New Jersey Governor Signs New Minimum Wage Law
One of Governor Murphy’s key electoral platforms during his gubernatorial campaign was his goal to increase New Jersey’s minimum wage. That electoral promise became a reality just a few short weeks ago. On February 4, 2019, Governor Murphy officially signed into law the New Jersey Minimum Wage Bill. The law will ultimately increase the minimum […]
NJ Department of Labor Issues Proposed Regulations on Earned Sick Leave
In advance of the October 29, 2018 effective date for the New Jersey Paid Sick Leave Law (“Law”), which requires every employer to provide earned sick leave to each employee working in New Jersey, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development filed proposed rules to implement the Law. The proposed rules expand upon […]
To Extend (or Not Extend) an ADA Leave of Absence: That is the Question
One of the more difficult questions that perplex employers is: When can a leave of absence that has been granted as a form of disability accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) be ended when there are no prospects that the employee will be returning to work in the near future? I get this […]
Tattoos at Work: What’s an Employer to Do?
For many rock and roll fans, the Rolling Stones are considered the greatest band in music history. I was recently listening to the Stone’s iconic album, “Tattoo You”, and it made me think about a legal question that I often get from employers. At this point, you might be wondering how can that be, but […]
One Toke Over the Legal Line Can Result in Employee Firing
Ever since New Jersey’s Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act was passed in 2010, one of the issues that employers have wondered about is whether an employee who used medical marijuana could be terminated for violating an employer’s drug and alcohol testing policy. That question has been the subject of many court decisions throughout the country […]
Harassment: To Report or Not to Report? That is the Question!
“The answer is not that simple,” suggested the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in a recent case in which a former employee for the Susquehanna Department of Veterans Affairs who did not follow the employer’s policy sued her employer, claiming her supervisor kissed her and made sexual advances toward her (Minarsky v. Susquehanna County, 895 […]
Silence is Golden: Someone (Maybe Even Your Own Employees) Might be Taping You
As anyone who has read my blog articles know, I get a lot of questions from clients as part of the counseling work that I do, and frequently, I find that clients have the same sorts of questions on a particular topic. One such question that I get often is whether an employee can surreptitiously […]
Employers Need to Consider NJ Pay Equity Law When Evaluating Employee Pay Practices
Background The Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act, one of the most pro-employee equal pay laws in in the nation, took effect on July 1, 2018. The law expands the already broad and expansive New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“NJLAD”) by strengthening protections against employment discrimination and pay inequity. Though many think the law only […]
What Summer HR Projects Do You Have Planned?
Now that the warm weather is upon us and things are “slowing down” due to vacations, it’s a good time to sit back with a cool drink and carefully evaluate whether our HR practices are “up to snuff.” If the answer to any of the following questions is “no,” your company may be risking costly […]
Ooooh That Smell, The Smell that Surrounds (Your Employees?)
For fans of the rock band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, forgive my modification of the lyrics to one of the band’s most iconic songs, but it perfectly captures a moment I experienced recently fielding one of the more interesting counseling questions that I received from a client this year. The client wanted to know whether it could […]
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