Kathleen M. Connelly, a member of Lindabury’s Employment Law practice group, was recently interviewed by ROI-NJ regarding the Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act, which was signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy on July 2nd. New Jersey joins a growing list of states enforcing workplace protections for medical…
In February of 2019 Governor Murphy signed into law sweeping legislation that significantly expands employee rights to family leave entitlements, provides greater family leave insurance benefits to employees during a leave, expands the definition of “family members,” and finally, provides greater job security to individuals taking family leave. It is…
When hiring, many employers do not give proper consideration to whether newly hired employees should be classified as “exempt” employees who by law are not entitled to overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 hours in any workweek, or “nonexempt” employees who are entitled to overtime pay. A…
As yet another consequence of the #metoo movement, the New Jersey Legislature has passed legislation aimed at prohibiting employers from including certain waiver provisions and non-disclosure clauses routinely found in employment agreements. Senate Bill No. 121 (“the Bill”) , which is expected to be signed by signed by the Governor,…
On November 26, 2018 a Joint Committee of New Jersey lawmakers advanced a bill that would legalize recreational marijuana use in the state. Although the bill had widespread support, including from Gov. Murphy, disagreements among Senate Democrats over the percentage of state taxes on marijuana stymied the vote on the…
The Third Circuit has long held that the provisions of Title VII only protect “employees” and not independent contractors from unlawful discrimination in the workplace. On the state side, New Jersey courts have similarly found that the employment discrimination provisions of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) extend only…
The Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C.A. §1 et seq., and the New Jersey Arbitration Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:23B-1 et seq., reflect the federal and state public policies favoring arbitration as a means for resolving disputes. Since these legislative initiatives, New Jersey courts have routinely enforced agreements to arbitrate employment disputes. Nevertheless,…
Originally published in the November 21, 2018 issue of ROI-NJ. According to statistics, women in New Jersey are paid 82 cents for every dollar paid to men. Until recently, New Jersey’s pay equity protections mirrored those of the Federal Equal Pay Act of 1963, mandating equal pay for men and…
How many of us remember the iconic holiday party in the movie “Scrooged?” As Bill Murray is passing out mail, the staff is drinking more than they should, employees are groping each other, and how can anyone forget the employee who is copying their bottom while sitting on the Xerox…
Originally published in the October 2018 issue of HR News. Combatting cyber-threats and protecting data is not only the job of an IT department. Human resource professionals play a critical role in safeguarding personally identifiable information as well. Indeed, if there is one area in every company that has in its…