On August 19, 2021, the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (the “Commission”) published its long-awaited first set of Personal Use Cannabis Rules (the “Initial Rules”) regarding recreational cannabis use for adults age...more
As the Delta variant of COVID-19 rapidly spreads across the country and offices continue to reopen with the close of summer, questions around mandatory vaccination policies are on the rise. On the heels of federal and local...more
8/19/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
GINA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Title VII ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On August 16, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio executed Emergency Executive Order 225 (“EO 225”) effectuating the recently announced “Key to NYC” vaccination requirement for indoor entertainment, recreation, dining, and fitness...more
8/17/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Documentation ,
Executive Orders ,
Masks ,
New York ,
Religious Beliefs ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Vaccinations ,
Vaccine Passports
On July 8, 2021, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed three (3) bills into law aimed at further penalizing employers for misclassifying employees as independent contractors. New Jersey employers that engage in employee...more
As we recently blogged, New York recently enacted the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (“HERO Act”), which imposes new health and safety standards and obligations on employers throughout the State. On June 11, 2021,...more
New York continues to move forward rapidly into a post-COVID world. First, on June 11, 2021, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation to amend the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (“HERO Act”) to clarify certain...more
On May 28, 2021, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued updated guidance regarding workplace COVID-19 vaccination policies and employee accommodations (the “Updated Guidance”). Among other issues, the...more
6/4/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
GINA ,
Guidance Update ,
Incentives ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety ,
Wrongful Termination
On May 24, 2021 and May 26, 2021, respectively, New Jersey Governor Murphy signed two Executive Orders (“EOs”), which will hopefully pave the way towards the reopening of New Jersey and a return to “normalcy.” New Jersey...more
New York has passed the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (“NY HERO Act”), which is set to go into effect on June 4, 2021. The NY HERO Act strives to protect workers from airborne diseases, whether they be COVID-19 or...more
5/19/2021
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Fines ,
Health and Essential Rights (HERO) Act ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
NYDOL ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Safety Programs ,
Sanitation ,
Workplace Safety
Yet again, the New York State Department of Health updated its COVID-19 Travel Advisory (the “Advisory”) for domestic and international travel on April 10, 2021. As we recently reported, as of April 1, 2021, New York State...more
As part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”), Congress enacted a temporary Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (“COBRA”) subsidy for certain individuals for coverage periods from April 1, 2021...more
On March 31, 2021, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the Cannabis/Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (the “Act”), which legalizes recreational cannabis use for adults aged 21 and over. The Act provides the framework for the...more
4/5/2021
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Discrimination ,
Drug Testing ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Marijuana ,
Off-Duty Employees ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Popular ,
Recreational Use ,
Safe Harbors ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
In a decision rendered March 25, 2021, United States District Court Judge Anne E. Thompson barred the State of New Jersey from enforcing a recently enacted statutory provision that precluded employers from requiring workers...more
On February 22, 2021, Governor Phil Murphy signed the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act (“NJCREAMMA”), which legalizes the recreational use of cannabis for adults age 21...more
3/2/2021
/ Adverse Action ,
Cannabis Products ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Contractors ,
Governor Murphy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Off-Duty Employees ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Private Right of Action ,
Protected Class ,
Recreational Use ,
Workplace Safety
After more than ten (10) months since going into effect, on January 20, 2021, the New York Department of Labor (“NYDOL”) issued new guidance (the “Guidance”) regarding the New York COVID-19 Sick Leave Law (the “Law”). As we...more
On the evening of December 21, 2020, the House and Senate approved a $900 billion stimulus package included as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (the “Act”). The President signed the Act into law on...more
Last week, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued guidance clarifying that, in certain circumstances, employers will have the ability to require that employees receive the COVID-19 vaccine (the...more
12/22/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Required Documentation ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On October 28, 2020, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy issued Executive Order Number 192, which mandates that every employer that “requires or permits its workforce, whether in part or as a whole, to be physically present at a...more
After almost one month since going into effect, New York State has issued the first round of guidance on the New York State Paid Sick Leave Law (“NYSSL”) on October 20, 2020. As we recently reported, the NYSSL requires all...more
New York State Paid Sick Leave Law-
As we previously reported, New York State passed the New York State Sick Leave Law (“NYSSL”), which went into effect on September 30, 2020. While some New York localities, such as New...more
We have posted repeatedly about the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”), which was enacted on April 1, 2020 to provide certain employees with leave and benefits necessitated by COVID-19. Effective September 16,...more
As we have recently posted on numerous occasions, the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) requires most employers with fewer than 500 workers to provide paid time off for specified reasons related to...more
9/4/2020
/ Child Care ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EFMLA ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Paid Leave ,
Sick Leave ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Wage and Hour
On August 3, 2020, the Southern District of New York (Judge J. Paul Oetken) issued a decision vacating four (4) parts of the FFCRA but upholding the rest. This decision came out of a lawsuit filed by the State of New York in...more
On June 15, 2020, in a 6-3 decision, the United States Supreme Court made clear that employers may not discriminate against employees on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Specifically, the Court held that...more
6/17/2020
/ Altitude Express Inc v Zarda ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
On Thursday May 7, 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) updated and clarified its previous guidance as to how employers should treat employees with underlying medical conditions amidst the COVID...more