newjerseynewsroom.com

Craig Sashihara, a veteran state litigator with experience in discrimination and equal employment opportunity matters, has been named director of the state Division on Civil Rights.

The division is the agency responsible for enforcing New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination (LAD).

Sashihara, 47, of Bridgewater, has directed the Department of Law and Public Safety’s Office of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) for the past two-and-a-half years, has more than 19 years experience in the public and private sectors and has handled an array of legal issues.

As EEO director, Sashihara has overseen aspects of the department’s anti-discrimination efforts, including employee training and the investigation of discrimination complaints. Attorney General Paula T. Dow said Sashihara increased the EEO unit’s productivity despite working with a significantly reduced work force.

“Craig Sashihara is a committed public servant and top-notch manager with the right background to lead the Division on Civil Rights," Dow said. “His extensive experience in both private practice and government service—including many years spent analyzing discrimination-related matters—have provided him with the tools to make a difference. He brings to the position an unyielding work ethic, an ability to grasp and resolve complex issues and—most of all—a commitment to equality and justice.”

“I am grateful for this opportunity,” Sashihara said. “New Jersey has always been ahead of the curve on civil rights issues. We were the first state in the nation to pass a comprehensive anti-discrimination statute, and I know Governor Christie and Attorney General Dow remain deeply committed to the notions of fairness and equality, which are at the core of all civil rights legislation.”

Sashihara graduated from Boston University’s College of Communications and in 1992 received his law degree from Villanova University. He worked for the Attorney General’s Office for five years handling matters ranging from Superfund litigation to public contract issues in federal and state courts.

In 1997, Sashihara went to work for one of New Jersey’s largest law firms, McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, in Morristown, and then Carroll, McNulty & Kull, in Basking Ridge, where he handled commercial litigation including employment, civil rights, and consumer fraud issues.

In 2003, he returned to the Attorney General’s Office. He joined the EEO Unit in April 2004, and was named director of the unit in January 2009.

—TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM