Employment Law

In Davis v. Benihana, Inc., the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey dismissed the plaintiff-employee’s claims for retaliation under the New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA) and New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD) finding that such claims were completely preempted under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) as they were “arguably subject” to Section 7 and Section 8 of the NLRA. As a result, the court held that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) had “exclusive jurisdiction” over such claims and dismissed the plaintiff’s complaint. The Davis case confirms that claims under state law alleging that the plaintiff suffered an adverse employment action for discussing their wages with a coworker are preempted by the NLRA and must be brought before the NLRB.