Child labor - Montana

Summary of differences between federal and state regulations

The Montana Department of Labor and Industry, Employment Relations Division, Labor Standards Bureau, Wage and Hour Unit administers the child labor laws.

Work age

Youths must be:

• No age specified for baby sitting/domestic work, agriculture (with parental consent), legislative aide/page, actor/performer, model, or working for parents
• 14 for newspaper carriers, office and clerical work, cashiering, price marking and tagging, and cleanup and kitchen work that does not involve certain power equipment
• 16 for certain jobs if youth is employed as an apprentice or student-learner (see section 41-2-110 for exemptions)
• 18 for jobs involving factory work, operating machinery, mining, logging, and any dangerous job

Work hours

Youths 14 or older may work:

• 7 am to 7 pm (9 pm from June 1 through Labor Day)
• 8 hours/day, 40 hours/week (3 hours/day, 18 hours/week when school is in session)
• 23 hours/week (may include school hours) if youth is in school-supervised program

Montana has no work restrictions for youth 16 and older.

State

Contact

Montana Labor Standards Bureau

Regulations

The Montana Child Labor Law is found at Title 41, Chapter 2 of the Montana Code Annotated.

Federal

Contact

The Department of Labor is the sole federal agency that monitors child labor and enforces child labor laws. Enforcement of the Fair Labor Standard Act's child labor provisions is handled by the Wage and Hour Division of the Department’s Employment Standards Administration.

Department of Labor

Regulations

U.S. child labor regulations can be found in CFR 29:

Part 570 Child Labor Regulations, Orders and Statements of Interpretation

Part 575 Waiver of Child Labor Provisions for Agricultural Employment of 10 and 11 Year Old Minors In Hand Harvesting of Short Season Crops

Part 579 Child Labor Violations – Civil Money Penalties