Concerns training of employees about access to public facilities for individuals with service or guide dogs.

A1894

ASSEMBLY, No. 1894

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman CLEOPATRA G. TUCKER

District 28 (Essex and Union)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman Murphy, Assemblyman Scharfenberger and
Assemblywoman Sweeney

SYNOPSIS

���� Concerns training of employees about access to public
facilities for individuals with service or guide dogs.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act

concerning training of employees about access to
public facilities for individuals with service or guide dogs and supplementing
P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-1 et seq.).

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� a.� Any employer who has
one or more employees who serve customers or other individuals in a place of
public accommodation or other public facility, or who otherwise have the
ability to provide or deny access to the place or facility, shall provide
training to those employees in accordance with the training requirements set
forth in the pamphlet produced by the Commissioner of Labor
and Workforce Development
pursuant
to subsection b. of this section regarding the right of an individual
with a disability
to have a guide or service dog
in a place of public accommodation or other public facility pursuant to the
provisions of P.L.1971, c.130 (C.10:5-29 et seq.), P.L.1977, c.456
(C.10:5-29.1 et seq.), and the �Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990,�
Pub.L.101-336 (42 U.S.C. s.12101 et seq.). An
employer may satisfy the training requirements of this section by utilizing
training that may be provided at no cost by the Division on Civil Rights in the
Department of Law and Public Safety, the New Jersey State Bar Association, or
any other entity, or may, at its discretion, implement a training program at
its own cost.� The provisions of this section shall be administered and
enforced by the division pursuant to the authority vested in it by the "Law
Against Discrimination," P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-1 et seq.).� The division
shall set minimum standards for the training and make those standards available
upon request.

���� b.��� The commissioner shall
prepare a pamphlet that provides information concerning the rights of an
individual
with a disability
to have a
guide or service dog in a place of public accommodation or other public
facility pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1971, c.130 (C.10:5-29 et
seq.), P.L.1977, c.456 (C.10:5-29.1 et seq.), and the �Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990,� Pub.L.101-336 (42 U.S.C. s.12101 et seq.).� The
pamphlet shall contain a concise list of topics that are to be included in the
employee training required pursuant to subsection a. of this section.� The
pamphlet shall be made available electronically on the Internet website of the
Department of Labor and Workforce Development.�

���� c.���� An employer who is
required to provide training pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall
distribute to each employee a paper copy of the pamphlet.�

���� d.��� The employee shall sign
and return to the employer a form acknowledging that the employee received and
reviewed the pamphlet.� The form shall be made available for inspection by the
commissioner upon request.� The employer shall retain the form during the
period of employment and for a period of three years following any termination
of employment.

���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill requires any
employer who has one or more employees serving customers or other individuals
in a place of public accommodation or other public facility, or otherwise has
the ability to provide or deny access to the place or facility, to provide
training to their employees regarding the right of an individual with a
disability to have a guide or service dog in places of public accommodation or
other public facilities under the relevant provisions of State and federal
law.� The training is to incorporate the list of topics set forth in the
pamphlet to be produced by the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development
under the bill. �An employer may satisfy the training requirement of the bill
by utilizing training that may be provided at no cost by the Division on Civil
Rights in the Department of Law and Public Safety, the New Jersey State Bar
Association, or any other entity, or may, at its discretion, implement a
training program at its own cost.

���� The provisions of the bill
require the commissioner to prepare a pamphlet that provides information
concerning the rights of an individual
with a
disability
to have a guide or service dog in a place of public
accommodation or other public facility.� The pamphlet is required to contain a
concise list of topics that are to be included in the training required under
the bill.� The pamphlet is to be made available electronically on the
Department of Labor and Workforce Development�s website.�

���� Under the bill, an employer
who is required to provide training pursuant to this section is required to distribute
to each employee a paper copy of the pamphlet.� The employee is required to sign
and return to the employer a form acknowledging the employee�s receipt of the
pamphlet and the form is to be made available for inspection by the
commissioner upon request.