A-4182

Primary Sponsor:
DeAngelo, Wayne P.

STATEMENT:
This bill provides cannabis workers employed by cannabis employers rights and protections equal to the rights and protections provided to other workers with respect to employee representation, collective bargaining, and unfair labor practices. Cannabis employers are defined in the bill as employers who are licensed or regulated under chapter 6I of Title 24 of the Revised Statutes.
Currently, certain cannabis workers, most notably those1 employed by licensed cannabis cultivators, are excluded from protections against unfair labor practices provided to most private sector workers by the federal National Labor Relations Act (294 U.S.C. s.151 et seq.)(“NLRA”), and provided to public employees by the State public employment relations law, P.L.1968, c.303 (C.34:13A-5.1 et seq.)(“PERL”) and the Workplace Democracy Enhancement Act, P.L.2018, c.15 (C.34:13A-5.11 et seq.) (“WDEA”).This bill brings those cannabis workers under protections similar to those laws, by expanding the responsibilities of the State Board of Mediation in the Department of Labor and Workforce Development regarding cannabis employment not regulated by the NLRA. It provides the board with the power to prevent specified unfair labor practices, thus providing rights to the cannabis workers similar to the rights provided to other private sector workers by the NLRA, and the rights provided to public employees by the PERL and the WDEA.
The bill prohibits cannabis employers and their representatives
and agents from the following unfair practices:
1. Interfering with, restraining, or coercing employees in the
exercise of the rights granted by the bill.
2. Dominating or interfering with any employee organization.
3. Discriminating against employees for making disclosures or
otherwise exercising their rights.
4. Refusing to negotiate in good faith or sign a negotiated
agreement.
5. Violating any board regulation.
The bill similarly prohibits cannabis worker organizations and
their representatives and agents from the following unfair practices:
1. Interfering with, restraining or coercing employees in the
exercise of their rights.
2. Interfering with, restraining, or coercing a cannabis
employer in the selection of a representative for negotiations or
grievance procedures.
3. Refusing to negotiate in good faith or sign a negotiated
agreement.
4. Violating any board regulation.