The FLSA provides employers with an economic incentive to minimize overtime work, but it does not directly limit the number of hours that most employees can be required to work. Nor does the act generally require that employers provide rest periods, breaks, or time for meals, though there are compelling safety, productivity, and labor relations reasons for doing so. With the exception of regulations pertaining to particular groups—such as air-line pilots and truck drivers—federal law is largely silent on this matter.

At least twenty-one states, however, mandate breaks or meal periods, and some are quite specific about their timing. A larger number of states require mandatory rest periods for minors. Although the FLSA does not generally limit hours worked, it does prohibit oppressive child labor. This requirement affects hours of work for minors. The federal minimum age for employment is 16. However, to perform certain hazardous occupations like mining, logging, roofing, using power-driven meat slicers, employees must be at least 18 years of age.

To comply with the FLSA’s child labor requirements, employers must ascertain the ages of their youthful employees. Doing so, even in a preemployment context, does not violate the Age Discrimination in Employment Act because the protected class is employees 40 years of age and older. Undoubtedly, in many cases, the FLSA’s hours limitations for minors are winked at by employers and employees alike, but there is evidence that excessive work hours can harm teens (e.g., lower grades and greater alcohol use). No matter how complicit minors are in violating the law, it is employers who are legally responsible for compliance.

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