diff --git a/api/tests/setup.ts b/api/tests/setup.ts
index 9d258c4..4836175 100644
--- a/api/tests/setup.ts
+++ b/api/tests/setup.ts
@@ -44,6 +44,22 @@ mock.module("../src/modules/fetchMicrosoftUser", () => ({
   fetchMicrosoftUser: mock(() => Promise.resolve({})),
 }));
 
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Mock workert — instantiates PgBoss at module load time which requires
+// DATABASE_URL. Tests don't have a real DB, so we stub all exports.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+mock.module("../src/workert", () => ({
+  getBoss: mock(() => ({
+    send: mock(() => Promise.resolve("mock-job-id")),
+    createQueue: mock(() => Promise.resolve()),
+    start: mock(() => Promise.resolve()),
+    on: mock(),
+  })),
+  initializeWorkerSystem: mock(() => Promise.resolve()),
+  ensureManagerSocketReady: mock(() => Promise.resolve({ on: mock(), emit: mock() })),
+  reserveWorkerId: mock(() => Promise.resolve("mock-worker-id")),
+}));
+
 mock.module("../src/managers/sessions", () => ({
   sessions: {
     create: mock(() =>