The New Jersey Supreme Court affirmed an appellate court ruling allowing a medical marijuana user to proceed with his disability discrimination claim under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“LAD”). Wild v. Carriage Funeral Holdings, Inc., No. 082836 (Mar. 10, 2020). The plaintiff, a cancer patient and lawful user of medical marijuana, was involved in...… Continue Reading
The New Jersey Division on Civil Rights (DCR) has released a 25-page guidance explaining its enforcement policies with respect to the state’s equal pay law. The guidance provides much-needed direction to companies navigating the pitfalls associated with compensation systems and policies. The guidance addresses questions ranging from multistate employees to affirmative defenses to the role...… Continue Reading
New Jersey has amended its Temporary Disability Benefits Law (TDB) to provide job-protected leave during “a period of disability” resulting from the donation of any organ or bone marrow. The new law will take effect on May 20, 2020. Although the Legislature acknowledged that the TDB does not expressly guarantee job security, it decided to... Continue Reading
The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) has issued final regulations on the New Jersey Earned Sick Leave Law (ESLL), ending more than a year’s anticipation following the close of the proposed regulations’ comment period in 2018. Though short on substantive changes, an extensive comment-and-response section provides more guidance to the NJDOL’s interpretation... Continue Reading
Wage and hour lawsuits are big news these days. Jury verdicts and settlements capture headlines warning of damages and fees totaling seven or more figures, and class certifications in pending cases exponentially expand the risk posed by a single miscalculation or mistaken designation. How can employers best reduce the risk of becoming the next cautionary...… Continue Reading
New Jersey has enacted a new law prohibiting employers from seeking or relying on job applicants’ salary history. Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver (acting on behalf of New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy) has signed legislation that prohibits employers from requesting or relying on a job applicant’s salary history in hiring and pay-setting decisions. The law will...… Continue Reading
The Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act (NJEPA) does not apply retroactively to conduct occurring before to its effective date, July 1, 2018, a federal district court has ruled. Perrotto v. Morgan Advanced Materials, 2:18-cv-13825-WJM-MF (D. N.J. Jan. 14, 2019). The court granted the employer’s motion to dismiss. The NJEPA provides enhanced equal pay protections...… Continue Reading
With its governor’s signature yesterday, New Jersey became the latest – and the third largest – state to pass a $15.00 per hour minimum wage bill. The only states with larger populations than New Jersey passing such $15 minimum wage bills are California and New York, which enacted similar laws in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Under...… Continue Reading
The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development has issued two reporting forms for the new Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act: Contracts for Qualifying Services and Contracts for Public Works. To assist contractors with filing the forms, the state also has issued Instructions. The Equal Pay Act went into effect on July 1,...… Continue Reading
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed the Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act into law on April 24, 2018. The Act will take effect on July 1, 2018. The new law contains sweeping changes to the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD), including a prohibition against discrimination with respect to compensation or financial terms of...… Continue Reading
