Discrimination

There have been hundreds of protests against systemic racism and police brutality in New Jersey in the wake of George Floyd’s death on May 25^th, a black man who died in police custody in Minnesota following a brutal police assault that was captured in a bystander video which went viral. George Floyd's death as well as countless other deaths of blacks, do not exist in a time vacuum, as historical racism against blacks continues through the centuries globally. Persons around the world are participating in demonstrations against racism sparked by the death of George Floyd.

To date, the rapid response of NJ residents in organized marches in response to the murder of George Floyd is almost too large to tally as they continue. Ordinary citizens who had not been civil rights activists before, assumed successful leadership roles in organizing marches and protests to combat systemic racism.

New Jersey employees were protected from gender identity and sexual orientation discrimination in employment prior to the recent landmark ruling of the US Supreme Court in Bostock v. Clayton County. The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination protects against all forms of sex discrimination in employment including gender identity and sexual orientation. Not all statutes in others states provided such protection. 

Prior to the U.

The 1964 Freedom Summer was due in large part to the initiative and efforts of James Leonard Farmer, Jr., though many have not heard of his name. The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) leaders previously hired Farmer as its National Director in 1961. As the civil rights movement gained a foothold, Farmer’s immediate priority was to increase public awareness of the goals of CORE, an organization with its then current main presence in Northern states, through organizing a direct action campaign in the Southern states for fundraising and to garner public interest and support. As discussed in prior article, under his leadership, interracial volunteers began a bus trip through the South to test Supreme Court decisions prohibiting segregation in interstate transportation.

James Farmer dedicated his life to the advancement of civil rights for blacks. He was one of the Founders of the Congress for Racial Equality, CORE, in 1942 and is considered one of the most influential of the civil rights leaders of the 1960's along with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Roy Wilkins, Chief of NAACP, and Whitney Young. He was born in 1920 and died in 1999 at age of 79.

https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2018/Bills/S4500/4204_I1.

New Jersey's Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA), N.J.S.A. §§ 34:19-1 to -8, defines an "employee" as any individual who performs services for and under the control and direction of an employer for wages or other remuneration.

The New Jersey Senate introduced a bill to distinguish the classifications between “employee” and “Independent Contractor” for the purposes of NJ Wage and Hour laws. Workers, particularly high-end professionals such as IT managers etc., who are classified by their employers as “independent contractors” wonder if this new legislation will offer them protections from retaliation if they whistleblow on their employer’s illegal acts. In many instances, this legislation is unlikely to make a difference due to the evolution of the law by the NJ courts in determining cases brought under NJ’s whistleblower statute, The Conscientious Employee Protection Act, “CEPA”.

This new proposed legislation attempts to prevent widespread practice of mis-classification by employers of their workers, calling them, “independent contractors” when the workers are essentially employees.

Many workers feel that they are in a gray zone as to their job classification as to whether they are an independent contractor or employee. As the classification relates to whistleblower to discrimination laws, even an employer’s failure to withhold Federal or State income taxes, pay unemployment compensation contributions or workers' compensation premiums will not necessarily be determinative as to whether the workers are covered under the protection of state whistleblower and discrimination laws.

A new Senate bill proposes to tighten the definition of independent contractor for clarity for both employers and employees. This was prompted by rampant abuses by some employers who did not classify workers as employees so as to not have to adhere to NJ Wage and Hour Laws, not contribute to the workers’ social security and other benefits, and not have the workers be covered under the safety umbrella of employee protection statutes. The language of the proposed amendment however will not necessarily end the confusion as to the proper classification in many industries and may actually add to the confusion in some instances.