NJ Transit creates new position to fight on-the-job assaults
Written by RT&S Staff
New Jersey will cut its light rail and passenger rail service by 50 percent maximum on Monday, April 13.
NJ Transit
NJ Transit has created the Employee Court Advocate position to support operational employees such as bus operators and rail conductors who are victims of on-the-job assaults. The position supports the New Jersey state legislature’s added protections for front-line transportation workers to the state criminal assault statute.
NJ Transit first Employee Court Advocate is attorney Michael Rubin. Rubin has 15 years of experience with the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety and will help employees who are victims of assault navigate the criminal justice system at no cost to the employee, and work with prosecutors to see that assailants face the full sentences allowable by law.
“The creation of the Employee Court Advocate position confirms NJ Transit’s unwavering commitment to ensuring the safety and well-being of our employees,” said NJ Transit President & CEO Kevin Corbett. “I am confident Michael Rubin will make a real difference in the lives of our front-line employees who are forced to navigate an unfamiliar legal system and ensure that assailants are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
In June, a man who assaulted a pregnant bus operator in January was given an eight-year prison sentence for his actions. The New Jersey legislature amended the state’s criminal assault statute to impose larger monetary penalties and increased custodial sentences for those convicted of assaulting NJ Transit’s operational employees.
Rubin’s role includes meeting with NJ Transit employees who have been assaulted to review their cases and helping them understand their legal rights. When an employee is required to appear in court, Rubin will accompany them to court to ensure that their rights are protected and prosecutors pursue appropriate charges and sentencing.
