New Jersey (NJ) affirmative action laws have long been in place to protect different workers’ rights to equal representation in the workforce. Private and public employers are required to uphold different policies though.
Virtually all public employers here in Burlington are subject to NJ Rev. Stat. Sec. 11A:7-1et seq. or the New Jersey Equal Employment in State Government Law. This piece of legislation requires state agencies to come up with equal employment opportunities for prospective workers.
Most every public employer in the state is also subject to NJ Admin. Code Sec. 4A:7-1.1 et seq., or the Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action Rules for State Contractors. These guidelines spell out how any state government job opportunities should be equally accessible to all individuals no matter what their gender, age, domestic partnership or marital status, race, national origin, sexual orientation and other protected class may be.
This rule also expressly states that any discrimination tactics including using testing or special selection criteria to recruit staff are illegal. It also details how any employer who uses discriminatory tactics to make hiring, promotion or training decisions may also have violated state or federal laws.
New Jersey lawmakers haven’t implemented any affirmative action policies that private employers must follow with one exception. If a private firm has received a government contract or recruits contractors for their federal projects, then they may be subject to certain affirmative action policies.
Although most private employers aren’t subject to affirmative action policies, they are required to abide by state nondiscrimination requirements as spelled out in the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.
Countless workers here in Burlington and elsewhere throughout New Jersey are denied an opportunity to work or to take on a job promotion for one reason or another. Their employer’s justification for doing so isn’t always a valid, lawful one. A workplace discrimination attorney can review the details surrounding your inequitable treatment and advise you of any legal options that you may be able to pursue in your New Jersey case.
