ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
ASSEMBLY, No. 5588
with committee amendments
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: JANUARY 8, 2026
The Assembly Labor Committee reports favorably with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 5588.
This bill revises the child labor laws concerning the employment of a minor in a theatrical production. Specifically, as amended, the bill revises the daily working hours in which a minor may work on a production so that:
(1) infants between 15 days and six months of age, may work up to 20 minutes, and time on set will not exceed two hours;
(2) infants and minors between six months and under two years of age, may work up to two hours, and time on set will not exceed four hours;
(3) minors between two years old and under six years old, may work up to three hours, and time on set will not exceed six hours;
(4) between six years old and under nine years old, up to four hours on a school day and up to six hours on a non-school day and time on set will not exceed eight hours;
(5) between nine years old and under 16 years old, up to five hours on a school day and up to seven hours on a non-school day and time on set shall not exceed nine hours; and
(6) between 16 years old and under 18 years old to work on set for up to six hours on a school day and up to nine hours on a non-school day and time on set will not exceed 10 hours.
As amended, the bill provides that a minor may not be employed before 5:00 a.m. or after 10:00 p.m. on any day preceding a school day, and that on a day not preceding a school day, a minor may work between the hours of 5:00 a.m. and 12:30 a.m. As amended, the bill creates a registration system independent of the existing working minor system that allows a parent or guardian to apply for a multi-employer or multi-production permit that will be valid for one year and links a minor account to the parent or guardian account. As amended, an employer for a theatrical production is also required to register under the system.
The bill changes the schooling requirements for a minor in a theatrical production to require the employer to provide time during the workday for the child performer to fulfill their educational requirements on any day when the minor’s regular school, whether primary, secondary, or home school, is in session.
As amended, the bill provides that this instructional time is required to average at least three hours per missed day of school day, calculated on a weekly basis, and that extra teaching time above three hours per day provided to the child performer may be “banked” and “spent” on another day in the same week or another week, except that no more than ten hours of banked teaching time may be carried over from week to week.
As amended, the bill provides that time spent “banking school” is subject to the discretion of the teacher who has been provided by the employer, and that the minor is required to receive equivalent instruction approved by the Department of Education or by the state or county of the minor’s residence if the minor is a nonresident of New Jersey.
As amended, the employer is required to provide a teacher who is credentialed for the level of education required by State law or regulation for the minor from the third missed day of school through the remainder of the minor's employment in the theatrical production.
As amended, the bill provides a process for an employer to submit a waiver to a permit requirement, and for a parent or guardian to apply for a one-time temporary child performer permit for a minor’s initial employment in a theatrical production under certain circumstances.
As amended, the bill clarifies that nothing in the law will prevent the employer of a minor in a theatrical production from complying with a collective bargaining agreement or other contract that establishes more stringent standards than those contained in the law or will be construed as reducing, limiting, or curtailing the rights of a minor employed in a theatrical production.
As amended, the bill expands what constitutes a “prohibited performance” for a minor.
This bill is modeled after child theatrical labor requirements in California and New York, as well as guidelines established by the Screen Actors Guild.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:
The committee amended the bill to:
(1) create a registration system independent of the existing working minor system that allows a parent or guardian to apply for a multi-employer or multi-production permit that will be valid for one year and links a minor account to the parent or guardian account and that requires an employer for a theatrical production to register under the system;
(2) require an employer to provide a teacher who is credentialed for the level of education required by State law or regulation for the minor from the third missed day of school through the remainder of the minor's employment in the theatrical production;
(3) revise the daily hours in which a minor may work each day on a production so that:
(a) infants between 15 days and six months of age, may work up to 20 minutes, and time on set will not exceed two hours;
(b) infants and minors between six months and under two years of age, may work up to two hours, and time on set will not exceed four hours;
(c) minors between two years old and under six years old, may work up to three hours, and time on set will not exceed six hours;
(d) minors between six years old and under nine years old, up to four hours on a school day and up to six hours on a non-school day and time on set will not exceed eight hours;
(e) minors between nine years old and under 16 years old, up to five hours on a school day and up to seven hours on a non-school day and time on set shall not exceed nine hours; and
(f) minors between 16 years old and under 18 years old to work on set for up to six hours on a school day and up to nine hours on a non-school day and time on set will not exceed 10 hours;
(4) require the employer to provide a teacher who is credentialed for the level of education required by State law or regulation for the minor from the third missed day of school through the remainder of the minor's employment in the theatrical production;
(5) provide a process for an employer to submit a waiver to a permit requirement;
(6) provide for a one-time temporary child performer permit for a minor’s initial employment in a theatrical production;
(7) expand the definition of prohibited performance;
(8) clarify that nothing in the law will prevent the employer of a minor in a theatrical production from complying with a collective bargaining agreement or other contract that establishes more stringent standards than those contained in the law or will be construed as reducing, limiting, or curtailing the rights of a minor employed in a theatrical production; and
(9) make other technical changes.