New Jersey Expands Two State Laws Regarding Religious Discrimination and Protection for Displaced Workers

On January 13, 2008, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine signed legislation that immediately expands the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) to provide greater protection than federal law to public and private sector employees seeking religious accommodation.

The LAD amendments require an employer to reasonably accommodate an employee’s “sincerely held religious observance or practice,” by allowing an employee to modify his or her work schedule to observe a Sabbath or holy day, unless such an accommodation would pose an “undue hardship.” The time taken for religious observance may either “be made up at a mutually convenient time,” charged against paid leave (other than sick leave) or treated as unpaid leave.