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Law Against Discrimination Amended To Prevent Confidentiality Provisions
On March 18, 2019, Governor Phil Murphy signed a bill amending New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination. The amendment, which took effect immediately, provides that non–disclosure provisions that seek to conceal details relating to a claim of discrimination, retaliation, or harassment are void against public policy. This amendment applies to any…
Read More >U.S. Department of Labor Announces Proposed Rule Change That Could Create New Class of Employees Eligible For Overtime Pay
On March 7, 2019, The U.S. Department of Labor announced its much awaited rule proposal regarding the eligibility of workers for overtime (https://www.dol.gov/whd/overtime2019/). The rule, if adopted, would increase the salary for exempt employees from $455 per week ($23,660 annually) to $679 per week ($35,308 annually). This rule would thus…
Read More >New Jersey Expands Paid Family Leave
On February 19, 2019, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law a sweeping expansion of the State’s paid family leave program. The law takes effect immediately, although many of the increases to benefits will not commence until July 2020. The changes to New Jersey’s paid family leave program include…
Read More >New Legislation Affecting Voluntary Payments In New Jersey Workers Compensation Claims
Over the past several years, various attempts have been made to amend the New Jersey Workers Compensation Act in regards to voluntary payments. The New Jersey Workers Compensation Act contained a provision, Section 64, which allowed an employer or workers compensation insurance carrier to extend a payment known as a…
Read More >The Legal Landscape of Cannabis
The Maine Supreme Court, in a 5-2 decision, recently held the Maine Workers Compensation Board’s Order directing an employer to reimburse an injured worker for expenses associated with obtaining medical marijuana was in violation of Federal law, namely the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). In Bourgoin v. Twin Rivers Paper Co.,…
Read More >Facts About The Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act
On April 24, 2018 Governor Phil Murphy signed the Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act (the “Act”) which is an amendment to the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (the “LAD”). The Act now requires pay equality, including benefits, across all protected categories under the LAD. To assist your workplace in…
Read More >U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Use Of Compulsory Arbitration Provisions And Class Action Waivers In Employment Agreements
On May 21, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its opinion in the closely followed case of Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis. With a 5-4 majority, the Court ruled that employers can enforce agreements with employees that require employment disputes to be resolved by way of individualized…
Read More >New Jersey Enacts Law Requiring Employers To Provide Earned Sick Leave
On Wednesday, May 2, 2018, Governor Phil Murphy signed a bill into law that requires employers to provide earned sick leave to employees working in New Jersey. The new law, which goes into effect on October 29, 2018, states that employees shall accrue one hour of earned sick leave for…
Read More >Addressing Harassment In the Workplace: Employers Need To Act Now
Matt Lauer. Charlie Rose. Kevin Spacey. For the past several months, it seems like there is a new high-profile sexual harassment report in the news every day. While most employers do not employ public figures of the stature of the aforementioned individuals, it does not mean the need for effective…
Read More >Understanding Personal Risks and the Idiopathic Defense
First, practitioners must understand it is the employer’s burden of proof to demonstrate a medical condition is idiopathic in nature. Idiopathic injuries are those medical conditions that arise spontaneously or stem from a trait personal to the injured employee. The difficulty in demonstrating an injury is idiopathic in nature, stems…
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