A state appeals court ordered a lower court Monday to restart proceedings over whether a casino exemption in New Jersey’s indoor smoking ban violates the state’s constitution, finding procedural deficiencies had denied the case a fair hearing.
The decision is the latest in a yearslong fight over the 2006 Smoke-Free Air Act, which banned indoor smoking statewide but allowed it to continue inside casinos and their simulcasting facilities. Casino floor workers represented by the United Auto Workers union have for years pushed to end the exemption.
A lower court judge in 2024 dismissed a complaint filed by the union and an antismoking advocacy group, but Monday’s decision dings that judge for improperly addressing the plaintiffs’ equal protection challenge and for not performing detailed fact findings.
