The Honorable Sue Pai Yang
The Honorable Sue Pai Yang was the first Chinese American appointed a judge in New Jersey. She sat on the Workers’ Compensation Court in New Jersey from 2002 to 2012 where she heard cases involving workplace injuries. Judge Yang’s most memorable trials and decisions concerned individuals who alleged psychological disabilities due to harassment/workplace bullying. These cases enticed her to become involved with workplace bullying issues after her retirement.
Sue Yang was a founding member of the National Workplace Bullying Coalition (NWBC) and served as its first Vice President . She Chaired the very successful 2014 NWBC Convention at Rutgers Law School in Newark, New Jersey. Sue encourages everyone to help eliminate workplace bullying by signing the pledge at www.workplacebullyingcoalition.org as well as encouraging organizations to partner with NWBC to conquer this issue.
Sue and her husband, Professor C.S. Yang, who recently retired from Rutgers University, moved to the sunny beaches of La Jolla, California in 2023 to live in a retirement community. Sue has held numerous leadership positions and served on many boards. She sat on the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Minority Concerns and the Advisory Council of the Somerset County Office on Aging. She has also served on the Boards of the National Association of Women Judges, the International Association of Women Judges, the NJ Women Lawyers Association, the Advisory Board of the National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts and the Pacific Asian Coalition of NJ which she helped found. In 2011 Sue Chaired the very successful National Association of Women Judges Conference in Newark, New Jersey attended by hundreds of American and international judges. She initiated the founding of the Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of NJ and served as its first President from 1985-1986. Sue is also a founding member of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association and was the first Asian American elected to the Board of Trustees of the NJ State Bar Association. Sue has also served on the Board of the National Girl Scouts USA.
Numerous honors and awards have been bestowed upon Sue through the years for her commitment to justice and the greater good in the legal community and the community at large. This includes receiving the WILL Platinum Award from the NJ Women Lawyers Association, selected as an honoree at the Rutgers Law School, Newark Alumni Association Gala , and receiving the Community Pioneer Award from Homecrest Community Services, Inc. of New York. In 2016 Judge Yang was the Honorary Chair of the National OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates Convention held in NJ. She is listed in Who's Who in American Law and Who's Who in New Jersey.
Sue Yang received her B.S. from University of Maryland with high honors, M.S. from Cornell University and J.D. from Rutgers Law School, Newark, where she served as an Editor of the Law Review and was elected as a class representative. Sue has two daughters who followed her into the legal profession. Arlene Yang is now the Assistant General Counsel at the Center for Employment Opportunities in San Diego, California and was named a Super Lawyer. Jenny Yang was recently appointed by President Joe Biden to work at the White House as his Deputy Assistant for Racial Justice and Equity. Formerly, under President Barack Obama, Jenny was the Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and our NWBC Chair Jerry Carbo served on the EEOC Advisory Committee.