and telephone numbers are:

Northeast Region (Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virgin Islands, Virginia, and West Virginia)

USDOL Wage and Hour Division
Curtis Center
170 South Independence Mall, West
Room 850, West
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 861-5800

Southeast Region (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee)

USDOL Wage and Hour Division
Atlanta Federal Center
61 Forsyth Street SW, Room 7M40
Atlanta, GA 30303
(404) 562-2202

Midwest Region (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska)

USDOL Wage and Hour Division
230 South Dearborn Street
Room 530
Chicago, IL 60604-1591
(312) 596-7180

Southwest Region (Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming)

USDOL Wage and Hour Division
525 South Griffin Square, Suite 800
Dallas, TX 75202
(972) 850-2600

Western Region (Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington)

USDOL Wage and Hour Division
71 Stevenson Street, Suite 930
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 975-4510

Minimum Wage Young Workers and Students

Check your salary: compare your earnings against what other people get for the same job in the same state with our free, independent Salary Calculator. In return, to keep our Calculator updated, share your Pay and Job Info and fill out our anonymous Salary Survey.