Equal Employment Opportunity: New Jersey

This Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) policy applies to employees in New Jersey under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD) (N.J. Stat. Ann. § 10:5-12, definitions at § 10:5-3) and sets clear expectations that your organization will make employment decisions without discrimination, provide reasonable accommodations where required, and maintain a workplace free from harassment and retaliation.

The History Behind Equal Employment Opportunity Policies in New Jersey

This Equal Employment Opportunity policy falls under Harassment & Discrimination as New Jersey has treated workplace bias as a civil rights issue for decades, not just a "best practice." The NJLAD traces back to the postwar era, when the state started building a legal framework to stop discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations. Over time, the NJLAD became one of the broadest anti-discrimination laws in the country, and it pushed employers to think beyond obvious categories like race and religion.

What makes New Jersey's approach feel different is how often it expanded the list of protected traits. The NJLAD's definitions and protections grew to cover things many employers elsewhere didn't have to name explicitly for years, like sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, domestic partnerships and civil unions, pregnancy and breastfeeding, genetic information, and certain hereditary blood traits. That long list in your policy isn't there to sound thorough, it's there because New Jersey law is thorough, and it influences your day-to-day decisions about hiring, pay, promotions, and discipline to be defensible on equal-opportunity grounds.

Which Law is the Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Meant to Comply With?

If you create and distribute an Equal Employment Opportunity Policy for your New Jersey-based employees, it is in an effort to comply with New Jersey's New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (N.J. Stat. § 10:5-12) and the related definitions in N.J. Stat. § 10:5-3.

How to Write a New Jersey-Specific Equal Employment Opportunity Policy

• Start with "why" and introduce the concept of a diverse, inclusive workplace supported by equal opportunity and a ban on discrimination.
• List the protected characteristics your organization won't consider in employment decisions for New Jersey employees.
• State that the equal opportunity and nondiscrimination commitment applies across the full employment lifecycle, from hiring through termination.
• Include a commitment to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals.
• Prohibit discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, and set the expectation that everyone helps maintain a respectful workplace.
• Explain that violations of the policy will result in discipline, up to and including termination.
• Provide a clear way for employees to report concerns and state that complaints will be taken seriously, investigated, and followed by appropriate action.
• Clarify that the policy doesn't restrict legally protected communications or actions.

When to Include this Policy in Your Employee Handbook

If you have employees in New Jersey and you don't have a similar policy that's available for all US employees, you should include this policy in your employee handbook for New Jersey-based employees. 

The law states: 

N.J. Stat. Ann. § 10:5-12 (Unlawful employment practices) provides that it is an unlawful employment practice "[f]or any person, whether an employer or an employee or not, to aid, abet, incite, compel or coerce the doing of any of the acts forbidden under this act, or to attempt to do so."

Your employee handbook qualifies. 

Other Considerations

The law applies to New Jersey employers who have at least 1 employee in the US.

Exceptions

None