Executive Summary: On February 11, 2015, New Jersey’s Supreme Court formally decided an important issue left open for nearly two decades concerning New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination (LAD). In Aguas v. State of New Jersey, __ N.J. __, No. 072467 (2015), the state’s highest court definitively held that an employer can rely upon the company’s anti-harassment policy as an “affirmative defense” to an employee’s claims of negligence or vicarious liability brought under the LAD. In doing so, the Court aligns the standard for employer liability under the LAD with that set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court in its landmark 1998 decisions, Faragher v. City of Boca Raton and Burlington Indus. v. Ellerth. A copy of the decision is available here.
Home > State Law Articles > New Jersey > Sexual Harassment (NJ) > Boon to New Jersey Employers: State Supreme Court Confirms that Federal Faragher/Ellerth “Affirmative Defense” Now Applies to Sexual Harassment Claims Under State Law