5 Things to Know About Being a Nanny in New Jersey

1. Child Limit Law: New Jersey imposes a legal limit on the number of children one adult is allowed to watch at a given time. You may not exceed 5 children, unless some of the children are yours or under your legal guardianship, in which case you can have up to 8 (three of your own).
2. There are also requirements in the state of New Jersey for the ages of the children. You may care for up to three children that are below one year old or four children below two years old. Of course these limits apply to each adult, so if you are working together with another nanny or caregiver you may each watch this many children.
3. You should be careful when taking the children on trips. If you do not have adequate liability insurance you could be financially responsible for the children in an accident. More importantly, the state of New Jersey requires you to have a permission form from the parents before taking the children on a trip or even on a walk outside. Ask them to give you a blanket permission form at the beginning of the time you care for their children.
4. Taxes: Most states require your employer to withhold income tax, social security, and unemployment, as well as all state income taxes. Technically, New Jersey does not require your employer to do this for you unless you ask them to do so. You should check to make sure they know about these issues and have taken care of them. New Jersey does have one unusual requirement that differs from most other states – your employer must also withhold for disability insurance. Again, you would be wise to make sure that your employer is taking care of this requirement and remaining legally compliant.
5. Child Safety: The child cannot leave your supervision except to the parent or someone for whom you have written permission from the parents. This should be common sense anyway, but New Jersey law is quite clear about this requirement, for the safety of the children.

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1. NJ Nanny Taxes, Payroll and Laws