In Harriel v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., No. 11-2510 (MLC), 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97527, (D.N.J. July 13, 2012), the District Court of New Jersey denied the plaintiff’s motion for conditional certification as an FLSA collective action because the plaintiff failed to meet his burden of demonstrating that he and other members of the putative class of overnight assistant managers were similarly situated. The existence of a uniform job description for the position, paired with superficial allegations that the plaintiff was required to perform many non-exempt duties, were insufficient to meet the similarly situated requirement, because the plaintiff failed to present any evidence that other assistant managers were likewise required to primarily perform non-exempt duties.
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New Jersey Moves Closer to Paid Family Leave
After years of debate, paid family leave in New Jersey is coming closer to reality despite fierce opposition from Republicans and the business community. Under the Senate’s current schedule, the bill could be considered in May or June. New Jersey would become the third state in the country (joining California and Washington) to give employees the right to paid leave to care for a sick relative or a newborn, and Governor Corzine has said that he will sign the bill into law.
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A federal appellate court recently dismissed a lawsuit brought by an African-American manager who claimed that his discharge was racially motivated because he dated (and subsequently married) a white hourly employee. According to the court, the worker failed to establish a prima facie case of race discrimination, and even if he could, there was no evidence that the company’s explanation for his discharge was a pretext for unlawful bias.
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