ASSEMBLY MILITARY AND VETERANS' AFFAIRS
COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
ASSEMBLY, No. 5048
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: FEBRUARY 13, 2025
The Assembly Military and Veterans' Affairs Committee reports
favorably Assembly Bill No. 5048.
This bill enhances certain protections under the Law Against
Discrimination (“LAD”).
MILITARY SERVICE. Currently, the LAD bars discrimination
based on “liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United
States.” The bill broadens this provision to specifically bar
discrimination against persons currently serving in the military and
military veterans. The bill defines this additional protected class of
persons as those in active service in any branch of the Armed Forces
of the United States or National Guard, and those who have been
discharged or released from active service in any branch of the Armed
Forces of the United States or National Guard.
JOB PROTECTION FOR MILITARY SERVICE. The bill makes
it an unlawful employment practice under the LAD for employers to
deny reemployment to employees who take leave for military service.
This provision is in compliance with the federal Uniformed Services
Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, 18 U.S.C. s.4301
et seq.
GENDER-NEUTRAL LANGUAGE. Under the bill, gendered
language in the LAD is changed to gender-neutral language. For
example, in N.J.S.A.10:5-39, the provision in the LAD that sets out an
affirmative action program for veterans, the bill replaces the phrase
“soldier, sailor, marine, airman, nurse or army field clerk” with
“enlisted person or officer.”
UNLAWFUL DISCRIMINATION. The bill adds the term
“unlawful” before “discrimination” throughout the LAD to clarify that
the LAD prohibits only unlawful discrimination. The LAD does not
apply to discrimination that may be lawful. For example, practices
that result in a disproportionately negative impact on members of a
protected class constitute unlawful discrimination only if the entity
engaging in the practices cannot show that it is using the practices for
a substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory interest or cannot show
that there is a less discriminatory alternative that meets that interest.