NJ DCR releases COVID-19 FAQs

On March 19, 2020, the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights (DCR) released a guidance addressing frequently asked questions regarding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Specifically, the DCR focused on protections and obligations under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD).

Protections in employment

The NJLAD prohibits discrimination and harassment based on actual or perceived race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, and other protected characteristics in employment, housing, and places of public accommodation. It also requires an employer, housing provider, or place of public accommodation to take action to stop such harassment if it knows or should have known about it.

The DCR emphasized the protections apply even if the conduct at issue stems from COVID-19-related concerns and offered the following examples to illustrate:

In employment, it is unlawful for your employer to fire you because you coughed at work and they perceive you have COVID-19, which is characterized as a disability under the law. Additionally, if an employee of east-Asian heritage is harassed by a coworker claiming that Asian people caused COVID-19 or calling the virus “the Chinese virus,” an employer who knows or should have known about the harassment must take action to stop the conduct.