Lawyers argued before the New Jersey Supreme Court on Tuesday whether an employment contract limiting a worker's right to sue a third party after an injury is enforceable.

Kenilworth-based Schering-Plough—through successor Merck & Co.—is asking the court to overturn an Appellate Division decision holding that summary judgment was properly denied in the case of a security guard who was injured at its facility and awarded $900,000.

The appeals court last August in Vitale v. Schering-Plough said the contract provision between plaintiff Philip Vitale, the guard, and his employer, Allied Barton Security Services, violated public policy by contradicting the letter and spirit of the Workers' Compensation Act because the guard was required as part of his employment to sign away his right to sue a third party.