N.J. Admin. Code § 12:110-7.9

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 21, November 4, 2024

Section 12:110-7.9 - Refusal to work

(a) The Act does not afford employees the right to walk off the job because of potential unsafe conditions at the workplace.

(b) If hazardous conditions that may be violative of the Act are not corrected by the employer once brought to his or her attention or if there is dispute about the existence of a hazard, the employee shall have the opportunity to request inspection of the workplace, or to seek the assistance of other public agencies that have responsibility in the field of safety and health. The employer shall permit the employee to contact the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the Department of Health, or other appropriate public agency during regular work hours with no loss in wages to report such conditions.

(c) An employer would not ordinarily be in violation of the Act by taking action to discipline an employee for refusing to perform normal job activities because of alleged safety and health hazards. However, occasions might arise when an employee is confronted with a choice between not performing assigned tasks or subjecting himself or herself to an imminent danger of serious injury or death arising from a hazardous condition at the workplace. If the employee, with no reasonable alternative, refuses, in good faith, to expose himself or herself to the imminent danger, and he or she believes that a subsequent discharge, discipline, or other employer discrimination activity results from this refusal, he or she may file a discrimination complaint with the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development in the manner prescribed in this section.

1. The condition causing the employee's apprehension of death or injury shall be of such a nature that a reasonable person under the circumstances then confronting the employee, would conclude that there was an imminent danger of death or serious injury and that there was insufficient time, due to the imminency of the situation, to eliminate the danger through resort to regular statutory enforcement channels.

2. The employee, where possible, shall also have sought from his or her employer, and been unable to obtain a correction of the imminent danger. If the employee requests time and the use of an employer communication system to contact the Department of Labor and Workforce Development or the Department of Health to report the perceived imminent danger prior to performing the assignment, the employer shall not deny the request.

N.J. Admin. Code § 12:110-7.9

Recodified from N.J.A.C. 12:110-7.8 and amended by R.1998 d.33, effective 1/8/1998.
See: 29 N.J.R. 4440(a), 30 N.J.R. 80(a).
Former section, "Filing of complaint for discrimination", was repealed.
Amended by R.2008 d.302, effective 10/6/2008.
See: 40 N.J.R. 2409(a), 40 N.J.R. 5816(a).
In the introductory paragraph of (c), inserted "or herself" twice and inserted "and Workforce Development"; and in (c)2, inserted "and Workforce Development".

Amended by 55 N.J.R. 309(a), effective 2/21/2023