Teen jobs in Nevada: hours, age limits and pay for working minors
In plain words: in Nevada a teen under 16 can work at most 8 hours a day and 40 a week. High school students 16 to 18 can't work between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. on a night before a school day. Under 14 needs a judge's written permission for most store or indoor jobs. No one under 21 works as a casino gaming employee, and teens are paid the same minimum wage as adults.
Rules by age
- Store, shop, factory or other indoor work needs written permission from a district judge, or a juvenile officer the judge authorizes, in the county where the child lives (NRS 609.245)
- No work while public school is in session unless the school district or juvenile court excuses the child (NRS 609.250)
- Farm work, housework and film acting are treated differently
- No more than 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week (NRS 609.240(1))
- Barred from listed dangerous jobs (see below) (NRS 609.190)
- Federal child labor rules on hours and conditions also count as Nevada violations (NRS 609.654)
- Not between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. on a night before a school day (NRS 609.240(2))
- Applies to public or private high school students aged 16 up to 19 who aren't emancipated
- The school district, school or juvenile court can grant an exemption
- Lifeguards, arcade workers, stage and film performers and farm workers are excepted
- Can't be a gaming employee, except in a counting room
- Can't gamble or loiter where gaming is conducted
- Any minor: no work in a casino gaming area or where selling alcohol is the main business, unless hired to perform there (NRS 609.210)
Pay and tips
- $12 an hour, the same as adults
- The narrow exception: under 18 and working for a nonprofit in an after-school or summer job, or as a trainee for 90 days or less
- More on Nevada minimum wage
- Tips belong to the worker; the employer can't keep them (NRS 608.160)
- When the holiday job ends, the final paycheck rules are on find a job
- Overtime and breaks on holiday shifts: holiday shift pay
Jobs closed to anyone under 16 (NRS 609.190)
- Work with dangerous or poisonous acids, paints, white lead or matches
- Mines, quarries, smelters, laundries, and tobacco warehouses or factories
- Distilleries, breweries and places that make, pack or bottle alcohol
- Running elevators, lifts or hoists, oiling moving machinery, or outdoor electric wire work
- Railroad switch, gate or track work, and anywhere explosives are made or stored
- Any other job the Labor Commissioner declares dangerous or harmful (NRS 609.200)
Door-to-door and street selling under 16
The Labor Commissioner sets rules barring children under 16 from selling at times, places or in ways it finds dangerous, and that covers kids hired as independent contractors too (NRS 609.221). The rules can't reach a county of fewer than 100,000 people, or selling farm products at a fixed stand straight to customers.
Late-night delivery and messenger work
In incorporated cities and towns, no one under 18 may work as a messenger delivering goods or messages for a telegraph or messenger company before 5 a.m. or after 10 p.m. (NRS 609.230).
If an employer breaks the rules
- Employing a child against these rules is a misdemeanor, and so is a parent allowing it (NRS 609.650)
- The Labor Commissioner can add a fine up to $2,500 per violation (NRS 609.652)
- Write down every shift: date, start, end and breaks
- Keep pay stubs and any schedule texts
- Unpaid wages: file a wage claim; steps on holiday shift pay
- The Labor Commissioner posts a summary of the child labor law on its website (NRS 609.015)
Looking for a holiday job
Who's hiring for the season and what each job needs: seasonal jobs in Las Vegas.
Read 2026-11-05 from this house's law shelf: NRS 609.015, 609.190, 609.200, 609.210, 609.221, 609.230, 609.240, 609.245, 609.250, 609.650, 609.652 and 609.654 (chapter 609, Rev. 9/9/2026); NRS 608.160 (chapter 608, Rev. 9/9/2026); NRS 463.350 (chapter 463, Rev. 4/15/2026); Nevada Constitution art. 15, sec. 16 (Rev. 4/15/2026).