Supreme Court Rules Contract Workers Have Same Rights As Employees

The Supreme Court of New Jersey ruled last week that an employer’s refusal to renew a worker’s contract is the same as terminating an employee without a contract (an at-will employee). The court stated that allowing an employer to discriminate based on age merely because a worker had a contract “would undermine the remedial purposes of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination and create a loophole in the seamless coverage of the statute.” Since the Law Against Discrimination protects older workers from termination and forced retirement, the Supreme Court found that the law must also protect older workers from losing their jobs based on refusal to renew a contract.

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Tom McKinney is an experienced NJ Employment Lawyer in all major areas of labor and employment law, including discrimination, harassment, overtime violations, wage and hour claims, sexual harassment, wrongful discharge, Title VII, ADA, ADEA, FMLA, LAD, FLSA, and all other employment law claims. Tom is admitted to practice in the States of New Jersey and New York, United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Southern District of New York, District of New Jersey, and United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Prior to forming the firm, Tom practiced at Gibbons P.C. in Newark, NJ. If you have any questions regarding this article, contact Tom here today.