On March 15, 2023, in a case of first impression, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that paid time off is not part of an employee’s salary. Therefore, the employer did not compromise employees’ exempt status under the Fair Labor Standards Act when it reduced their accumulated PTO for failing to meet performance objectives.
On February 22, 2023, the Superior Court of New Jersey Appellate Division ruled that a hospital employee discharged for disciplinary reasons was not entitled to payment of accrued paid time off (PTO) because the hospital had an express policy that PTO would not be paid out after a disciplinary discharge.
On January 10, 2023, Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation, which will become effective on April 10, 2023, amending the Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act—more commonly known as New Jersey’s mini-WARN law, or NJWARN. Part one of this three-part blog series provided an overview of frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the amended (Amended NJWARN) versus the original (Original NJWARN) law. Part two covered the new notice and severance pay requirements and the release provisions of the amended law. Part three, analyzes Amended NJWARN’s expanded employer liability and penalty provisions and addresses questions about the transition from Original NJWARN to Amended NJWARN, and how the law applies to triggering events that straddle the new law’s effective date.
On January 10, 2023, Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation amending New Jersey’s mini-WARN law (NJWARN, officially named the Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act), and on April 10, 2023, these changes will become effective. Part one of this three-part blog series summarized the major differences between the original and amended law. Part two, answers employers’ frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the amended law’s new notice and severance pay requirements and the amended law’s release provisions.
On January 10, 2023, New Jersey’s governor Phil Murphy signed legislation that will make sweeping changes to New Jersey’s mini-WARN law (known officially as the Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act). These changes become effective on April 10, 2023. This three-part blog series will answer New Jersey employers’ frequently asked questions (FAQs) on these changes.
On February 6, 2023, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed a controversial bill known as the “Temporary Workers Bill of Rights” that seeks to equalize the compensation of temporary workers with that of regular employees, increase transparency requirements, and restrict placement fees paid to staffing agencies or firms.
Almost three years after signing into law legislation significantly amending the state’s mini-WARN Act (officially known as the “Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act”) (NJ WARN), Governor Phil Murphy signed Assembly Bill No. 4768 on January 10, 2023, permitting the far-reaching amendments to take effect.
New Jersey moved one step closer to implementing sweeping changes to the state’s mini-WARN Act (officially known as the “Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act”).
Several state and local minimum wage rates will increase in 2023, with a majority of the changes effective on January 1, 2023. The following chart lists state and certain major locality minimum wage increases for 2023—and future years, if available—along with the related changes in the maximum tip credit and minimum cash wage for tipped employees.
On January 21, 2020—what seems like a lifetime ago—Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation significantly amending the New Jersey mini-WARN Act (officially known as the “Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act”) (NJ WARN), but the effective date of the amendments were put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On September 9, 2022, the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJ-CRC) issued long-awaited interim guidance to employers regarding the use of a Workplace Impairment Recognition Expert (WIRE) to “detect[] and identify[] an employee’s usage of, or impairment from, a cannabis item or other intoxicating substance.” In addition, the NJ-CRC also released a template “Reasonable Suspicion Observed Behavior Report” form that employers may, but are not required to, use in connection with workplace drug testing.
Earlier this year, the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights (DCR) issued proposed regulations to allow employers to satisfy the state’s Law Against Discrimination (LAD) and Family Leave Act (NJFLA) poster requirements via an internet or intranet site rather than a conventional bulletin board in the workplace. The proposed regulations also imposed a new annual LAD and NJFLA notice distribution requirement. Those regulations became final on August 1, 2022.
In a decision that may be useful to employers drafting severance and litigation settlement agreements in New Jersey, a panel of the New Jersey Appellate Division found that provisions requiring parties not to disparage one another may be included in settlement agreements in employment-related cases.
Recognizing that workers are increasingly working from home or in places other than an employer’s worksite, the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights (DCR) issued proposed regulations on March 21, 2022, that would allow employers to satisfy the state’s Law Against Discrimination (LAD) and Family Leave Act (NJFLA) poster requirements via an internet or intranet site rather than a conventional bulletin board in the workplace.
On January 18, 2022, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law Assembly Bill No. 3950. Under the law, private employers in New Jersey must provide employees with written notice before using tracking devices on vehicles operated by employees.
In 2022, while the federal minimum wage will remain at $7.25 per hour for non-tipped employees and $2.13 per hour for tipped employees, several states’ minimum wage rates will increase. The chart below lists the state (and certain major locality) minimum wage rate increases for 2022—and future years if available—along with the related changes in the maximum tip credit and minimum cash wage for tipped employees.
The issue of the proper application of the highly compensated employee exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), as it applies to employees paid on a “day-rate” basis in the oil and gas industry, has been a hotly debated issue in recent years, especially in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
As we previously reported, on February 22, 2021, Governor Phil Murphy signed into law the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act (CREAMMA), which, among other things, legalized the recreational use of marijuana in New Jersey for adults age 21 and older. In addition, CREAMMA imposed on employers certain obligations with respect to marijuana and the workplace, including certain antidiscrimination and drug testing provisions.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation (A5820/S3866) and Executive Order (EO) No. 244 on June 4, 2021, ending the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (but not the overall state of emergency) first declared on March 9, 2020, in EO 103.
There is light at the end of the pandemic tunnel for New Jersey employers, as the state’s COVID-19 numbers continue to decline and Governor Philip Murphy continues to ease restrictions on businesses. But this good news comes with a dose of serious bad news for New Jersey employers too. The state previously adopted amendments to the New Jersey Act (officially known as the Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act), which require employers to provide 90 days’ notice before the first employee is discharged as part of a mass layoff, termination of operations, or transfer of operations.
States have been busy when it comes to marijuana laws. Before the mid-2010s, employers tended not to worry about state marijuana laws because of marijuana’s illegal status under federal law. However, those days are over, and state marijuana legalization laws continue to affect how employers can run their workplaces.
The New Jersey Division on Civil Rights (DCR) is the state agency responsible for enforcement of the New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA). The NJFLA provides eligible employees up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave during any 24-month period: (1) to bond with a child within 1 year of the child’s birth or placement for adoption or foster care; (2) to provide care to a family member or one who is the equivalent of a family member who has a serious health condition or has been isolated or quarantined because of suspected exposure to a communicable disease during a state of emergency; or (3) to provide care or treatment for a child if the child’s school or place of care is closed by order of a public official due to an epidemic of a communicable disease (such as COVID-19) or other public health emergency.
In November 2020, voters in five states (Arizona, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, and South Dakota) voted in favor of legalizing medical and/or recreational marijuana. Since then, there have been several developments within the marijuana legalization world that employers may want to keep an eye on as they move forward in 2021.
On February 22, 2021, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act (CREAMMA). Among other things, the 240-page measure legalizes the recreational use of marijuana for adults age 21 and older and—unfortunately for employers—places significant burdens on companies doing business in New Jersey with respect to marijuana and the workplace.
Over 1,500 COVID-19–related employment lawsuits were filed in the United States in 2020. Ogletree Deakins’ Interactive COVID-19 Litigation Tracker highlights the industries impacted, locations, and types of claims in these matters.
Several states’ minimum wage rates will increase in 2021. The following chart lists the state (and certain major locality) minimum wage increases for 2021—and future years, if available—along with the related changes in the maximum tip credit and minimum cash wage for tipped employees.
On November 3, 2020, five states had initiatives on the ballot to legalize the recreational and/or medical use of marijuana, and all five initiatives easily passed. Arizona, Montana, and New Jersey voted in favor of legalizing the possession and recreational use of marijuana for adults aged 21 years and older. In addition, South Dakota became the first state to legalize both medical and recreational marijuana at the same time. Mississippi voted to legalize medical marijuana. Employers may want to consider the impact of these new laws, as well as watch for new developments.
In an effort to combat the recent rising COVID-19 numbers in the New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy signed Executive Order (EO) No. 192 on October 28, 2020, mandating health and safety protocols for employers with employees, customers, or other visitors on-site. While many of these protocols have been required in certain industries under prior executive orders, all employers must now adhere to the protocols effective Thursday, November 5, 2020.
Elections in the United States are scheduled for Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Not only will the office of president of the United States be contested, but all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate are up for grabs. At the state level, elections will be held for the governorships of 11 U.S. states and 2 U.S. territories.
We previously reported on COVID-19–related employment lawsuits that we tracked from late March 2020 through early May 2020. Since then, the number of lawsuits has steadily risen as employers have resumed operations after shelter-in-place or stay-at-home orders were lifted and students returned to school in virtual or hybrid environments. To track this litigation and to identify trends, we developed an Interactive COVID-19 Litigation Tracker that details where COVID-19–related litigation is taking place by state, the industries affected, and the types of claims asserted against employers and educational institutions.
