TL;DR Under federal law, the minimum wage for teens is the same $7.25 an hour adults get — with one catch: an employer may pay a worker under 20 as little as $4.25 an hour for the first 90 calendar days on the job. Both numbers come from the Fair Labor Standards ActFair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): the federal law that sets the national minimum wage, overtime, and child labor rules. Its minimum wage section is 29 U.S.C. § 206.. If your state sets a higher minimum wage, you are owed the higher one — and some states add their own teen rate while others allow none. In a tipped job, an employer can pay $2.13 an hour in cash only if tips bring you up to the full minimum — a tip creditTip credit: the part of the minimum wage an employer may cover with your tips instead of cash — at most $5.12 an hour under federal law, and never more than the tips you actually received.. If your pay comes up short, write down your hours, ask in writing, and call the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division at 1-866-487-9243.
Your First Paycheck Looks Short: What Teen Workers Are Owed
Two weeks into your first job, the direct deposit lands: $85. You worked 20 hours. You do the math twice and it comes out the same — $4.25 an hour. The poster in the break room says $7.25. You ask the shift lead. “That’s the training wage. You’re sixteen.” Sometimes that answer is legal. Sometimes it is an underpayment you can get back. It comes down to your age, your start date, your state, and whether customers tip you. Here is the federal rule, six states side by side, and what to do when the numbers don’t add up.Minimum Wage for Teens: The Short Answer
The Fair Labor Standards Act sets the federal minimum wage at $7.25 an hour (29 U.S.C. § 206(a)(1)), where it has been since July 2009. That section has no age in it: a 15-year-old and a 50-year-old are owed the same $7.25. The exception is § 206(g), the youth minimum wageYouth minimum wage: a federal rate of not less than $4.25 an hour that an employer may pay a worker under 20, only during the first 90 consecutive calendar days after hiring.. An employer may pay a worker under 20 not less than $4.25 an hour, but only “during the first 90 consecutive calendar days after such employee is initially employed by such employer.” Those are calendar days, not shifts. On day 91 — or on your 20th birthday, if it comes first — your pay must rise to the full minimum. Employers may not fire people or cut their hours to make room for youth-wage hires. Then comes your state. The federal minimum never excuses an employer from a higher state or city minimum (29 U.S.C. § 218(a)); in the Labor Department’s words, “the employee is entitled to the higher of the two minimum wages.” State law can also close the $4.25 door: per the Department’s youth wage fact sheet, when a state requires more than $4.25 and makes no exception for workers under 20, the higher state rate applies. So ask three things. What is your state’s rate? Does a youth, tipped, or student rate actually fit you? Is your job covered at all?
Teen Pay Situations, One by One
Situation 1 · First 90 days “You’re on the youth wage” — legal under federal law, for a limited timeIf you are under 20 and newly hired, $4.25 an hour can be lawful. The clock starts on your first day of work and runs 90 calendar days straight through — days off count. The Labor Department’s Fact Sheet #32 adds that a break in service does not change the count, and that the employer does not have to provide any training to use the rate.
It is not a permanent teen rate. A 16-year-old four months into the job is past it.
Situation 2 · Your state pays more A higher state minimum wage beats $7.25 — and may beat the youth wage tooWhere a state or city sets a higher minimum, that is the rate you are owed, and each state decides whether teens get its full rate. The six states below show how far the answers spread.
To look up your own state: search your state’s name plus “minimum wage” and open the result from your state labor department’s official site, or use the U.S. Department of Labor’s State Minimum Wage Laws table and State Labor Offices directory (both in Sources). Check the date on any table — rates change, and a page can lag behind.
Minimum wage rates in six states, as of October 2026:
- California — $16.90, the same for minors and adults according to the state labor agency. Learners of any age can be paid 85 percent for their first 160 hours in work that is new to them.
- Washington — $17.13 for workers 16 and older; $14.56 for 14- and 15-year-olds, which is 85 percent (WAC 296-126-020).
- Illinois — $15.00 at 18 and older, though the statute lets an employer pay a newly hired worker of that age up to 50 cents less during the first 90 calendar days. Under 18, $13.00 until you pass 650 hours for that employer in a calendar year; then the full rate (820 ILCS 105/4).
- New York — $17.00 in New York City and Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties; $16.00 elsewhere (N.Y. Labor Law § 652). The state Department of Labor says there is no lower rate for trainees or youth.
- Florida — $15.00 since September 30, 2026. The statute borrows the federal exemptions and student certificates rather than setting an age-based rate of its own (Fla. Stat. § 448.110(3)).
- Texas — $7.25. Texas Labor Code § 62.051 adopts the federal rate, so the federal rules govern — the 90-day youth wage included.
Situation 3 · Tipped jobs Serving, bussing, delivering — the $2.13 rule and its limitsUnder federal law, a worker who customarily receives more than $30 a month in tips can be paid a cash wage as low as $2.13 an hour, with tips covering the remaining $5.12. Two conditions apply. The employer has to tell you about the tip credit before using it. And if cash plus tips does not reach $7.25 an hour for the workweek, the employer must pay the difference.
State law can change this. California and Washington do not let tips count toward the minimum; Illinois caps the credit at 40 percent of its minimum wage. What a manager may do with the tips themselves is a separate question — see whether your employer can keep your tips.
Situation 4 · Student rates Full-time students and student-learners — lower pay, but only with a certificateUnder 29 U.S.C. § 214, the Labor Department can issue a certificate that lets a retail or service business, a farm, or a college pay a full-time student not less than 85 percent of the minimum wage. For retail, service, and farm jobs, the regulations cap that work at 8 hours a day and 20 hours a week while school is in session (29 CFR § 519.6).
A separate student-learner certificate covers students at least 16 years old in a vocational training program, at not less than 75 percent of the minimum (29 CFR §§ 520.300, 520.506). No certificate, no lower rate. Work-hour limits are separate — see how late a 16-year-old can work.
Situation 5 · Not covered Babysitting, paper routes, small farms — work the federal law leaves outThe FLSA exempts babysitting on a casual basis — irregular or intermittent work by someone whose vocation is not babysitting (29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(15); 29 CFR § 552.5). It also exempts delivering newspapers to the consumer (§ 213(d)) and work on small farms that used no more than 500 man-days of farm labor in any quarter of the previous year (§ 213(a)(6)).
Size matters too. A business is covered as an enterprise at $500,000 or more in annual sales; hospitals, schools, and government agencies are covered whatever their size. Below that line you can still be covered if your own work involves interstate commerce — and your state’s law may apply either way.
What to Say and Do If Your Paycheck Is Below Minimum Wage
Check the math, then ask in writing
1. Before you say anything, run the numbers:
Total pay before deductions, divided by the hours you worked that week. Compare the result with $7.25 and with your state’s rate.
2. Ask your manager — by text or email, so there is a record:“Hi — my check for the week of [date] shows [number] hours at [rate] an hour. Can you tell me which pay rate I’m on, and when I move to the regular minimum wage?”
3. If the answer is “youth wage” or “training wage”:“Thanks. My first day was [date], so 90 calendar days ends on [date]. Can you confirm my rate goes up then?”
4. If you are paid as a tipped employee:“Can you show me how my hourly pay plus tips added up to minimum wage for that week?”
5. If the answer doesn’t match the law, or never comes:Don’t argue on the floor and don’t walk out mid-shift. Keep your records, tell a parent or guardian, and take it to the Wage and Hour Division or your state labor agency.
If the problem is unpaid time rather than a low rate, see whether your boss can make you work off the clock.What to Do If You Are Paid Less Than Minimum Wage
- Save the paper. Keep every pay stub or pay record, and screenshot your schedule and clock-in times.
- Keep your own log. For each shift, write the date, start time, end time, and tips, the same day.
- Ask in writing. Use the script above and save the reply.
- Check your state’s rule on your state labor department’s official site.
- File a complaint. Call the Wage and Hour Division at 1-866-487-9243 or start on its complaint page; the Division says its services are free and confidential. Have ready the company’s name, location, and phone number, a manager’s name, the type of work you did, and how and when you were paid. Your state labor agency takes complaints too.
- Watch the deadline. A federal claim must be started within two years, or three if the violation was willful (29 U.S.C. § 255(a)). State deadlines can be shorter: the Texas Workforce Commission takes wage claims only up to 180 days after the wages were due.
Teen Pay: What an Employer Can vs. Can’t Do
✓ AN EMPLOYER CAN
- Pay a worker under 20 as little as $4.25 an hour for the first 90 calendar days, where state law allows it
- Pay $2.13 an hour in cash in a tipped job, if tips bring you to at least $7.25 and state law permits
- Pay a full-time student 85 percent of the minimum under a Labor Department certificate
- Use a state’s own youth or learner rate where state law creates one
✗ AN EMPLOYER CAN’T
- Keep you on the $4.25 youth wage after day 90, or after you turn 20
- Fire workers or cut their hours to replace them with youth-wage hires
- Pay below your state’s minimum wage when it is higher than the federal one
- Leave you under $7.25 an hour in a week when your tips fall short
- Fire or punish you because you filed a wage complaint
Teen Minimum Wage Myths, Busted
Myth: “Teens get a lower minimum wage than adults.”
Not as a general rule. The federal $7.25 has no age attached. The exceptions are specific: the 90-day youth wage, student certificates, and rates that particular states have written for minors. California and New York have no lower rate for minors.
Myth: “A training wage lasts as long as you’re still training.”
False under federal law. The youth wage ends 90 consecutive calendar days after your first day, whether or not anyone thinks you are trained. Whether training time must be paid at all is covered in do you get paid for training.
Myth: “I already did my 90 days at my last job, so no one can pay me $4.25 again.”
False. The Labor Department’s fact sheet says a worker under 20 can be paid the youth wage for up to 90 days after starting with any employer, not just the first. Each new job can start a new window until you turn 20.
Myth: “If I get tips, my boss doesn’t really have to pay me.”
False. Federal law requires at least $2.13 an hour in cash, and cash plus tips must reach $7.25 an hour for the workweek or the employer makes up the gap.
Teen Minimum Wage Questions People Actually Ask
Tap a question to open it.What is the minimum wage right now?
The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, and your state’s rate applies instead if it is higher. As of October 2026, examples include $16.90 in California, $17.13 in Washington, $15.00 in Illinois and Florida, $16.00 or $17.00 in New York depending on the region, and $7.25 in Texas.
Can a job pay a 16-year-old less than minimum wage?
Sometimes, yes. Under federal law an employer may pay any worker under 20 as little as $4.25 an hour for the first 90 consecutive calendar days. But where state law sets a higher minimum with no exception for young workers, the state rate applies — and after day 90, a 16-year-old is owed the full minimum.
Is the minimum wage different for 14- and 15-year-olds?
Under federal law, no — the only age line is 20. Some states draw their own. Washington sets the rate for 14- and 15-year-olds at 85 percent of the adult minimum, Ohio ties the rate for workers under 16 to the federal $7.25, and Illinois has a $13.00 rate for workers under 18 until they pass 650 hours in a calendar year.
What is the tipped minimum wage for a teen server?
Under federal law it is a $2.13 an hour cash wage, as long as tips bring your total to at least $7.25 an hour for the workweek. If they don’t, your employer owes you the difference. State rules differ: Illinois, for example, requires a higher cash wage, and California and Washington do not allow tips to count toward the minimum wage at all.
Do babysitting, farm work, and small-business jobs have to pay minimum wage?
Not always under federal law. Casual babysitting, delivering newspapers to customers, and work on certain small farms are exempt from the federal minimum wage. A business with under $500,000 in annual sales may fall outside federal coverage unless your own work involves interstate commerce. Your state’s law may still cover the job.
Can my boss fire me for filing a minimum wage complaint?
No. Federal law makes it unlawful to fire or otherwise discriminate against an employee for filing a complaint under the FLSA (29 U.S.C. § 215(a)(3)), and the Wage and Hour Division keeps complaints confidential. Remedies under § 216(b) include reinstatement and lost wages plus an equal amount. More on at-will firing: can you be fired for no reason.
Minimum Wage Law: Key Terms, Explained
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) — the federal law that sets the minimum wage, overtime, and child labor rules for covered jobs.
Youth minimum wage — not less than $4.25 an hour for workers under 20, for the first 90 consecutive calendar days with an employer.
Tip credit — the part of the minimum wage an employer may cover with your tips; at most $5.12 an hour under federal law.
Full-time student certificate — Labor Department permission to pay full-time students 85 percent of the minimum wage, with limits on hours.
Liquidated damages — an extra amount equal to the unpaid wages, which an employer who violated the minimum wage can be ordered to pay.
The Law Behind Teen Minimum Wage
These are statutes, not court cases. Each is linked in Sources.29 U.S.C. § 206 — the minimum wage and the youth wageSubsection (a)(1) sets $7.25 an hour with no line by age. Subsection (g) allows $4.25 for employees under 20 during their first 90 consecutive calendar days, and forbids displacing other workers to use it.
29 U.S.C. §§ 203(m) and 214 — tips and certificatesSection 203(m) limits the tip credit to tips actually received. Section 214 lets the Labor Department authorize lower rates for full-time students and learners by certificate.
29 U.S.C. § 218(a) — the higher law winsNothing in the FLSA excuses an employer from a state or local law that sets a higher minimum wage.
29 U.S.C. §§ 215(a)(3), 216(b), 255(a) — enforcementRetaliation for filing a complaint is unlawful; unpaid minimum wages can be recovered with an equal amount on top; the deadline is two years, three if willful.
Minimum Wage Law That’s Still Moving
The edges to watch as of October 2026:
- January 1, 2027 state rates — California goes to $17.40. Washington goes to $17.73, with $15.07 for 14- and 15-year-olds. Ohio goes to $11.40. New York stays at $17.00 and $16.00 because a condition in its law blocked the inflation increase; the state says Governor Hochul has proposed a change that could allow one from March 1, 2027, if the Legislature approves.
- The federal $7.25 — unchanged since 2009. The Raise the Wage Act of 2025 (S. 1332), introduced in the Senate and referred to committee, would step the rate up to $17.00 and rewrite the youth and tipped wage provisions. The statute still reads $7.25.
- Florida after $15.00 — September 30, 2026 was the last scheduled step. State law provides for annual inflation adjustments (Fla. Stat. § 448.110(4)); watch the state’s announcements for the next rate.
One important note: the rates here are the general ones. Your state may set a different number for small employers, tipped work, or a specific industry, and some cities set rates above their state’s — Washington’s labor agency names Seattle among them. When state and federal law both apply, you get whichever pays you more; here is how federal and state law fit together.
The Bottom Line on the Minimum Wage for Teens
Your age alone does not lower your pay. Federal law sets one floor — $7.25 an hour — and one narrow, temporary exception: $4.25 for workers under 20, for 90 calendar days and not one day longer. Your state may require much more, and may or may not have a teen rate of its own. Know your state’s rate, your start date, and whether your job is treated as tipped. If the math comes out low, write it down, ask in writing, and call the Wage and Hour Division or your state labor agency before the deadline. Once the pay is right, the next question is your time — see what breaks you get on an 8-hour shift. Now you know.The tip jarCan your employer keep your tips? → The other half of a shiftHow many breaks on an 8-hour shift? → The whole subjectExplore Teen & Young Adult →
Sources
Primary sources:- 29 U.S.C. § 206 — minimum wage — law.cornell.edu
- 29 U.S.C. § 203 — definitions — law.cornell.edu
- 29 U.S.C. § 213 — exemptions — law.cornell.edu
- 29 U.S.C. § 214 — certificates — law.cornell.edu
- 29 U.S.C. § 215 — retaliation — law.cornell.edu
- 29 U.S.C. § 216 — penalties — law.cornell.edu
- 29 U.S.C. § 218 — state laws — law.cornell.edu
- 29 U.S.C. § 255 — deadlines — law.cornell.edu
- 29 CFR Part 519 — full-time students — ecfr.gov
- 29 CFR § 520.300 — law.cornell.edu
- 29 CFR § 520.506 — law.cornell.edu
- 29 CFR § 552.5 — casual babysitting — law.cornell.edu
- Fact Sheet #32: Youth Minimum Wage — dol.gov
- Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees — dol.gov
- Fact Sheet #14: FLSA Coverage — dol.gov
- Minimum Wage overview — dol.gov
- State Minimum Wage Laws table — dol.gov
- Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees — dol.gov
- How to File a Complaint — dol.gov
- Information needed to file a complaint — dol.gov
- State Labor Offices directory — dol.gov
- California Minimum Wage FAQ — dir.ca.gov
- California 2027 rate announcement — dir.ca.gov
- Washington Minimum Wage — lni.wa.gov
- Washington 2026 rate announcement — lni.wa.gov
- RCW 49.46.020 — app.leg.wa.gov
- WAC 296-126-020 — app.leg.wa.gov
- 820 ILCS 105/4 — ilga.gov
- N.Y. Labor Law § 652 — nysenate.gov
- New York Minimum Wage FAQ — dol.ny.gov
- New York State’s Minimum Wage — ny.gov
- New York minimum wage rates for 2027 — dol.ny.gov
- New York State Minimum Wage for 2027 — governor.ny.gov
- Fla. Stat. § 448.110 — leg.state.fl.us
- Florida minimum wage schedule (required notices) — floridajobs.org
- Texas Labor Code ch. 62 — statutes.capitol.texas.gov
- Texas Minimum Wage Law — twc.texas.gov
- Ohio 2027 rate announcement — com.ohio.gov
- Ohio 2026 Minimum Wage poster — com.ohio.gov
- S. 1332, Raise the Wage Act of 2025 — govinfo.gov
LawJustic is for educational purposes only and does not provide legal advice. Minimum wage rates and youth wage rules vary by state and city and change often. If you think you were underpaid, contact the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, your state labor agency, or a licensed employment attorney. Last reviewed: October 2026.