On November 26, 2013, the Assembly introduced a bill (A4498) to prohibit confidentiality in any agreement to settle a claim or action in which a public entity or public employee (in his or her capacity as a public employee)...more
On November 6, 2013, the New Jersey Supreme Court granted certification in Aguas v. State of New Jersey, 2013 WL 1136115 (App. Div. Mar. 20, 2013), a pro-employer ruling on the issue of employer liability for sexual...more
On November 18, 2013, the Assembly introduced a bill (A4424) amending the current wage payment law to permit employers to pay wages by deposit in a payroll debit card account. This practice...more
On December 5, 2013, the Senate introduced a bill (S3087) that would permit employee leasing companies to have their unemployment insurance taxes determined on the basis of their client company’s experience rating. Under...more
The New Jersey Appellate Division recently held that in an age discrimination case, the fourth element of the plaintiff’s prima facie burden—that plaintiff was replaced (or the employer sought a replacement) by someone...more
The New Jersey Department of Labor has just made available the gender equity notice that must be posted and distributed to New Jersey employees pursuant to P.L. 2012, c. 57, which was signed into law in September of last...more
In EEOC v. FAPS, Inc., 2013 WL 4833535 (D.N.J. Sept. 10, 2013) (unpub.), the employer’s attorneys hired a private investigator to conduct ex parte interviews with claimants in a pending civil suit brought by the Equal...more
New Jersey employers traditionally must provide certain information about new hires (name, address, date of birth, and social security number) and the company (name, address, and federal tax ID) to the State Department of...more
On September 30, 2013, a bill (S2996) was introduced seeking to expand eligibility for state leave and disability benefits for employees who have been laid off or furloughed due to a declared state of emergency. First, the...more
The protections of the New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA) do not extend to partners with significant control over their company. In Largie v. TCBA Watson Rice, LLP, 2013 WL 4487456 (D.N.J. Aug. 20, 2013)...more
On October 14, 2013, the Senate introduced a bill (S3012) that would severely punish repeat violators of the prevailing wage law. Specifically, the bill would grant the commissioner authority to issue a stop-work order...more
On November 5, 2013, New Jersey voters overwhelmingly approved (by a 3 to 2 margin) a constitutional amendment to raise the minimum wage, starting on January 1, 2014, from $7.25 to $8.25 per hour. The amendment also...more
In Halpern v. Marion P. Thomas Charter School, 2013 WL 4607437 (N.J. App. Div. Aug. 30, 2013) (unpub.), the New Jersey Appellate Division held that a teacher had overcome the presumption of at-will employment by showing that...more
On October 21, 2013, Jersey City enacted an ordinance (passed by its City Council on September 25) mandating that all Jersey City businesses provide their employees sick leave—either paid or unpaid (depending upon the...more
On November 18, 2013, a bill (S2995) seeking to expand employment protections for pregnant women passed in the Senate 38-0. Specifically, the bill would (1) amend the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination to add pregnancy...more
In Lewis v. Eberle & BCI Services, LLC, 2013 WL 4483529 (D.N.J. Aug. 19, 2013), a New Jersey district court dismissed the plaintiff’s claims brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave...more
Once again, we remind New Jersey employers with 10 or more employees of their annual obligation to distribute to their New Jersey employees the required notice under the Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA). The...more
Remember that on December 1, 2013, New Jersey’s social media privacy bill (A2878) becomes law. This law (detailed in the September 2013 issue of the New Jersey eAuthority) bars employers from requiring or requesting that any...more
Traditionally, New Jersey employers have been free to challenge erroneous unemployment benefit charges even if the error was a result of the employer’s untimely or inaccurate response to the Department of Labor’s request for...more
On August 29, 2013, a more limited social media privacy bill (A2878), adopting the common sense conditions set forth in Governor Chris Christie’s previous conditional veto, was enacted. The new law, effective December 1,...more
In Bourhill v. Nextel of New York, Inc., 2013 WL 1680140 (D.N.J. Apr. 17, 2013), an employee with a back condition was granted several consecutive leaves of absences (spanning eight months of leave), followed by an open-ended...more
On August 29, 2013, Governor Chris Christie signed a bill (A2648) into law barring employers from retaliating against employees who share information about their compensation with other employees in furtherance of a pay...more
In Griff v. GalaxE Solutions, Inc., 2013 WL 2242656 (D.N.J. May 21, 2013), the New Jersey District Court rejected an employer’s attempt to withhold disclosure to the plaintiff of the business addresses of several of its...more
In Rowan v. Hartford Plaza Ltd., 2013 WL 1350095 (N.J. App. Div. Apr. 5, 2013) (unpub.), the New Jersey Appellate Division held—in an unpublished opinion—that individual supervisors are subject to “aiding and abetting”...more
The New Jersey District Court recently reiterated the importance of maintaining effective anti-harassment policies, and taking prompt and effective remedial measures following harassment complaints. In Barroso v. Lidestri...more
9/23/2013