New Jersey Lawmakers Propose Adding Familial Status To Classes Protected By LAD

New Jersey lawmakers recently proposed an amendment to the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination ("LAD") to include familial status as a protected category. Identical bills have been introduced in both the state Assembly and Senate.

The bill would prohibit employers from discriminating against employees based on their familial status. The proposed bills define familial status to include:

• the natural or adoptive parent of a child;
• the "resource family parent" of a child, which includes foster relationships and situations where adoptions are pending;
• an individual who has a "parent and child relationship" with a child as defined by State law and excludes someone whose parental rights have been terminated;