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Subscribe to Our FeedHigh Court Defines the Over-70 Exception to the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination
June 15, 2010 | No Comments
Posted by admin
Did you know that New Jersey law permits employers to “refuse to accept for employment” employees over the age of 70? But, what happens when a college Dean, who has worked for a college for more than 26 years under a series of consecutive contracts, is advised after attaining 70 years of age, that her contract will not be renewed again? This was the question presented to the Supreme Court of New Jersey in Nini v. Mercer County Community College.
The trial court granted a motion for summary judgment in favor of the college, finding there can be no violation of law because the college was permitted to refuse to accept the over-seventy Dean for a new contractual term. However, the appellate division reversed, opining that the failure to renew the contract was the equivalent of a “termination,” and not simply a refusal to accept for further employment. The Supreme Court concluded the over-seventy exception does not allow the college’s refusal to renew an employee’s contractual term, and that such a refusal, if based upon age, “is a prohibited discriminatory act” under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.
The college argued the Dean was really akin to an applicant for employment, and that it had a statutory right to refuse to accept her for the position. The Dean argued she was not a job applicant, and the failure to renew her contract constituted a termination of employment. The Court observed, “this is not an easy case” and that the Dean could “fairly be viewed … as a new job applicant or as a long-term employee.” In the end, however, the Court compared the contract non-renewal to New Jersey’s law prohibiting forced retirement on the basis of age. The court, applying the well established rules of statutory construction, determined, “if age is a prohibited consideration in connection with forced retirement … it seems doubtful to us that the Legislature intended that a long-term contract employee could be nonrenewed[.]” Thus, the Court narrowed the over-seventy exception, declaring it is “limited to initial hires.” This should come as no surprise.
Tags: Age Discrimination > Discrimination > law against discrimination
