Stengart v. Loving Care Agency, Inc., No. BER-L-858-08 (Law Div., November 4, 2010) – A Law Division judge has ruled that aiding and abetting liability under the NJLAD may extend to a corporate holding company where the alleged harassers are members of its Board of Directors. The plaintiff, a former Director of Nursing, alleged hostile environment harassment based upon gender, religion and national origin, as well as constructive discharge. Her complaint included allegations of aiding and abetting against LCA Holding, Inc., the holding company that acquired the employer’s assets. The court recited the test to establish aiding and abetting liability; that is, the plaintiff must show that (1) the party whom the defendant aids performed a wrongful act that caused injury; (2) the defendant was generally aware of its role as part of an overall tortious activity at the time that it provides the assistance; and (3) the defendant must have knowingly and substantially assisted the principal violation. The court then noted that LCA falls within the definition of a “person” under the NJLAD’s aiding and abetting provision and concluded that LCA could be liable as an aider and abettor to the plaintiff’s harassers. “As [the harassers] were members of the LCA Board of Directors, and as LCA acted through its Board, the same jury that finds [the harassers] liable for aiding and abetting can rationally conclude that LCA is also liable for aiding and abetting.”
Recommended Reading
Revised Emergency Regulations Regarding Mandatory Overtime for Nurses Extended to April 25, 2011
On February 25, 2011, the New York Department of Labor extended the revised emergency regulations regarding mandatory overtime for nurses to April 25, 2011 (the regulations were originally adopted on October 13, 2009 and subsequently extended on February 3, 2010, April 28, 2010 and July 9, 2010; the revised emergency regulations were issued on October 6, 2010 and subsequently extended on January 4, 2011).
USCIS Policy Memo Targets H-1B Petitions Involving Off-Site Employment
Through its latest policy memorandum, issued on February 22, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has formalized additional requirements for H-1B petitions involving off-site employment. While USCIS states that its requirements for employers to provide detailed contracts and itineraries as described in the policy memo are intended to combat fraud and abuse due to an increased rate of H-1B program violations with off-site employees, the primary effect of the memo seems to be a more onerous process for filing such H-1B petitions.
EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement Provides a Grace Period for Free Flow of Personal Data
After the political and constitutional upheaval of the last four years that has been Brexit, a trade deal—the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement—was finally reached between the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU) on December 24, 2020, just days before the deadline when the UK was set to crash out of all EU treaties.