diff --git a/apps/worker/src/queues/index.processor.test.ts b/apps/worker/src/queues/index.processor.test.ts
index 267c2bb..139180a 100644
--- a/apps/worker/src/queues/index.processor.test.ts
+++ b/apps/worker/src/queues/index.processor.test.ts
@@ -56,4 +56,11 @@ describe('processIndexJob', () => {
       expect.objectContaining({ approvedAt: new Date('2026-01-01T00:00:00.000Z').getTime() }),
     );
   });
+
+  it('throws for invalid approvedAt string', async () => {
+    const mockClient = {} as any;
+    await expect(processIndexJob(makeJob({ approvedAt: 'not-a-date' }), mockClient)).rejects.toThrow(
+      'Invalid approvedAt timestamp: "not-a-date"',
+    );
+  });
 });
diff --git a/apps/worker/src/queues/index.processor.ts b/apps/worker/src/queues/index.processor.ts
index 30f8168..e49d554 100644
--- a/apps/worker/src/queues/index.processor.ts
+++ b/apps/worker/src/queues/index.processor.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@ import { MeiliSearch, MeiliDocument, indexMessage } from '@tower/search';
 import { parseRedisUrl } from './redis-connection';
 
 export async function processIndexJob(job: IndexJobData, meiliClient: MeiliSearch): Promise<void> {
+  const approvedAt = new Date(job.approvedAt).getTime();
+  if (Number.isNaN(approvedAt)) {
+    throw new Error(`Invalid approvedAt timestamp: "${job.approvedAt}"`);
+  }
   const doc: MeiliDocument = {
     id: job.messageId,
     content: job.content,
@@ -12,7 +16,7 @@ export async function processIndexJob(job: IndexJobData, meiliClient: MeiliSearc
     sourceGroupName: job.sourceGroupName,
     tags: job.tags,
     platform: job.platform,
-    approvedAt: new Date(job.approvedAt).getTime(),
+    approvedAt,
   };
   await indexMessage(meiliClient, doc);
 }