School: Minister Destiny Testimony Schools Track: Youth Class: Topic Library — Year 1 (Foundations) Presented by: Minister Destiny Marie Morgan, Muslim Ordained Minister
This lesson is educational information and is not legal advice. Laws vary by state. If you are in danger right now, call 911.
Before you start
- This space is private. Nobody sees what you read or answer. Your progress stays on your device.
- We never ask your name. Not here, not on the test, not on the certificate. If you earn a certificate, you download it and write your own name on it after.
- Pass the test at 80% or higher to earn this unit's certificate. You can retake the test as many times as you need — each retake presents the questions in a different order, with the answer choices in a different order too. Answers are not shown: go back and find what you missed.
- If you are in danger right now: call 911. If you cannot talk out loud, text HOME to 741741 (Crisis Text Line) or call or text 988 any time, day or night.
- This unit covers first jobs: the permit, your legal hours, your pay, and what to do if a boss asks for something dangerous or unpaid.
The lesson
Part 1. Before your first shift — the work permit
In Massachusetts, every worker under 18 needs a youth employment permit for each new job, before starting work. Mass.gov's youth employment information sets the order: get a job offer first, because the application names the employer and job.
Then the signatures: the employer completes and signs a "Promise of Employment" section describing the job; a parent or guardian signs too. Workers who are 14 or 15 also need a physician's certificate of health, signed within the previous 12 months. Bring the completed form and proof of age to the superintendent of schools for the town where you live or attend school, who issues the permit. Your employer keeps it on file. No permit, no start.
Part 2. How much you may work — hours by age
State and federal law both limit your hours; the stricter standard applies. Ages 14–15: school year — no work during school hours; at most 3 hours on a school day, 18 hours in a week, 8 hours on a weekend day or holiday; only between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. School out — up to 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week, 6 days a week; in summer (July 1–Labor Day), until 9 p.m.
Ages 16–17: at most 9 hours a day, 48 hours a week, 6 days a week; no night work between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. — except on non-school nights (11:30 p.m.; midnight at restaurants and racetracks).
Everyone under 18: after 8 p.m., direct, on-site adult supervision is required, and working more than six hours in a day earns a 30-minute meal break free of duties.
Part 3. Jobs that are off-limits at your age
Some work is prohibited for young workers. Mass.gov publishes the full lists; here is the shape, in outline.
No one under 18 may, among other things: drive a vehicle or forklift; operate power-driven meat slicers, grinders, or bakery machines; work 30 feet or more above ground or water; serve or sell alcohol; use circular or band saws or power-driven woodworking machines; work in roofing, excavation, demolition, logging, or mining; or slaughter or pack meat.
Under 16, the list grows: most power-driven machinery; fryers or pressure cookers; cooking except on electric or gas grills without open flames; manufacturing or construction work; ladders or scaffolds; loading or unloading trucks. "Just helping for a minute" does not change the rule — Part 5 shows how to say no.
Part 4. Your pay — the minimum wage protects you too
The Massachusetts minimum wage — $15.00 per hour as of October 21, 2026 — applies to you too. If you earn tips, the lower service rate of $6.75 per hour counts only when tips bring your total to at least $15.00 for the shift; if they do not, your employer must pay the difference. Your employer may not keep your tips.
Protect that pay with two habits. Read every pay stub — hours, rate, and deductions should match your shifts. Write down your own hours — date, start, end, break — somewhere your employer does not control; if a stub disagrees, your log checks the math. Training time is work time: "unpaid practice" is not a rule — it is wage theft. This library's Collecting & Filing Evidence Offline unit teaches the fuller discipline.
Part 5. If a boss asks for something dangerous or unpaid
It may sound small: "Just climb up and grab that box." "Run the slicer, it's easy." The taught answer:
- Do not do the dangerous task. Say: "I'm not allowed to do that at my age — it's on the state's prohibited list."
- Do not work unpaid. Write down who asked, when, and what was said.
- Tell a parent or another trusted adult the same day; show them your log and messages.
- If it continues, use the state's door: the Attorney General's Fair Labor Division, through mass.gov, with a trusted adult's help.
- If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
A good employer respects a young worker who knows the limits; one who punishes you for refusing is a problem for adults and the Attorney General.
Words to know — Workplace Rights Starter
- Youth employment permit — the work permit every Massachusetts worker under 18 must get for each new job before starting, issued by the superintendent of schools.
- Minimum wage — the lowest hourly pay the law allows for most workers; in Massachusetts, $15.00 per hour as of October 21, 2026.
- Prohibited job — work the law forbids for young workers of a stated age, such as operating a meat slicer.
- Meal break — at least 30 minutes free of all duties, required after more than six hours of work in a day.
- Pay stub — the record accompanying pay that shows hours, rate, gross and net pay, and deductions.
- Hours log — your own written record of dates and times worked, used to check your pay stub.
- Wage theft — an employer not paying wages the law or the agreement requires: unpaid hours, missing overtime, stolen tips, or illegal deductions.
- Trusted adult — an adult who believes you and will act to help you stay safe.
Myths vs facts — Workplace Rights Starter
- Myth: Teen workers can legally be paid less just because they are young. Fact: The $15.00 minimum applies to young workers too.
- Myth: One work permit covers every job until you turn 18. Fact: Each new job needs its own permit, before you start.
- Myth: If you agree to extra hours, the age limits do not matter. Fact: The limits bind even when a young worker volunteers.
- Myth: Unpaid training shifts are normal for a first job. Fact: Required training time is paid. Unpaid "practice" shifts are wage theft.
- Myth: Refusing a dangerous task makes you look lazy. Fact: Prohibited jobs are banned at your age however carefully they are done. Refusing and telling a trusted adult is the response the law expects.
Think it through — Workplace Rights Starter
The situation: Maya, 15, works at a sandwich shop. Her manager schedules her until 8:30 p.m., asks her to run the meat slicer, and her last stub shows 14 hours although her log shows 17 — the manager calls the other 3 "training." What is wrong, and what should she do?
Walk it through: (1) Hours — Part 2: at 15, Maya may work until 7 p.m. in the school year and at most 3 hours on a school day; the schedule breaks both. (2) The slicer — Part 3: a power-driven meat slicer is prohibited for every worker under 18. (3) The pay — Part 4: training time is paid; her 17 logged hours must be paid at the minimum wage. (4) The response — Part 5: tell a trusted adult the same day, keep log and stubs, refuse the slicer by naming the rule, and — with an adult's help — file a youth-employment complaint with the Fair Labor Division at mass.gov if the shop does not fix all three.
Cases & codes to study — Workplace Rights Starter
The law itself — read the real words
- Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151, § 1 — the minimum wage. Read it: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXXI/Chapter151/Section1
- Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, § 100 — the meal-break law: no more than six hours in a day without at least 30 minutes for a meal. Read it: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXXI/Chapter149/Section100
- Attorney General's youth-work rules on mass.gov — hours limits and prohibited-jobs lists. Read them: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/work-hours-restrictions-for-minors and https://www.mass.gov/info-details/prohibited-jobs-for-minors
Where to read the real thing, free: mass.gov (https://www.mass.gov) · malegislature.gov (https://malegislature.gov).
Try this — Workplace Rights Starter
- ☐ I can list the permit steps in order: job offer, employer signs, parent or guardian signs, doctor's certificate if I am 14 or 15, then the superintendent.
- ☐ I wrote down the hours limits for my age band and checked them at mass.gov.
- ☐ I started an hours log: date, start, end, break.
- ☐ I named the trusted adult I would tell the same day.
Resources to keep — Workplace Rights Starter
- 911 — in danger right now.
- 988 (call or text) — support any time.
- Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741 — if you would rather type.
- Childhelp: 1-800-422-4453 — help if an adult is hurting you.
- mass.gov — permits, hours, prohibited jobs, and Fair Labor Division complaints.
What you earned / what's next — Workplace Rights Starter
✅ Workplace Rights Starter complete (quiz score 80% or higher): You can list the permit steps, state your age band's hours limits, recognize prohibited jobs, check a stub against your log, and work the steps if a boss asks for dangerous or unpaid work.
Your certificate
Minister Destiny Testimony Schools Certificate of Completion — Workplace Rights Starter
This certificate is presented by Muslim Ordained Minister Destiny Marie Morgan
Awarded to: ______________________________ (write your name here after you download — your name is never collected or stored by this school)
Date completed: ______________
Congratulations. Your first job starts your working life; it is not a test of what you will put up with. You know your permit, your hours, and your pay — and "no" to a dangerous task is a professional answer. — Minister Destiny Marie Morgan
This is a certificate of educational completion from Minister Destiny Testimony Schools. It is not a state license, a government certification, or legal training for representing anyone.
What's next: Return to the Topic Library for your next Year 1 Foundations unit.
Sources
- Massachusetts Attorney General / Commonwealth of Massachusetts (mass.gov) — "Work hours restrictions for minors" (https://www.mass.gov/info-details/work-hours-restrictions-for-minors) and "Prohibited jobs for minors" (https://www.mass.gov/info-details/prohibited-jobs-for-minors) — hours limits, supervision rule, prohibited lists.
- Massachusetts Attorney General / Commonwealth of Massachusetts (mass.gov) — "Pay and recordkeeping" (https://www.mass.gov/guides/pay-and-recordkeeping) and "Breaks and time off" (https://www.mass.gov/guides/breaks-and-time-off) — minimum wage, service rate, meal break.
- Attorney General's Fair Labor Division (mass.gov) — "File a workplace complaint" (https://www.mass.gov/how-to/file-a-workplace-complaint) — the youth employment complaint category; and permit information — permit per job, signatures, physician's certificate ages 14–15, superintendent issuance.
- Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151, § 1 and ch. 149, § 100 (Mass. Gen. Laws) — minimum wage; meal-break interval.
Your Progress — On Your Device Only
- Learning outcomes: On completing this unit, the student can:
- list the permit steps in order, including who signs and who issues;
- state the work-hours limits and evening cut-offs for the 14–15 and 16–17 age bands;
- recognize prohibited jobs for workers under 18 and under 16;
- state that the minimum wage applies to young workers, check a stub against a personal hours log, and work the response steps — refuse, document, tell a trusted adult, use the Fair Labor Division route.
- Study time: Approximately 0.75 hours — an estimate covering reading, activities, and the test.
- Assessment: A 10-question test drawn only from this unit's lesson. 80% or higher passes and earns the unit certificate. Answers and scores stay on the student's device; retakes are allowed.
- Level: Topic Library — Year 1 (Foundations) · Youth school · working rank on completion path: Freshman → Sophomore.
- Version: Version 1.0 — October 2026.
Minister Destiny Testimony Schools — Youth. Educational information only, not legal advice. Help lines: 911 · 988 (call or text) · Crisis Text Line (text HOME to 741741) · Childhelp 1-800-422-4453.