On June 3, New Jersey Attorney General, Matthew Platkin, and the state’s Division on Civil Rights
announced a
proposed rule that described and clarified prohibitions against disparate impact discrimination under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD), including employment, housing, places of public accommodation, credit, and contracting. The proposed rule provided examples of policies and practices that may result in a disparate impact on members of a protected class under the LAD.
The proposed rule aimed to clarify that the LAD outlawed practices or policies that have an adverse impact on members of a protected class, regardless of whether there was intent to discriminate. Such practices or policies were only permissible if they were necessary to attain an important and legitimate non-discriminatory goal and there was no alternative method that was less discriminatory and equally effective in achieving that goal. The rule would codify largely the existing legal standard and burdens of proof used in New Jersey and Federal courts when reviewing claims of disparate impact discrimination pursuant to the LAD for determining whether a practice or policy was discriminatory unlawfully, along with the framework used in evaluating claims of disparate impact. Comments on the proposed rule must be received by August 2.
