Working Papers in NJ: What Minors and Their Employers Must Know Before a First Job

For many teenagers, a first job is an important milestone. Before that job begins, however, New Jersey law requires certain steps to be taken to help protect young workers and ensure employers comply with the rules. One of the most important requirements is obtaining working papers. 

Working papers serve as proof that a minor meets the legal requirements for employment and that the position complies with New Jersey child labor laws. 

Parents, students, and employers often have questions about the steps required before a teenager begins working. Our legal team at Brandon J. Broderick regularly hears from people who are navigating the process for the first time. Working papers play an important role in confirming eligibility for employment and ensuring compliance with New Jersey's child labor laws, including restrictions on work hours and job duties. Failing to follow those requirements can create issues for everyone involved. 

In this guide, we take a closer look at how working papers work, the requirements that apply to minors and employers, how child labor laws affect job duties and scheduling, and when it may be helpful to consult an employment lawyer in New Jersey. 

How New Jersey's Working Papers System Works in 2026

Every worker under 18 in New Jersey has to have an employment certificate, known as working papers, before starting any job. There are no exceptions, including for family businesses. 

A law known as A4222, effective June 1, 2023, changed how minors get them. The application is now online, and the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development administers it. Schools no longer handle working papers. Seeing a guidance counselor is no longer needed. The process is handled through the state portal at MyWorkingPapers.nj.gov.

Working papers are attached to a specific job and employer. A new job requires a new certificate, even for a teen who already holds working papers somewhere else.

Several people participate in the working-papers process, and each step is completed online. The process starts only after a teenager has been offered a job.

• The employer registers with the state's working papers portal and obtains an eight-digit employer code.
• The minor submits the application and enters the employer's code along with parent or guardian information.
• The employer receives an email to confirm the job details and approve the application.
• The parent or guardian receives a separate email requesting consent.
• The Department of Labor reviews the submission and notifies both the employer and the minor of its decision.

The job cannot legally begin until the certificate is approved, and employers must keep the approved certificate on file. In our experience at Brandon J. Broderick, the paperwork itself is rarely the source of difficulty. Most issues involve compliance with the restrictions that apply to a minor's work duties, scheduling, hours, and working conditions. 

Age and Hour Rules and Employment Certificate Requirements for Minors

Anyone under 18 counts as a minor under the law. New Jersey sets 14 as the youngest age for most jobs. Exceptions are narrow: newspaper delivery starts at 11, and agriculture, theater, and a few other fields start at 12. 

The state minimum wage of $15.92 an hour in 2026 applies fully in covered jobs. There is no general youth subminimum rate for standard work. A 16-year-old cashier is owed the same hourly minimum as an adult doing the same work.

The hour limits differ by age:

• 14- and 15-year-olds: No more than 3 hours on a school day and 18 hours per week during the school year. Outside of the school weeks, teens can work up to 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week. School-year work has to fall outside school hours.
• 16- and 17-year-olds: Up to 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week during the school year. Between the last day of school and Labor Day, up to 10 hours a day and 50 hours a week.

Curfews apply on top of the hour caps: 

• A 14- or 15-year-old generally cannot work past 7 p.m. during the school year, extended to 9 p.m. in the summer. 
• A 16- or 17-year-old can work until 11 p.m. on school nights, with later limits on non-school nights and specific later hours allowed in restaurants and seasonal or amusement settings.

A minor also gets a 30-minute meal break after six continuous hours of work, and a break shorter than 30 minutes doesn’t count toward breaking up this stretch. No teen works more than six consecutive days in a week. Employers often ignore both of these, and both are easy to prove from a schedule.

For older teenagers, overtime rules do not always operate as people expect. A 16- or 17-year-old who works more than 40 hours in a week isn’t entitled to overtime pay except in certain industries, such as restaurants, hotels and motels, and farm-product processing. 

Employers also remain subject to child labor requirements when minors are paid per project or under other alternative pay arrangements. Beyond compensation rules, New Jersey prohibits young workers from performing certain hazardous tasks. 

What a Teen First Job Permit Means and Which Jobs Minors Cannot Do in NJ

Certain equipment and work settings injure young workers. Both New Jersey and federal law prohibit minors under 18 from a long list of hazardous occupations. When the state and federal rules differ, the stricter one applies.

Common jobs and equipment banned for teenagers under 18 in New Jersey include:

• Operating deli slicers, commercial meat grinders, and dough or food mixers.
• Running cardboard balers and trash compactors, a frequent source of severe teen injuries.
• Operating forklifts and other power-driven hoisting equipment.
• Driving motor vehicles on public roads as part of the job.
• Most construction and roofing work.
• Using circular saws, band saws, guillotine shears, and similar power tools.
• Working where alcohol is manufactured or served for on-premises consumption, with narrow exceptions.

Younger minors face tighter restrictions. A 14- or 15-year-old is limited to office machines and standard retail and food-service tasks, and barred from most powered machinery. A 15-year-old is allowed to work a register, but not a slicer. The law treats the difference as a hard line rather than a matter of training or supervision.

Many fast-food and warehouse jobs involve equipment that minors aren’t permitted to operate. During a busy shift, a teenager may be asked to use a cardboard baler or deli slicer despite those restrictions. Automated scheduling systems don’t eliminate legal obligations. In our practice, violations involving cardboard balers and deli slicers remain among the most common and lead to serious injuries, including amputations. 

New Jersey requires employers to display the list of prohibited occupations wherever minors work. That posting requirement exists alongside other mandatory workplace notices, including posters about gender equity and employee rights. 

The rules are intended to be visible and accessible. When a teenager is injured while performing prohibited work, workers' compensation benefits are available, but the illegal assignment often becomes an important part of the case. 

When Working Papers Laws Are Violated in New Jersey

New Jersey takes child labor violations seriously. The state increased its penalties in 2024 under a law known as A4822. 

In one New Jersey case, a fast-food operator agreed to pay $7.75 million to resolve allegations uncovered during an audit. The review identified more than 30,000 possible violations. Many were related to work performed beyond 40 hours a week and insufficient meal breaks. 

Employers face per-violation fines, back wages, mandated compliance plans, and damage to their reputation. Hiring a minor without working papers, exceeding the hour limits, and assigning banned work each carry separate penalties. For example, a single underage worker on a baler past curfew produces several violations at once.

Steps that protect both sides of the hiring relationship include:

• For teens and parents: confirming working papers are approved before the first shift and keeping a copy.
• Tracking actual hours worked against the legal daily, weekly, and curfew limits.
• Refusing banned equipment and reporting any pressure to use it.
• For employers: registering at the state portal, keeping certificates on file, and posting the prohibited-occupations list.
• Training shift managers on the hour limits and banned equipment, since most violations are scheduling errors that still carry penalties.

Minors are owed the same $15.92 minimum wage and the same protections under New Jersey's Wage Theft Act as adult workers. This also applies to unpaid internships, where the legal classification of the work determines whether wages are required. 

Unpaid hours and shorted pay are recoverable, with the same six-year lookback and liquidated-damages exposure of up to 200% of the wages owed. When a teenager is disciplined for reporting a violation, that can give rise to a separate retaliation claim. The law bars employers from firing or punishing a worker or a parent for reporting or raising a violation.

What Working Papers Mean For Teen Workers And Employers 

What looks like a basic requirement before a first job is one of New Jersey’s primary systems for regulating teen employment. It addresses excessive hours, school-night scheduling, rest breaks, and work involving dangerous equipment. 

For families, the rules behind the certificate are what keep minors out of prohibited work and limit schedules that interfere with school. For employers, the shift to a digital system means the Department of Labor has direct access to underlying job and approval data. This makes discrepancies and violations more visible during audits.

If you have questions about a potential violation or injury involving a minor, contact us today to discuss the situation.