Permits, hours & minimum wage: what Wisconsin law actually requires before your first shift, and the federal rule that can legally cut your pay to $4.25 an hour.
Three things decide what your first job in Wisconsin can look like: Wisconsin wants a work permit in your hand before your first shift, not after, the state keeps setting hour limits after you turn 16, where most of the country stops, and the minimum wage sits at the federal floor of $7.25. They come from three different rulebooks, and two of them change on your 16th birthday.
Where the jobs are: Milwaukee and Madison anchor year-round hiring, the Wisconsin Dells concentrates an enormous summer teen market into one area, and Door County adds coastal seasonal work.
Yes, if you are under 16. Wisconsin requires a work permit (an employment or age certificate) before you start work, issued by a permit officer, usually at your school or the Department of Workforce Development.
The exact form differs by state, but the sequence is almost always the same, and skipping a step is the usual reason a permit gets delayed:
Two rulebooks apply depending on your age. Under 16 the federal Fair Labor Standards Act sets limits that hold in every state. At 16 and 17 federal law sets none at all, so what Wisconsin adds is the entire limit you are working under.
These are the federal limits, and they apply in Wisconsin:
| Limit | Rule |
|---|---|
| Hours per school day | 3 maximum |
| Hours per school week | 18 maximum |
| Hours per non-school day | 8 maximum |
| Hours per non-school week | 40 maximum |
| Earliest start | 7:00 a.m. |
| Latest finish | 7:00 p.m. |
| Latest finish, June 1 to Labor Day | 9:00 p.m. |
Wisconsin is one of the states that does set rules here:
| Limit | Rule |
|---|---|
| During school hours | Work is not permitted, except through a school-run work experience programme |
| School nights | Shifts must end by 11:00 p.m. |
| After 11:00 p.m. | You must get 8 hours of rest between the end of one shift and the start of the next |
| Overtime | Time and a half for more than 10 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week, whichever is greater |
That overtime rule is unusual: most states give 16- and 17-year-olds no daily overtime right at all.
Federal law requires no breaks at any age, so anything you get in Wisconsin comes from state law rather than federal. Wisconsin requires a 30-minute duty-free meal period for anyone under 18 working more than 6 consecutive hours. That is one of the few rules where being under 18 gets you more than the adults working beside you.
Wisconsin has no state minimum wage above the federal floor, so the rate is $7.25 an hour in 2026, the same as it has been since 2009.
| Situation | 2026 rate |
|---|---|
| Most employees | $7.25/hr (federal) |
| Under 20, first 90 consecutive days | $4.25/hr (federal youth wage) |
| Tipped employees | A lower cash wage plus tips, which must reach the full rate |
Work rules stop at the state line, and if you live near one it is worth knowing which side is easier to get hired on:
| State | Work permit | Min wage 2026 | Hours at 16 to 17 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin | Under 16 | $7.25 | State limits |
| Minnesota | Under 16 | $11.41 | State limits |
| Iowa | Under 16 | $7.25 | No state cap |
| Illinois | Under 16 | $15.00 | No state cap |
| Michigan | Under 18 | $13.73 | State limits |
Federal law bars anyone under 18 from occupations classed as hazardous, and states add their own lists on top. In practice that is why teen jobs cluster in food service, retail, recreation and childcare. The restrictions cover things like operating most power-driven machinery, roofing, demolition, and work at significant heights, and they are stricter at 14 and 15 than at 16 and 17. In a state where a lot of teen work is seasonal and outdoors, the ones to watch are lifeguarding certifications, boat and watercraft operation, and anything involving commercial kitchen equipment during a busy season. Before accepting anything involving machinery, ladders, or a commercial kitchen's slicers and mixers, check the current list with the Wisconsin labor department.
Yes, if you are under 16. The certificate is issued by a permit officer, usually at your school or the Department of Workforce Development, and it has to be in place before your first shift rather than after you are hired.
Wisconsin sets specific limits at 16 and 17: during school hours — Work is not permitted, except through a school-run work experience programme; school nights — Shifts must end by 11:00 p.m.; after 11:00 p.m. — You must get 8 hours of rest between the end of one shift and the start of the next; overtime — Time and a half for more than 10 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week, whichever is greater.
Up to 3 hours on a school day and 18 hours in a school week, or 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week when school is out, between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. and extending to 9:00 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day. Those are the federal limits and they apply in Wisconsin as they do everywhere. On top of the hours, a 15-year-old in Wisconsin needs a work permit from a permit officer, usually at your school or the Department of Workforce Development.
$7.25 an hour. Wisconsin has no state minimum wage above the federal floor. Separately, federal law allows a youth wage of $4.25 an hour for workers under 20 during their first 90 consecutive calendar days with an employer.
Federal law requires no breaks at any age, so anything you get in Wisconsin comes from state law rather than federal. Wisconsin requires a 30-minute duty-free meal period for anyone under 18 working more than 6 consecutive hours. That is one of the few rules where being under 18 gets you more than the adults working beside you.
Fourteen for most non-farm jobs, which is the federal floor and applies in Wisconsin as everywhere else. Below 14 the exceptions are narrow: babysitting, newspaper delivery, working for your parents in a non-hazardous business, and performing. If you are not 14 yet, babysitting is the realistic route, and the age and licensing rules for that in Wisconsin are different from the employment rules on this page.