May 13, 2026 – With many teens nearing the end of the school year, and with seasonal jobs in Wisconsin picking up for the summer, now is an excellent time to review compliance with laws governing child labor.
Admittedly, many employers, parents, young employees, and their attorneys do not need a reminder of the importance of complying with child labor laws, following the February 2026 announcement of what the state described as “the largest determination of child labor and wage payment violations in modern Wisconsin history.”[1]
Yet, the time is ripe to brush up on wage and hour laws governing the employment of youth in the state.
State and Federal Statutes & Regulations
Both state and federal wage and hour laws govern the employment of minors, making it important to be aware not only of requirements and limitations, but also to understand differences.
For employers subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act – nearly all workplaces in the United States –
29 U.S.C. section 218(a) clarifies that the higher standard (read: greater protection) applies when state and federal law differ for child wage and hour protections.[2]
Key relevant Wisconsin and federal statutes and regulations include:
With multiple wage and hour issues in the news, and on potential legislative and regulatory agendas, it can be useful to have multiple ways to stay current on developments.
Elana H. Olsonis the director of the Eckstein Law Library at Marquette University Law School and is a past president of the Law Librarians Association of Wisconsin (LLAW).
One option to monitor developments in Wisconsin is to create a free account through the
Wisconsin State Legislature Notification Service. After signing into your account, type “Child Labor” in the “Enter keyword or subject” box on the Subject tab. You will be notified of developments on current or future proposals, or can select “Current matches” to view the status of any current proposals. (Remember, “current” proposals may no longer be pending.)
Similarly, you can choose the “Administrative Rules” tab and then narrow to Chapter DWD 270 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code, or other chapters of interest, to subscribe to receive relevant notices.
Alternatively, the Department of Workforce Development’s website includes an
Administrative Rules page flagging the status of proposed Emergency Rules or proposed Permanent Rules, as well as Emergency Rules in Effect and Rules Open for Comment.
Agency Websites and Materials
Wisconsin’s Department of Workforce Development (DWD) website and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) website are fantastic launching points for understanding relevant laws and for ensuring compliance.
Starting with the DWD, which also addresses differences for employment of minors on topical pages like the Equal Rights Division’s
Breaks and Meal Periods page, resources include:
Wisconsin Employment of Minors Guide: Easy to understand resource covering minimum ages of employment, the need for
work permits before (most) minors between the ages of 12 and 15 can perform work, posting requirements, prohibited employment, meal breaks, penalties, and more.
Hours and Times of Day Minors May Work in Wisconsin: This page offers a convenient chart to understand the number of hours, and times of day, minors of different ages may work at various times of year and depending on whether school is in session.
Welcome to the Workforce: This video library helps teens and their employers understand rights and responsibilities.
For federal law, resources from the Wage & Hour Division of the DOL include:
Child Labor: This page serves as a portal to multiple resources available on or through the DOL’s website, including a list of common questions and even links to locate child labor laws in each state.
Young Worker’s Toolkit: With headings targeted to young workers and their parents, educators, and employers, this toolkit offers resources ranging from a
Youth Employment Guide to flyers to bookmarks to Wage and Hour Fact Sheets.
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Child Labor Rules Advisor: Part of the DOL’s eLaws series of interactive tools to help employees and employers understand their rights under federal law, this tool guides users through relevant interests.
YouthRules.gov: Including videos, best practices, fact sheets, and more, this portal is intended to promote positive and safe work experiences for teens.
Books and Databases
As is often true, the State Bar of Wisconsin PINNACLE© books offer practitioners excellent resources for learning about child labor laws. The “Wisconsin Wages and Hours Handbook,” by James Chiolino and Matthew White, is a go-to resource for a range of topics, and chapter 6 of that book is dedicated to child labor laws in Wisconsin, with coverage of federal law, too. Alternatively, turn to chapter 5 of “Wisconsin Employment Law.”
PINNACLE occasionally offers CLE on this topic –
such as this one from 2025 – as well as generally on employment law: you can
search on the practice area topic, Employment Law.
In Bloomberg Law, “The Fair Labor Standards Act” devotes a chapter to child labor, and the database has
an “In Focus” devoted to child labor, including a chart builder to help research state laws.
The treatise “The Fair Labor Standards Act” is no longer updated in print; members of the
ABA’s Labor and Employment Law Section can purchase a PDF of the publication.
From Lexis, consider “Wages and Hours: Law and Practice” in print or online, and from Thomson Reuters Westlaw, “Wage and Hour: Compliance & Practice,” also in print and online. Both also offer chapters focused on child labor law.
Relatedly, Practice Guidance from Lexis includes a Child Labor Law Checklist and related Practice Note, and Practical Law from Thomson Reuters features a Child Law Practice Note.
Of course, depending on the resources to which you have access, consider other wage and hour resources, such as the
Wage and Hour Answer Book from Wolters Kluwer.
With wage and hour issues at the forefront in 2026 (see, for example, Naomi Swain’s explanation of workers misclassification in the “Wisconsin Legal Trends 2026” summary in the January 2026 issue of
Wisconsin Lawyer, many of these resources add value for researching wage and hour issues regarding employees of all ages.
Additional Resources
For related research tips and extensive resources, revisit
Legal Research 101: Resources to Investigate Wage Theft, Sunil Rao’s helpful December 2023
InsideTrack column.
The
blog of the State Bar’s Labor & Employment Law Section provides coverage of wage and hour issues in the news. For example, section member
Jessica Simons’ Feb. 6, 2026, article on employee handbooks included useful reminders about key wage and hour matters to address in those resources.
The Wisconsin State Law Library’s
Child Labor Law topic page provides easy access to some of the resources identified in this Legal Research 101, and more.
Though now a decade old, “The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Child Labor Provisions,” published by the Congressional Research Service and updated in 2016, summarizes related provisions of the FLSA, then details coverage, requirements, penalties, and event court considerations.
Need Help? Ask a Law Librarian
Have questions about research child labor laws, or wage and hour laws more generally? Don’t hesitate to reach out to a friendly law librarian – we’re experts at navigating the ins and outs of legal research and are happy to help! You can find law librarians ready to assist you at these Wisconsin libraries:
Endnotes
[2] For many employment law issues, local law can be at play, too. In Wisconsin, however, “hour and overtime requirements shall be construed as an enactment of statewide concern for the purpose of providing employee hour and overtime requirements that are uniform throughout the state.” Wis. Stat. § 103.007(1).
