On November 19, 2012, a bill (A3444) was introduced in response to reports in the New Jersey Star Ledger that a bank purportedly provided unequal levels of health coverage to its male and female employees. The bill attempts...more
On December 3, 2012, the Assembly passed a bill (A1874) that would amend New Jersey’s Unemployment Compensation Law regarding disqualification from unemployment insurance (UI) benefits for misconduct by claimants. The bill...more
In Gargano v. Wyndham Skyline Tower Resorts, a manager of a cleaning services company assigned to a Wyndham casino sued Wyndham for negligent hiring after she was sexually assaulted by a Wyndham employee. 2012 WL 5388949...more
In Queen v. City of Bridgeton, the Appellate Division held that an employer with no legal duty to provide paid leave does not violate the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD) for denying an employee’s request for the...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)....more
In late September, two bills (S2212 and A3309) were introduced which would provide that if a claimant appeals an unemployment determination and no decision is made within 60 days, he or she would be paid any benefits withheld...more
On September 24, 2012, the “Healthy Workplace Act” (A3249) was re-introduced, seeking once again to make workplace bullying, abuse, and harassment unlawful. The law would dramatically increase employers’ potential liability...more
Similar bills pending before the Assembly (A2919) and Senate (S2177), each entitled the “New Jersey Security and Financial Employment Act” or the “NJ SAFE Act,” would require employers with 25 or more employees to provide 20...more
In Robbins v. U.S. Foodservice, Inc., 2012 WL 3781258 (D.N.J., August 30, 2012), a union employee’s discrimination (NJLAD) and leave law (FMLA and NJFLA) claims were dismissed because her union previously had grieved her...more
Effective November 18, 2012, employers that have five or more employees, and do business or take applications for employment within the City of Newark, are generally prohibited from conducting criminal history inquiries on...more
On September 27, 2012, a bill (A3310) was introduced that seeks to place onerous requirements on employers that engage independent contractors (for $600 or more), and that would impose significant damages and penalties for...more
In Farrell v. Toys R’ Us, 2012 WL 4069515 (App. Div., September 18, 2102), an assistant store manager claimed that he was subjected to an age-based hostile work environment in violation of the NJLAD because his supervisor...more
On September 21, 2012, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed into law a bill that will require New Jersey employers with 50 or more employees to post and distribute to employees a notice of their right to be free from...more
In Zavala v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 2012 WL 3217522 (3d Cir. August 9, 2012), the Third Circuit Court of Appeals clarified the standard for final certification of a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA),...more
In Mann v. Staples, Inc., 2012 WL 3101310 (App. Div. August 1, 2012), a case argued by an attorney in Ogletree Deakins’ New York office, the New Jersey Appellate Division dismissed a female employee’s NJLAD discrimination...more
On May 31, 2012, the New Jersey Senate unanimously passed a bill (S1121) aimed at assessing a higher unemployment insurance rate on employers with markedly lower Employer Reserve Ratios (i.e., those employers with more former...more
Two pending parallel bills (A1578 and S1450) seek to impose severe penalties on certain employers in the trucking industry that misclassify their trucking services employees as independent contractors. If signed into law, the...more
As previously reported in the Summer 2011 issue of the New Jersey eAuthority, in August of last year Governor Chris Christie signed into law amendments to N.J.S.A. 34:8-67 et seq., New Jersey’s law relating to employee...more
In St. Cyr v. Brandywine Senior Living, Inc., 20 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 85426 (D.N.J. June 20, 2012), the court denied summary judgment in an FMLA interference and retaliation suit in which an employee was terminated a mere two...more
In Van Dunk v. Reckson Assoc. Realty Corp., 2012 N.J. LEXIS 678 (N.J. June 26, 2012), the New Jersey Supreme Court considered whether an employee’s personal injury suit against his employer following a trench collapse, for...more
On June 5, 2012, the Senate introduced a bill (SCR117) that would amend the New Jersey State Constitution to set the minimum wage at $8.50 per hour with annual adjustments for inflation. ...more
On June 25, 2012, the Assembly approved an amended bill (A2878) that would, among other things, prohibit employers from requiring current or prospective employees to disclose their user names or passwords for their personal...more
In Cornacchiulo v. Alternate Investment Solutions, Inc., 2012 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 1415 (App. Div. June 19, 2012), the New Jersey Appellate Division dismissed an employee’s NJLAD discrimination suit because, having first...more
In late June 2012, three significant employment bills (A2647, A2648, and A2650) reached Governor Chris Christie’s desk, having cleared both houses. Whether the governor will sign or veto the bills is unknown. Although...more
In Skidmore v. Virtua Health Inc., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86181 (D.N.J. June 21, 2012), a nurse with attendance issues related to her alcoholism and anxiety was terminated by her employer after she failed to report to work on...more