Before you offer your neighbor’s 15-year-old a summer job, make sure you know the laws about employing minors; employers have certain obligations and restrictions that they don’t have with adults.
Summer is right around the corner, and the annual search for a summer job by high schoolers will soon be underway. To make sure NJBIA members don’t inadvertently break the rules, NJBIA’s Stefanie Riehl has put together a Fast Facts compliance brief that tells you what you need to know.
Teenagers 14 years and older can work in a variety of jobs, and that list expands once they reach 16. Restaurant jobs, the local store, hotel jobs, and the like are all on the list. But they are limited in specific activities, how much they can work in a day and a week, and the hours of the day they are allowed to work.
Go here to download. FastFacts are a member-only benefit. They are free, but a password is required.
Still have questions? Contact Stefanie at the Member Action Center.
“While New Jersey does not have a mandatory break law for adult workers, it does require that employers provide minors with a 30-minute meal break after five hours of work,” the FastFact states. “Additionally, minors can’t work more than three hours a day during school days, and more than 18 hours a week on school weeks. While employers can increase hours during vacations and summers, they are still limited to only employing minors for a maximum of eight hours a day and 40 hours a week. There are also restrictions on how early and late a minor may work (7 am – 7 pm for 14 and 15 year olds, and 6 am – 11 pm for 16 and 17 year olds).
“Generally, the New Jersey law falls in line with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, but where there is a conflict, the more restrictive law applies.”
