SENATE LABOR COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 4285

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: OCTOBER 1, 2026

      The Senate Labor Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 4285.

      This bill extends protection under the Law Against Discrimination (LAD) to members of a labor organization.

      The LAD, P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-1 et. seq.), provides protections for those who are members of a protected class, including protection against discrimination in employment, public accommodations, housing, land use, lending, and association membership.  Under current law, a member of a protected class includes an employee who has one or more characteristics, including race, creed, color, national origin, nationality, ancestry, age, marital status, civil union status, domestic partnership status, affectional or sexual orientation, genetic information, pregnancy, sex, gender identity or expression, disability or atypical hereditary cellular or blood trait of any individual, or liability for service in the armed forces.  This bill provides that members of a labor organization also are members of a protected class who are entitled protection under the LAD. 

      In addition, the bill revises the definition of “labor organization” to include any organization of any kind, including a labor union or any agency or employee representation committee or plan, in which public or private employees participate and which exists and is constituted for the purpose, in whole or in part, of collective bargaining, or of dealing with public or private employers concerning grievances, terms or conditions of employment, or of other mutual aid or protection in connection with employment.

      Finally, the bill updates the provision of the LAD that protects against discrimination related to real property, including the refusal to sell, rent, assign, lease or sublease, or offer for sale, rental, lease, assignment, or sublease any real property to any person or group of persons, to make this provision consistent with the expansion of protections provided pursuant to section 7 of P.L.2025, c.307, based on the person’s service in the Armed Forces of the United States.