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A 15-year-old in Seaside Heights gets offered a summer job at a pizza counter on the boardwalk. Before the first shift, New Jersey law asks three questions: does she have working papers, how many hours can she work, and what must she be paid? The state answers all three, and in several places its answer is stricter than the federal one.
Working papers come from your school district
New Jersey requires an employment certificate, usually called 'working papers', for minors who work for pay. A minor is anyone under 18. According to the state's Child Labor Law poster, you apply in person to the issuing officer of the school district where you live. The employer fills in its part, including the job duties, the hours, and the pay, and a parent signs too.
There is one short exception. During school vacation, teens 15 and older do not need a certificate for the first 14 days of a job in food service, a restaurant, retail, or a seasonal amusement. After day 14, the papers are required.
Hours: where New Jersey goes further than federal law
For 14- and 15-year-olds, the state and federal limits mostly match. While school is in session, you can work up to 3 hours a day and 18 hours a week. When school is out, the limit is 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week, and New Jersey adds a cap of 6 days a week. Work must stay between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. From the last day of your school year until Labor Day, you can work until 9 p.m. if a parent gives written permission.
For 16- and 17-year-olds the difference is big. Federal law, the Fair Labor Standards Act, sets no hour limits at all at that age. New Jersey does: 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week, 6 days a week, and no work before 6 a.m. or after 11 p.m. In summer vacation, the poster allows up to 10 hours a day and 50 hours a week.
Congress's power to set these federal rules was settled in United States v. Darby (1941). The Supreme Court upheld the federal wage and hour law and overruled Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918), the earlier case that had said Congress could not block goods made with child labor.
Pay: the state rate is more than double the federal one
The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, and federal law lets employers pay workers under 20 a youth wage of $4.25 for their first 90 days. New Jersey's rate is much higher. The Department of Labor and Workforce Development set it at $15.92 an hour for most workers starting January 1, 2026, and $15.23 for small employers and seasonal jobs. The rate is adjusted every January.
New Jersey's poster notes that minimum wage reaches workers under 18 through special wage orders for minors, so a few kinds of jobs are handled differently. If your pay looks low, ask the state before you assume it is legal.
Who to call if something is wrong
Child labor, minimum wage, and pay problems in New Jersey go to the Division of Wage and Hour Compliance at the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The phone number on the state poster is 609-292-2305, and the mailing address is PO Box 389, Trenton, NJ 08625-0389. TTY users can reach the department through New Jersey Relay at 7-1-1.
Keep a simple record: the dates you worked, your start and end times, and your pay stubs. Employers must keep the same records for every worker under 18, so your notes can be checked against theirs. You can also call the U.S. Department of Labor for federal rules.
Da ricordare
- Every paid worker under 18 in New Jersey needs working papers from the issuing officer in their home school district.
- At 14 and 15, the limit is 3 hours on a school day and 18 hours in a school week, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.
- At 16 and 17, New Jersey limits you to 8 hours a day and 40 a week during the school year, even though federal law does not.
- Call the Division of Wage and Hour Compliance at 609-292-2305 about hours, papers, or pay.
Fonti
- NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development: Child Labor Law Abstract (MW-129) (si apre in una nuova scheda)
- NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development: Public Notice, Minimum Wage 2026 (si apre in una nuova scheda)
- U.S. Dept. of Labor: YouthRules, workers 14 and 15 (si apre in una nuova scheda)
- Cornell LII: United States v. Darby, 312 U.S. 100 (1941) (si apre in una nuova scheda)
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