Publications 

Mr. Peluso has written numerous published articles on legal topics, including numerous articles on discrimination, civil rights, whistleblower, labor/union, and employment law issues, including:

• “Last Chance For New Jersey Pension Funding,” NJ Blue Now Magazine, October 2015.  The article discusses the dispute between public employees and government.
• “Race And The Excessive Use Of Force By Police Officers,” NJ Blue Now Magazine, June 2015.  The article discusses the involvement of race in the Brown, Garner and other incidents involving the fatal use of force by police officers.
• “Giving Thanks For An Often Thankless Job: An Appreciation Of Law Enforcement During A Difficult Time,” NJ Blue Now Magazine, May 2015.  The article pays tribute to law enforcement officers in an increasingly hostile environment.
• “Human Sex Trafficking: A Modern Form Of Slavery Too Often Tolerated,” NJ Blue Now Magazine, April 2015.  The article discusses human sex trafficking, and the governmental response thereto.
• “Collateral Damage: Law Enforcement Families Also Feel The Heat,” NJ Blue Now Magazine, March 2015.  The article discusses the stress felt by law enforcement families.
• “The Thin Blue Line Under Attack,” NJ Blue Now Magazine, January 2015.  The article discusses the tension between law enforcement and the public in the aftermath of Ferguson and the murder of Officers Ramos and Liu in New York City.
• “Salt On The Wound: Employment Discrimination Against Veterans,” NJ Blue Now Magazine, December 2014.  The article discusses employment discrimination against veterans and active duty military personnel in violation of state and federal civil rights laws.
• “Love The Camera And It Will Love You Back: Law Enforcement Should Embrace Video Evidence,” NJ Blue Now Magazine, November 2014.  The article discusses the installation and use of dashboard cameras in police vehicles.
• “Cops Wearing Cameras: Let Everyone Beware,” NJ Blue Now Magazine, October 2014.  The article discusses the use of body-cameras by law enforcement officers.
• “The Reasonable Use Of Force: A Legal Analysis,” NJ Blue Now Magazine, August 2014.  Our country has seen rising community tensions in cities as the result of tragic deaths and assaults involving law enforcement officers and members of the public. As the result of these highly publicized incidents, the appropriate use of force by law enforcement officers has, again, become a hotly disputed and politicized debate at both the local and national level.  Thus, it is critical that both law enforcement officers and citizens know the controlling law on the reasonable use of force, especially deadly force.
• “Pensions Are Not Entitlements: The Mutual Consideration Behind Public Pensions,” NJ Blue Now Magazine, July 2014.  The article discusses how, when faced with a tough election campaign, partisan budget battle or decreasing favorability polling, the knee-jerk response from many politicians is to blame everything on public employees and their pensions, even though these pensions constitute a small portion of governmental expenditure.
• “Avoiding Conflicts: Legal Protection Plan Attorneys And The Duty Of Loyalty,” NJ Blue Now Magazine, May 2014.  The article discusses the conflicts of interest that often prohibit legal protection plan attorneys from properly and fully representing law enforcement officers.
• “Save It For The Bedroom: Inappropriate Speech And Conduct Has No Place At Work,” NJ Blue Now Magazine, April 2014.  Women, minorities and members of the LGBTQ community now constitute a large segment of the American workplace.  In fact, in many professions, women now out-number men at work, with this trend almost certain to increase over the coming decades. Therefore, it is important that all American workers understand, acknowledge and respect the current dynamics of appropriate conduct at work in order to recognize, avoid and prevent sexual harassment.
• “Cops Have The Right of Free Speech, But Need To Be Smart About It,” NJ Blue Now Magazine, March 2014.  As Kierkegaard said: “People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.” Government employees, including law enforcement officers, do not enjoy the same freedom of speech as members of the general public.  This article discusses law enforcement officers’ 1st Amendment Rights on matters of public importance.
• “Both Direct And Circumstantial Evidence Of Discrimination Are Sufficient To Establish Liability Against An Employer,” NJ Blue Now Magazine, February 2014.  The article discusses the type of evidence required to establish liability for employment discrimination under state and federal civil rights statutes.
• “Supervisors and Co-Workers Are Individually Liable For Aiding And Abetting Discrimination And For Retaliatory Conduct,” NJ Blue Now Magazine, November 2013.  As noted by Lord Acton over 100 years ago, power corrupts, and many employees with authority and control over other employees intentionally abuse that power in unlawful and harmful ways. The article discusses the law relating to personal liability of supervisors and co-workers for violation of anti-discrimination statutes.
• “Go Ahead And Grieve: Filing A Grievance Does Not Waive An Independent Lawsuit,” NJ Blue Now Magazine, October 2013.  Public union employees are familiar with filing a grievance under their collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”), their employee handbook or the civil service rules. The article discusses public union employees’ rights to pursue both a grievance under their CBA and an independent lawsuit for violation of their civil rights in a court of law.
• “A Difficult Dilemma: Whistleblowing In Law Enforcement,” NJ Blue Now Magazine, August 2013.  Since the cases of Bradley Manning, Edward Snowden and numerous employees in the Trump Administration, the debate over “whistleblowers” in our country has increased in intensity and polarity. The line between being a justified whistleblower protected by law and a criminal facing imprisonment is blurry, dynamic and dependent on the specific nature of an employee’s job. The article addresses the controlling federal and state case law on whistleblowing actions and the difficult choices facing individuals who bring them.
• “Union Busting By Any Other Name Still Hurts All Workers,” NJ Blue Now Magazine, July 2013.  The article discusses “Right To Work” legislation that significantly curtails the collective bargaining, and other, rights of both public employee and trade unions. When state governments are successful in eliminating longstanding union rights, all workers in this country, both union and non-union, are ultimately harmed. Accordingly, the article also advocates the need for an at-will employee’s “Bill of Rights” to provide the majority of American workers with at least some protection against unlimited and unilateral employer control over non-unionized workers.
• “Cops Investigating Cops: The Need For Fair And Objective Internal Affairs Investigations,” NJ Blue Now Magazine, May 2013.  The article discusses the guidelines for fairly and objectively conducting IA investigations, and the abuse of IA investigations as the means to harass and intimidate law enforcement officers for the purpose of discrimination, harassment and obtaining career advancement for certain officers.fficers.
• “Keep Hostility Out Of The Workplace,” NJ Blue Now Magazine, April 2013.  This article discusses the legal issues relating to hostile work environments, including the various legal causes of action for hostile work environments and remedies for avoiding the creation of such environments.
• “Age Discrimination: A Spreading Workplace Epidemic,” NJ Blue Now Magazine, March 2013.  The article discusses the increasing and disturbing trend of age discrimination in the American workplace.  Although US federal and state law prohibits age discrimination, employers are now regularly and wrongfully targeting senior employees solely because of their age and the salary they command commensurate with their years of experience and competence in their jobs.
• “How corrections leadership can learn from Vince Lombardi,” Corrections One Website:  The article discusses leadership and management in 21st century law enforcement and corrections departments.
• “Yes, corrections officers have freedom of speech,” Corrections One Website:  The article discusses the freedom of speech rights of corrections officers and the need to use it correctly and safely.
• “Sexual speech and conduct has no place in a corrections workplace,” Corrections One Website:  The article discusses the continuing reality of sexual harassment in the 21st century American workplace.

In addition, Mr. Peluso has published articles on international and commercial law, including:  

• “Convention On Contracts For The International Sale of Goods: An Example Of Successful International Commercial Diplomacy,” Exchange Magazine: www.ibde.org, March 2011.  The article discusses the positive affect that the Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) has had on international trade and diplomatic relations between countries. Through its harmonization and unification of previously disparate commercial laws, the international trade of goods has been simplified and increased. Since its inception in 1980, the CISG has been ratified by 76 countries and now governs upwards of 80% of all international commercial transactions involving the sale of goods.
• “CISG:  International Trade In Plain ‘English,’” Commerce Magazine: www.cianj.org, July 2005.  The article discusses how the CISG was created to devise legal rules and practical procedures for international sales transactions that businessmen could easily understand.  The article also compares and contrasts provisions of the CISG and the Uniform Commercial Code, which is applicable to commercial transactions in the US.