NJ · State teen labor law
New Jersey teen labor law — work hours, permits, and restricted jobs
New Jersey modernized its working-papers process in 2023 to a single online application coordinated through the state Department of Labor. 16-17-year-olds face a 40-hour school-week cap (rising to 48 in summer) — stricter than the federal FLSA floor.
Quick facts
School year vs summer hour caps
New Jersey tightens daily and weekly limits while school is in session, then eases them during summer and school breaks. Each age band below shows both calendars side-by-side — a distinction federal summaries and most state-comparison tables skip.
Ages 14–15
School year
When school is in session
- Hrs/day (school day)
- 3 hr
- Hrs/day (Sat / Sun / holiday)
- 8 hr
- Max hours per week
- 18 hr
- Time window
- 07:00 – 19:00
Note: No work during school hours.
Summer / school breaks
When school is out
- Max hours per day
- 8 hr
- Max hours per week
- 40 hr
- Time window
- 07:00 – 21:00
Note: Summer hours apply from the last day of school in June through Labor Day.
Ages 16–17
School year
When school is in session
- Max hours per day
- 8 hr
- Max hours per week
- 40 hr
- Time window
- 06:00 – 23:00
Note: Maximum 6 consecutive days of work. Up to 11:30 PM on nights not preceding a school day with written parental consent.
Summer / school breaks
When school is out
- Max hours per day
- 8 hr
- Max hours per week
- 48 hr
- Time window
- 06:00 – 23:30
Note: Up to 11:30 PM during the summer. Restaurants and seasonal recreation employers may extend to 12:30 AM with parental consent.
Work permit
New Jersey requires a work permit for minors aged 14–17.
Since the 2023 'Working Papers Modernization' law, New Jersey uses a single combined application. The minor, parent, and employer each complete sections online through the NJ Department of Labor portal; the school then verifies enrollment and issues the working papers electronically. Required for every new job.
Form: New Jersey Combined Working Papers (Form A300)
Jobs by age
Age-specific guides to common allowed jobs in New Jersey, with the federal hour caps and the state’s stricter rules built in.
Restricted occupations
All federal hazardous orders HO-1 through HO-17
Federal: 29 CFR Part 570
Operating power-driven meat-processing machines
Federal: HO-10
Roofing operations and work on or about a roof
Federal: HO-16
Door-to-door sales for minors under 18 without bonded supervisor
State: N.J.S.A. 34:2-21.17
Beach and pool lifeguard for minors under 16
State: NJAC 12:58-3.4
See the full federal hazardous orders (HO-1 to HO-17) for plain-English summaries, or the New Jersey hazardous-orders deep-dive for the federal floor plus New Jersey-specific additions.
Breaks & meal periods
New Jersey requires a meal break for minor workers. Federal law (the FLSA) mandates no break at any age, so this state rule is the binding one for teens.
- Meal break
- 30 minutes
- Required after
- 6 consecutive hours
- Pay treatment
- Unpaid
Unpaid when the teen is completely relieved of duty.
No minor under 18 may work more than 6 continuous hours without a meal interval of at least 30 minutes — the trigger is 6 hours, not 5 (a common error in secondary sources; the statute and NJ DOL say 6). A break of under 30 minutes does not interrupt continuous work, and minors cannot waive it. It is unpaid, and New Jersey has no general adult meal- or rest-break law.
See the federal breaks & meal-period reference for how the FLSA treats paid rest breaks vs unpaid meal periods, and why a mandatory teen break can only come from state law.
Statute: N.J.S.A. 34:2-21.4
Pay & minimum wage
New Jersey lets some teens, or inexperienced first-job and trainee workers, be paid below the standard state minimum wage. The structure below is stable, but the dollar amount changes almost every year — confirm the current figure with the New Jersey Department of Labor.
- How minors are paid
- Youth / training subminimum allowed
- State minimum wage
- Set by state law
- Below-minimum youth rate
- Permitted
- Subminimum structure
- Training wage of at least 90% of the minimum for the first 120 hours, for workers in a bona fide on-the-job training program with no prior similar experience (N.J.A.C. 12:56-3.4).
New Jersey's only below-minimum rate is a training wage — at least 90% of the minimum for the first 120 hours — for workers in a bona fide on-the-job training program who have no previous similar experience, with anti-displacement safeguards. It is keyed to inexperience rather than age, but a first-job teen can fall under it. New Jersey has not adopted a separate learner or full-time-student rate.
Rates change yearly. This page describes the legal structure, not the current dollar amount. State and federal minimum wages are adjusted regularly — always verify the live figure with your state Department of Labor or the U.S. DOL before relying on it.
See the federal youth minimum wage reference for the $4.25 90-day rule, student / learner certificates, the tipped cash wage, and how a higher state minimum wins.
Agricultural work carve-out
New Jersey narrows the federal agricultural carve-out — the rules below override the federal floor when a minor works on a farm in this state.
Mirrors federal Ag HO-1 to Ag HO-11.
New Jersey's Child Labor Law (N.J.S.A. 34:2-21.1 et seq.) carves agricultural work out of the employment-certificate requirement only partially: no certificate is required for any minor 16 years of age or over employed in agricultural pursuits, and no certificate is required for any minor 14 years or over employed at agricultural fairs / horse, dog, or farm shows of 10 days or fewer when schools are not in session. Family-farm work is fully exempt: "Nothing in this act shall be construed to apply to the work of a minor engaged in domestic service or agricultural pursuits performed outside of school hours or during school vacations in connection with the minor's own home and directly for his parents or legal guardian." For non-family, non-fair ag work, NJ's general hour caps under § 34:2-21.3 continue to apply alongside federal floors. "Agriculture" is defined broadly to include farming, cultivation and tillage of soil, dairying, and production/cultivation/growing/harvesting of agricultural commodities. Federal § 213(c) floor: 14 off-family-farm outside school hours, parent-owned-farm exemption, 16+ for federal Ag HO-1 through Ag HO-11.
See the federal agricultural-work reference for the FLSA § 213(c) baseline, parental-exemption rules, and the Ag HO-1 to Ag HO-11 hazardous list.
Statute: N.J.S.A. § 34:2-21.7 (employment-certificate exemption for ag work); § 34:2-21.1 (family-farm exemption from the Child Labor Law); § 34:2-21.3 (hour limits on minors); N.J. Child Labor Law generally (N.J.S.A. 34:2-21.1 et seq.)
Family-business carve-out
New Jersey narrows the federal parent-owned-business carve-out — the rules below apply when a minor works for a parent-owned non-agricultural business in this state.
Federal hazardous orders always apply — the parent-owned-business carve-out never reaches mining, manufacturing, or HO-listed work.
New Jersey requires "working papers" (employment certificates) issued by the minor's school for every minor 14 through 17 in non-exempt employment. § 34:2-21.7 lists the categories that are exempt from the certificate requirement — agriculture (with conditions), newspaper delivery, domestic service in private homes, and minors 14+ at agricultural fairs / horse/dog/farm shows of 10 days or fewer — but parent-owned non-agricultural businesses are NOT listed. The state's hour caps under § 34:2-21.3 (3 hrs/school day, 8 hrs non-school day, 18 hrs/school week, 40 hrs non-school week for 14–15; 8 hrs/day, 40 hrs/week for 16–17) apply equally to parent-owned non-ag businesses. The narrow § 34:2-21.1 family carve-out is expressly limited to domestic service or agricultural pursuits — courts have not extended it to non-ag commercial parent-owned businesses. Federal § 213(c)(1)(C) does NOT preempt the more-protective state Employment Certificate requirement under § 218(a). Federal hazardous orders HO-1 through HO-17 also apply.
See the federal family-business reference for the FLSA § 213(c)(1)(C) baseline, ownership-structure rules, and the hazardous-occupations overlay that always applies.
Statute: N.J.S.A. § 34:2-21.1 (family carve-out is ag-and-domestic only); § 34:2-21.3 (hour caps); § 34:2-21.7 (employment-certificate requirement)
Entertainment-industry work
New Jersey does not separately regulate child performers (film, TV, theater, modeling). The general age-band hour caps and work-permit rules above apply to entertainment-industry work for minors. Federal FLSA carves out actors and performers from the general 14-year minimum age (29 CFR § 570.122), but neither federal nor New Jersey law imposes a blocked-trust requirement on a child performer’s earnings.
States with dedicated child-performer frameworks (Coogan-style trust accounts, on-set studio teachers, performer-specific permits) include California, New York, Florida, Louisiana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Illinois.
Where these rules come from
State code: New Jersey Child Labor Law, N.J.S.A. 34:2-21.1 et seq.
US DOL Wage & Hour Division: https://www.nj.gov/labor/wageandhour/tools-resources/child-labor/index.shtml
Last verified:
Informational only — verify with the New Jersey Department of Labor before hiring or starting work.
Frequently asked questions
- Can a 14-year-old work in New Jersey?
- Yes — under New Jersey law a 14-year-old can work up to 3 hours per school day, up to 18 hours per week, between 07:00 and 19:00. A New Jersey work permit is required.
- How many hours can a 15-year-old work during school in New Jersey?
- When school is in session, New Jersey allows a 15-year-old to work up to 3 hours per school day, up to 18 hours per week, between 07:00 and 19:00. During summer or school breaks the cap rises to up to 8 hours per school day, up to 40 hours per week, between 07:00 and 21:00.
- Does New Jersey require a work permit for minors?
- Yes — New Jersey requires a work permit for minors aged 14-17 (form: New Jersey Combined Working Papers (Form A300)). Since the 2023 'Working Papers Modernization' law, New Jersey uses a single combined application. The minor, parent, and employer each complete sections online through the NJ Department of Labor portal; the school then verifies enrollment and issues the working papers electronically. Required for every new job.
- How many hours can a 16-year-old work during summer in New Jersey?
- During summer or school breaks, New Jersey allows a 16-year-old to work up to 8 hours per school day, up to 48 hours per week, between 06:00 and 23:30. Federal FLSA caps for 16- and 17-year-olds do not limit weekly hours, so the stricter state rule (if any) applies.
- Does a minor get a meal break in New Jersey?
- Yes. New Jersey requires a 30-minute unpaid meal break once a worker reaches 6 consecutive hours; the rule applies to minors. Federal law sets no break requirement at any age, so the state rule is the binding one. See the breaks section on this page for the exact age scope and the statute.
- Can a teen be paid less than minimum wage in New Jersey?
- Sometimes. New Jersey lets some teens, or inexperienced first-job and trainee workers, be paid below the standard state minimum wage without a special certificate. Training wage of at least 90% of the minimum for the first 120 hours, for workers in a bona fide on-the-job training program with no prior similar experience (N.J.A.C. 12:56-3.4). Minimum-wage dollar amounts change almost every year, so confirm the current figure with the New Jersey Department of Labor. See the Pay and minimum wage section on this page.
- What jobs can a minor not do in New Jersey?
- New Jersey prohibits minors from a number of hazardous occupations, including: all federal hazardous orders ho-1 through ho-17; operating power-driven meat-processing machines; roofing operations and work on or about a roof. The full list of federal hazardous orders (HO-1 through HO-17) also applies. See the New Jersey Child Labor Law, N.J.S.A. 34:2-21.1 et seq. citation on this page for the statutory source.