for Suffolk County - Mass Cases

Supreme Judicial Court found that the attempt tu extinyuish
this right through a contract would have warranted a
finding that the company attempted to interfere wi.th the
employee's rights. -~ Id. Thus, a contractual waiver of
rights demanded by an employer may form the basis of
unlawful interference with enjoyment of rights. 4
A New Jersey Superior Court has found that mandatory
arbitration constitutes unlawful "interference" under a
provision similar to section 1(4A). Ackerman v. The Money
Store, 728 A.2d 873, 878 (N.J. Super. Ct. Law Div. 1998).
In Ackerman
-.-r the plaintiff was fired for refusing to agree
to a pre-dispute arbitration provision.
anti-discrimination statute, like c. 151H, 5 4(4A) makes it
unlawful to "coerce, intimidate, threaten, or interfere
with any person in the exercise or enjoyment of . . . any
right granted or protected by this act."
N.J.S.A. 10:5-12(6). The court noted that the arbitration
provision amounted to a waiver of procedural rights.
at 878-879. After an extensive analysis, the court held
that conditioning employment on agreement to mandatory
arbitration constitutes actionable interference with those
rights. - Id. at 879-880.
-,
The New Jersey
- Id. at 877;
4
Firing an individual based on protected status may also
constitute interference with rights. NLRB v. Horizons
-- Hotel Corp., 49 F.3d 795, 804 (ISt Cir. 1995); Navarro v.
Pfizer Cory., 261 F.3d 90, 95 (lSt Cir. 2001); --- Barbour v.
Qnmi.cs Research Corp., 63 F.3d 32, 37 (lSt Cir. 1995).
Consequently, a threat to fire falls within this category
of unlawfu,l conduct.
42
Id.