As the new year is upon us, we remind New Jersey employers with 10 or more employees of their obligation to annually distribute to their New Jersey employees, via written or electronic means, the required notice under the Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA) in both English and Spanish. The notice must be completed with the appropriate contact information prior to distribution to employees and posting in the workplace.
Recommended Reading
Pattern and Practice Cases: EEOC Renews Focus on Systemic Discrimination
With an increased budget and additional investigative resources, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced its renewed focus on combating systemic discrimination and its intent to pursue a greater number of large-scale enforcement actions through FY 2012 where it seeks relief for numerous applicants or employees.
New H-2B Regulations Proposed (Again)
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced the publication of a proposed rule that will once again revise and seek to improve the H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker program. The H-2B nonimmigrant program permits U.S. employers to hire temporary foreign workers to perform nonagricultural labor/services to meet short-term seasonal or intermittent needs. U.S. employers must demonstrate the unavailability of U.S. workers and show that employment of H-2B workers will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly situated U.S. workers.
Paid Jury Duty Leave Proposed Once Again
On February 21, 2012, a bill (A2554) was introduced that seeks to require employers to pay their employees for their period of service on jury duty. While current state law prohibits an employer from penalizing employees who miss work because of jury duty, this bill would require employers to pay their employees’ usual compensation for each day the employees are present for jury service, less the amount per diem fee for each day of jury service. This bill was previously introduced in 2010, but failed to advance.