What is the minimum age to work as a youth sports referee in California?

14 (12+ agriculture/household; entertainment any age with permit) No referee/official carve-out in Cal. Lab. Code 1394 (only parent-controlled agricultural/horticultural/domestic work outside school hours, and minors exempt from compulsory attendance). AB 3234 (2025) audit disclosure only. State law keys on 'employ/permit to work' - no 1099 carve-out.

When is a final paycheck due in California if you let someone go?

Immediately at termination Waiting-time penalty: daily wage up to 30 days (Lab. Code 203). Accrued vacation/PTO must be paid out.

How does California decide whether a coach or referee is a 1099 contractor or an employee?

ABC test (strict), Lab. Code 2775 (AB5/AB2257) with Borello for exempt occupations; Lab. Code 2783(j) exempts 'competition judge... including an amateur umpire or referee' to Borello. Youth sports coaches NOT exempt (ABC applies)

Does a youth sports league in California need workers' compensation for 1099 referees and coaches?

California presumes anyone rendering service for another is an employee (Lab. Code 3357) and, since July 1, 2020, applies the AB5 ABC test (Lab. Code 2775) to workers' compensation as well as wage and UI law, unless an occupation is sent back to the Borello multi-factor test. Lab. Code 2783(j) does that for competition judges "including an amateur umpire or referee," so amateur officials are judged under Borello; youth coaches are not exempt and must pass all three ABC prongs, which a league running its own programs almost never can. Independent contractors are not covered (Lab. Code 3353). There is no opt-out or waiver certificate for 1099 workers; sole proprietors are simply not employees (CSLB license exemptions apply only to licensed contractors). Unlicensed workers doing licensable work are employees by law (Lab. Code 2750.5), and an uninsured employer faces 3706-3710 penalties. Sports officials: Lab. Code 3352(a)(14) excludes from "employee" a person, other than a regular employee, officiating for an interscholastic or intercollegiate sponsor, or any official serving a public agency, public entity, or private nonprofit that sponsors an amateur sports event. No unemployment exclusion found; UI uses 2783(j)/Borello for officials. Bottom line: nonprofit or public youth league referees are not WC-covered; 1099 coaches are at high risk of misclassification with Lab. Code 226.8 penalties.

For youth sports organizations and event operators · California rulebook

Youth sports labor rules in California: who can you put in the game, and what do you owe them?

State rules for everyone a youth sports organization pays: coaches and trainers on payroll, officials and event staff on 1099, program and front-office staff, and the teenagers you hire for a season. Wages, final pay, minors, contractor status, workers' comp, safe sport and youth safety, 50 states + DC, checked against statute text.

Last reviewed Oct 1, 202651 jurisdictions · 32 rules each

Step 1

Pick the state where the work happens

Rules follow where people work, not where you are based. Running an event? Use the event state. Operating a club or league? Use the state where your staff coach, officiate and work.

Color the map by

n/a

Set a role, age and pay type below to see which rules apply to your organization.

Step 2

Check a staffing plan

Tell us who you are paying, how old they are, and whether they are on payroll or 1099. We rank what applies.

State where the work happens

Role

Worker age

Paid as

Not sure if someone should be 1099 or on payroll?Answer 5 plain-English questions. We explain the sticking points in your state.5-question check

Tourney Direct does not decide classification. Confirm with a tax advisor or attorney before you onboard anyone as a contractor.

Step 3

Everything on file for California

All 32 rules for this state, with the statutes and agency pages they came from.

Wages and pay
Minimum wage (2026): $16.90 (indexed 1/1/2027; higher local/industry rates)
Required pay frequency: Semi-monthly (weekly/bi-weekly allowed)
Final paycheck if you let them go: Immediately at termination
Final paycheck if they quit: Within 72 hours (at quitting if ≥72 hrs notice)
Final-pay penalties: Waiting-time penalty: daily wage up to 30 days (Lab. Code 203). Accrued vacation/PTO must be paid out.
State income tax withholding: Yes
Workers' comp required at: 1+
New-hire report due (days): 20
Minors
Minimum working age: 14 (12+ agriculture/household; entertainment any age with permit)
Work permit: Yes, under 18 while enrolled (Permit to Employ and Work, B1-1/B1-4) issued by school district; not needed for HS grads
Ages 14 to 15, school in session: 3 hrs/day, 18 hrs/wk; 7am-7pm
Ages 14 to 15, summer and breaks: 8 hrs/day, 40 hrs/wk; 7am-9pm June 1-Labor Day
Ages 16 to 17: 4 hrs/school day, 8 hrs non-school day, 48 hrs/wk; 5am-10pm (12:30am before non-school day)
Weekend and evening games: 16-17 may work 8 hrs Sat/Sun and until 12:30am before a non-school day; permit needed even for weekend-only jobs
Referee, coach and recreation exemptions: No referee/official carve-out in Cal. Lab. Code 1394 (only parent-controlled agricultural/horticultural/domestic work outside school hours, and minors exempt from compulsory attendance). AB 3234 (2025) audit disclosure only. State law keys on 'employ/permit to work' - no 1099 carve-out.
Contractors and leave
How this state decides 1099 vs. payroll: ABC test (strict), Lab. Code 2775 (AB5/AB2257) with Borello for exempt occupations; Lab. Code 2783(j) exempts 'competition judge... including an amateur umpire or referee' to Borello. Youth sports coaches NOT exempt (ABC applies)
Same question, for unemployment insurance: ABC test (Unemp. Ins. Code 621(b) incorporates Lab. Code 2775)
Referee-specific rule: Lab. Code 2783(j): amateur umpires/referees judged under Borello (multi-factor) rather than the ABC test for wage/UI purposes; Lab. Code 3352(a)(14): amateur sports officials excluded from workers' comp 'employee' when officiating amateur/school events
Workers' comp for 1099 referees and coaches: California presumes anyone rendering service for another is an employee (Lab. Code 3357) and, since July 1, 2020, applies the AB5 ABC test (Lab. Code 2775) to workers' compensation as well as wage and UI law, unless an occupation is sent back to the Borello multi-factor test. Lab. Code 2783(j) does that for competition judges "including an amateur umpire or referee," so amateur officials are judged under Borello; youth coaches are not exempt and must pass all three ABC prongs, which a league running its own programs almost never can. Independent contractors are not covered (Lab. Code 3353). There is no opt-out or waiver certificate for 1099 workers; sole proprietors are simply not employees (CSLB license exemptions apply only to licensed contractors). Unlicensed workers doing licensable work are employees by law (Lab. Code 2750.5), and an uninsured employer faces 3706-3710 penalties. Sports officials: Lab. Code 3352(a)(14) excludes from "employee" a person, other than a regular employee, officiating for an interscholastic or intercollegiate sponsor, or any official serving a public agency, public entity, or private nonprofit that sponsors an amateur sports event. No unemployment exclusion found; UI uses 2783(j)/Borello for officials. Bottom line: nonprofit or public youth league referees are not WC-covered; 1099 coaches are at high risk of misclassification with Lab. Code 226.8 penalties.
Seasonal or recreation carve-out: Lab. Code 1182.4 / IWC Wage Order 10 (Amusement & Recreation) allows alternative OT for certain seasonal recreation; organized camp counselors exempt from MW (Lab. Code 1182.4), youth day-of-event staff generally NOT exempt
Paid sick leave: Yes: HWHFA (SB 616): 1 hr/30 hrs, min 40 hrs/5 days; part-time/seasonal covered after 30 days worked in CA
Paid family and medical leave: Yes: SDI/PFL, employee-funded: 1.3% of all wages in 2026 (no taxable wage cap since 1/1/2024) (EDD).
What it costs to get it wrong: Lab. Code 226.8: $5k–$15k per willful violation, $10k–$25k for pattern; PAGA exposure
Safety
Background checks: Yes: Bus. & Prof. Code §18975 (AB 506, eff. 1/1/2022): youth service organizations must DOJ/FBI Live Scan fingerprint (Penal Code §11105.3) all administrators, employees and 'regular volunteers' (18+, >16 hrs/mo or >32 hrs/yr), plus mandated-reporter + abuse-prevention training and 2-adult policies. Also B&P §18900 et seq. (community youth athletic programs may run checks). Subsequent-arrest notification; no fixed renewal. NEW: AB 1572 (Ch. 267, signed 9/18/2026): CIF must run an annual registration/eligibility platform for high school sports officials with standardized background screening from 1/1/2027 and DOJ-fingerprint Activity Supervisor Clearance Certificates from 7/1/2028; CIF is not the officials' employer. Private youth leagues unaffected.
Safe sport: state law: Yes, the strongest state regime in this group. Bus. & Prof. Code 18975 (AB 506, eff. Jan. 1, 2022; amended by AB 2669, 2022, for one-to-one mentoring programs) applies to every "youth service organization," public or private, nonprofit or for-profit, including leagues, clubs, camps and tournament operators. Beyond the Live Scan checks in background_check_youth_sports, it requires: (a) all administrators, employees and regular volunteers (18+, over 16 hours a month or 32 hours a year) to complete training in child abuse and neglect identification and reporting, satisfied by the free Office of Child Abuse Prevention mandated-reporter course; (b) written policies ensuring suspected abuse is reported outside the organization and requiring, to the greatest extent possible, at least two mandated reporters present whenever adults are in contact with or supervising children (the statutory two-adult rule), which in practice drives no one-on-one, electronic communication, locker room and travel policies; (c) no parent information-sheet duty for private leagues. No California statute adopts the SafeSport Code or federal Act by reference. Penal Code 11165.7(a)(7) makes youth-org staff mandated reporters. Hazing: Penal Code 245.6 (any person, misdemeanor or felony). School coaches: Ed. Code 35179.6 and 49032. Pending 2026: AB 1626 (Gabriel) would require CDE to build a model behavioral-health training for youth league coaches by Sept. 1, 2027; AB 1572 (Alanis) addresses CIF official screening.
Safe sport: federal SafeSport Act and NGB rules: Nationally, the SafeSport Act (36 U.S.C. 220541-220543, as amended by Pub. L. 116-189 in 2020; no enacted amendments since, the Safer Sports for Athletes Act remains pending) requires USOPC national governing bodies and the amateur sports organizations they sanction or that compete interstate with adults in regular contact with minors to deliver SafeSport Core training, adopt MAAPP-style policies limiting one-on-one adult-minor contact, and report suspected child abuse to law enforcement within 24 hours and to the Center. California is stricter: B&P 18975 reaches every youth org, not only NGB members, and makes staff and regular volunteers mandated reporters who must report immediately by phone with a written follow-up within 36 hours (Penal Code 11166), shorter than the federal 24 hours. SafeSport Core does not satisfy the AB 506 mandated-reporter training; clubs need both. CIF uses NFHS courses plus Ed. Code coach training.
Concussion law: Ed. Code §49475 (AB 25, 2011) schools; H&S Code §124235 (AB 2007, 2016) youth sports organizations: annual concussion info sheet, coach/administrator concussion training (at least once per biennium via CDC or equivalent), removal, graduated RTP with licensed health-care-provider clearance.
Sudden cardiac arrest law: Yes: H&S Code §124235 (youth sports orgs) & Ed. Code §33479-33479.9 (Eric Paredes SCA Prevention Act, schools): SCA info sheet; coaches complete SCA training every 2 years (AB 1639, eff. 2017/2018).
CPR and AED: Ed. Code §35179.6 (AB 1639/AB 379): school coaches CPR/first aid; Ed. Code §35179.4 (AB 2009, 2019) AEDs at school interscholastic athletics. No AED/CPR mandate for private youth leagues (H&S §1797.196 AED immunity). NEW: AB 387 (Ch. 502, 2026, signed 9/27/2026), operative 1/1/2028: youth sports organizations must ensure an operational AED is accessible at official practices and matches (facility with permanent sports infrastructure provides it; organization provides if facility cannot); both must maintain and test the device. Builds on the Nevaeh Youth Sports Safety Act (H&S 124238 et seq.).
Coaches as mandated reporters: Coaches named: Penal Code §11165.7(a) includes athletic coaches/administrators/directors employed by schools and (via B&P §18975) youth service org staff/regular volunteers must be trained as mandated reporters. Abuse-prevention training mandated for youth service orgs (B&P §18975).
Coach certification: None statewide for private youth coaches beyond AB 506 training; school coaches: Ed. Code §35179.6 (first aid/CPR, sports safety course). NEW: AB 1665 (signed 9/30/2026): from 2027-28, CIF school coaches must complete behavioral/mental health training (biennial refresh); non-CIF school athletic coaches must complete SCA + mental health training. AB 1626 (signed 9/30/2026): CDE to publish a model mental health training for community youth sports coaches by 9/1/2027 (voluntary for private leagues).
Assault-on-official law: Yes: Penal Code §243.8 (battery against sports official).

All states

Rulebook by state

California at a glance: minimum wage $16.90 (indexed 1/1/2027; higher local/industry rates). Final paycheck when you let someone go: Immediately at termination. Minimum working age: 14 (12+ agriculture/household; entertainment any age with permit). Background checks for youth sports: Yes: Bus. & Prof. Code §18975 (AB 506, eff. 1/1/2022): youth service organizations must DOJ/FBI Live Scan fingerprint (Penal Code §11105.3) all administrators, employees and 'regular volunteers' (18+, >16 hrs/mo or >32 hrs/yr), plus mandated-reporter + abuse-prevention training and 2-adult policies. Also B&P §18900 et seq. (community youth athletic programs may run checks). Subsequent-arrest notification; no fixed renewal. NEW: AB 1572 (Ch. 267, signed 9/18/2026): CIF must run an annual registration/eligibility platform for high school sports officials with standardized background screening from 1/1/2027 and DOJ-fingerprint Activity Supervisor Clearance Certificates from 7/1/2028; CIF is not the officials' employer. Private youth leagues unaffected.