Employers that discriminate against employees and applicants based on their language may violate the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) if the discrimination is tied to one or more protected characteristics, such as national origin, ancestry, nationality, race, religion, or disability, the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights (DCR) reminded employers in recently released guidance.

Quick Hits

• The New Jersey Division on Civil Rights (DCR) issued new guidance on state antidiscrimination law, warning employers that policies or practices related to language could be forms of unlawful employment discrimination under the Law Against Discrimination (LAD).
• The guidance highlights the DCR’s view that language policies or practices may be discriminatory based on disparate treatment or disparate impact theories and that repeated harassment over a worker’s language or accent could create an unlawful hostile work environment.
• The guidance recognizes that language proficiency requirements can be a “bona fide occupational qualification for particular positions,” but the burden is on the employer to show that the qualification is reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the business or enterprises.

On January 16, 2026, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the DCR released a new guidance document, titled “Guidance on Language Discrimination Under New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination January 2026,” clarifying the division’s interpretation of the LAD as...

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