Amendment to LAD Regarding Nondisclosure Provisions in Settlements and Employment Contracts

March 19, 2019

                Pursuant to an amendment to the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“LAD”) that became effective on March 18, 2019, the following, among other provisions, is now the law in New Jersey:

• A provision in an employment contract (other than a collective bargaining agreement) waiving any substantive or procedural right or remedy relating to a discrimination, retaliation, or harassment claim is unenforceable.  N.J.S.A. 10:5-12.7a. 

•       No right or remedy under the LAD, any other statute, or under case law can be prospectively waived.  N.J.S.A. 10:5-12.7b.  This does not apply to collective bargaining agreements.  N.J.S.A. 10:5-12.7c. 

•   A provision in any employment contract or settlement agreement that has the purpose or effect of concealing the details of any discrimination, retaliation, or harassment claim is unenforceable against the current or former employee who was a party to such agreement.  N.J.S.A. 10:5-12.8a. 

•   Every settlement agreement resolving a discrimination, retaliation, or harassment claim by an employee against an employer must include a boldfaced, prominently placed notice, the substance of which is set forth in N.J.S.A. 10:5-12.8b. 

•     An employer who enforces or attempts to enforce any of the unenforceable provisions set forth above is liable for the employee’s attorneys’ fees.  N.J.S.A. 10:5-12.9. 

•       An employer cannot take any retaliatory or other adverse action against an employee for refusing to sign a contract that contains one of the unenforceable provisions set forth above.  N.J.S.A. 10:5-12.10.