TRENTON – Aiming to ensure that cannabis workers are not unduly excluded from labor protections afforded to other private employees, the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced legislation sponsored by Senators Troy Singleton and James Beach that would ensure cannabis workers are entitled to organizing and union rights, prohibit unfair labor practices, and increase potential penalties for violations.

Currently, the federal National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) establishes various rights and protections for private employees, such as the right to organize and bargain collectively, though it excludes agricultural workers. Consequently, it is unclear whether employees for licensed cannabis cultivators are afforded the same protections as most other private employees under the NLRA. This legislation, S-3139, seeks to remedy this lack of clarity under current law, guaranteeing that cannabis workers are entitled to the same labor protections as those provided under the NLRA to most private employees and those provided to public employees under New Jersey state law. 

“Cannabis workers should have the same rights and protections that law guarantees for other workers. Yet, right now they exist in a legal grey area that may unduly deprive them of those protections,” said Senator Singleton (D-Burlington), Vice-Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “This bill will ensure that they are treated just like other workers, with the right to organize, protections against unfair labor practices, and the establishment of an enforcement mechanism to ensure that employers are not violating labor law.”

The bill would prohibit cannabis employers, their representatives, and their agents from committing the following unfair practices:

• interfering with, restraining, or coercing employees in the exercise of their rights granted by the bill;

• dominating or interfering with any employee organization;

• discriminating against employees for making disclosures or otherwise exercising their rights;

• refusing to negotiate in good faith or sign a negotiated agreement; and

• violating any board regulation. 

“State law currently protects labor protections for other types of cannabis workers, such as those who work in medical or recreational dispensaries, and it should similarly protect those working for licensed cultivators,” said Senator Beach (D-Camden/Burlington). “The present lack of clarity, stemming from the federal NLRA, necessitates state action to guarantee these rights to every type of worker in the cannabis industry.”

The legislation would empower the State Board of Mediation to enforce the law. Specifically, the board would be authorized to order any offending party to cease any unfair practice and take remedial action, including paying lost wages, costs of action, and damages equal to the wages due. It would also be an unfair practice for a cannabis employer to encourage or discourage from joining, forming, or assisting an employee organization, encourage them to end their membership, or revoke authorization of the deduction of dues or fees. Fees for employer noncompliance would be increased from not more than $1,000 to not more than $5,000 per day of noncompliance. 

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