New Jersey Employment Lawyer Blog

Employers are not permitted to discriminate on the basis of age when deciding whether to extend the contracts of workers over age 70, the New Jersey State Supreme Court held Tuesday. An exception to the Law Against Discrimination which allows a company to refuse to hire septuagenarians -- does not apply to contract nonrenewals, the Court held in Nini v. Mercer County Community College, A-13/14-09. The New Jersey Supreme Court agreed with a published opinion that said that for purposes of the exception, contract nonrenewal is the equivalent of termination, which cannot be based on age. Justice Virginia Long said if the LAD did not protect contract renewals, the resulting loophole would effectively create a two-tiered system giving fewer rights to long-term contract employees than to new, at-will employees.