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As previously reported, New Jersey’s version of the “ban the box” law, entitled “Opportunity to Compete Act” (the Act), goes into effect March 1, 2015. The Act limits covered employers’ ability to inquire into a job applicant’s criminal record.

In less than a week, public and private employers that have 15 or more employees hired

Last month, New Jersey became the ninth state to adopt formal protections for pregnancy by amending its Law Against Discrimination (the "LAD") to specifically include "pregnancy" as a protected category, to require reasonable accommodation for an "employee who is a woman affected by pregnancy," and to prohibit retaliation against an employee who requests or receives

May 28th marks the anniversary of the effective date for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the first bill signed into law by President Obama.  The Act sparked renewed focus on improving wage-equality for the American workforce and continues to be an important  goal for administrative agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. 

On Monday, August 20, a federal judge in Philadelphia upheld the Department of Labor ("DOL") rule setting minimum wage requirements for foreign workers holding H-2B visas. The proposed rule has drawn much attention, and criticism, because it potentially will cost $874,000,000 or more per year in increased labor costs for employers with H-2B visa holders.

This post was also written by Amy Greer and Carl Krasik.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”) was enacted July 21, 2010. Among other things, it added new Section 21F to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”). This Section establishes a whistleblower program that directs the SEC (the “Agency”)

As stated in our previous blog posting, President Barack Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank” or the “Act”) into law on July 21, 2010, with the objective of ushering in a new era of financial regulation and transparency. The Act’s range encompasses not only the usual group of

This post was also written by Robert M. Jaworski.

The United States Department of Labor (“DOL”), Wage and Hour Division, recently published an Administrator’s Interpretation that takes the position that mortgage loan officers with certain “typical” job duties are not subject to the administrative employee exemption of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The DOL

Lessons for Employers in a Social Media World

Recently, in Stengart v. Loving Care Agency, the New Jersey Supreme Court held that an employee had a reasonable expectation of privacy in her Internet-based emails to her lawyer, despite the fact that she sent such emails from a company-owned laptop and was on notice of the employer’s written policy that emails may not be considered “private or personal.” The opinion is significant not only in recognizing a privacy interest for employees’ communications to their attorneys using company-owned-and-monitored networks, but also in providing important guidelines for employers drafting or updating their policies on use of email and the Internet. In addition, Stengart issues a warning to both in-house and outside counsel involved in the forensic review of employees’ computer-based data and communications.Continue Reading New Jersey High Court Limits Employer’s Right To Review Employee Emails

Responding in part to a 2007 study which found that New York employees were largely unfamiliar with State laws regulating an employer’s use of past convictions for employment-related decisions and in support of the State’s goal to prevent discrimination on the basis of criminal records, the New York Legislature recently amended the State’s general business and labor laws to require employers to disseminate and post notice to job applicants and employees of their rights with respect to, and an employer’s limitations on the use of, information on criminal convictions. The posting and notice requirements take effect on February 1, 2009.

Background

Section 296 of the New York Executive Law makes it unlawful for an employer to deny employment to an individual based upon his or her having been convicted previously of a crime, or by reason of a finding of lack of “good moral character” due to his or her prior conviction of a criminal offense, when such a denial is a violation of New York’s Correction Law Article 23-A (Licensure and Employment of Persons Previously Convicted of One or More Criminal Offenses). N.Y. Executive Law § 296.

Under Article 23-A, employers of 10 or more employees are expressly proscribed from making adverse hiring or termination decisions based upon an individual’s conviction record unless: (1) there is a direct relationship between the prior criminal offense(s) and the specific employment position sought or held by the individual; or (2) hiring or continuing to employ the individual would involve an unreasonable risk to property or the safety or welfare of specific individuals or the general public. Before determining that an individual’s criminal conviction record bars employment or continued employment, Article 23-A requires that those employers carefully consider each of the following factors:

  • New York’s public policy encouraging the employment of previous convicts;
  • The specific duties and responsibilities of the employment position sought or held by the individual;
  • The bearing, if any, the criminal offense(s) for which the person was previously convicted will have on that individual’s fitness or ability to perform one or more job duties or responsibilities;
  • The time that has elapsed since the occurrence of the criminal offense(s);
  • The age of the applicant or employee at the time of the conviction;
  • The seriousness of the offense(s);
  • Any information produced by the person or on his or her behalf, regarding rehabilitation and good conduct; and
  • The employer’s legitimate interest in protecting its property as well as the safety and welfare of its employees and clients as well as the general public.

Notably, an employer must also give consideration to any certificate of relief from disabilities or certificate of good conduct issued to an individual, which certificate, by law, creates a rebuttable presumption of rehabilitation regarding the offenses to which it relates.

N.Y. Correction Law § 750, et seq.Continue Reading New Legislation Modifying New York Law Governing Use of Criminal Background Checks in Employment Taking Effect; Posting Date February 1, 2009