In the November 2013 and January 2014 issues of the New Jersey eAuthority, we reported on the Senate and Assembly’s passage of a bill (S2995) expanding employment protections for pregnant women. On January 21, 2014, Governor Chris Christie signed this bill into law. The amendment is effective immediately and expands employment protections for pregnant women by (1) amending the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination to add pregnancy (including childbirth recovery) to the list of protected classifications, (2) prohibiting less favorable treatment of women based upon pregnancy, and (3) requiring employers to make reasonable accommodations for an employee’s pregnancy-related needs when requested by the employee upon advice of her doctor (such as bathroom breaks, periodic rest, job restructuring, assistance with manual labor, etc., but not mandating additional leave). New Jersey employers should review their reasonable accommodation policies to determine whether revisions are necessary to comply with this new amendment, and should ensure that human resources and other management personnel are trained on these new requirements.
Recommended Reading
PAGA Representative Claims Remain Alive After SCOTUS Denies Iskanian Review
This morning, the Supreme Court of the United States declined review of a state supreme court case that has sparked widespread flux in the landscape of class action arbitration waivers in California. In Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC, S204032 (June 23, 2014), the Supreme Court of California had…..
California Court Delivers Trucking Company a Meal/Rest Break Win and Limits the Application of the ABC Test
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California recently ruled in an employment class action regarding misclassification of trucking industry owner-operators as independent contractors. The ruling is a win for numerous industries.
Does the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 Apply? The Implications of Employees Relocating to Work Remotely in Another Jurisdiction
Millions of Canadian employees have been forced to work from home as a result of measures designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Many of these employees continue to perform the same jobs they had before the pandemic started, just from different locations. However, the location where an employee preforms work often factors into which provincial employment standards legislation applies to the employment relationship.