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Saranne Weimer

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As the Garden State continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has signed Executive Order 125, expanding the industries subject to additional mitigation requirements.  This Executive Order includes similar requirements to those set forth in Executive Order 122, discussed here, but applies these requirements to the Restaurant and Transportation Industries.

Bars and dining establishments are already subject to restrictions limiting their services to delivery and takeout.  Under Executive Order 125, they must also adopt policies that, at a minimum:
Continue Reading New Jersey implements additional mitigation requirements for restaurants and transit providers

On April 14, 2020, Governor Murphy signed bill S2374 into law, marking the second time since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak that the New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA) has been amended. Our blog post about the prior change is available here. The NJFLA, which covers all employers in the state with 30…

On April 14, 2020, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed S-2353, which amends the New Jersey Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act (New Jersey’s mini-WARN statute) in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As we previously reported here, New Jersey amended its mini-WARN statute in January 2020. Among the January amendments was the requirement that employers who conduct a covered “mass layoff” pay affected employees severance equivalent to one week’s pay for each year of employment. The January 2020 amendment was set to go into effect on July 19, 2020. Yesterday’s amendments resulting from S-2353 provide employers with some much-needed relief from these requirements.
Continue Reading New Jersey amends mini-Warn Act amid COVID-19 pandemic, providing some relief to employers

As the Garden State continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Murphy signed Executive Order 122 on April 8, 2020, imposing additional restrictions on businesses permitted to continue operating.  The Order takes effect at 8 p.m. on April 10, 2020 and expands on Governor Murphy’s earlier Stay at Home Order requiring the closure of non-essential retail businesses.  The Order imposes requirements on the operations of essential businesses, requires all employers to adopt policies pertaining to potential exposures in the workplace, and requires that owners of buildings where essential businesses operate implement cleaning protocols.
Continue Reading Governor Murphy issues Executive Order further limiting business operations in New Jersey

In an effort to delay litigation deadlines, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has stopped issuing Right-to-Sue Letters amid the COVID-19 pandemic, unless specifically requested by an employee.  Although the EEOC has not publicly announced its new policy, it has confirmed this practice to several news outlets.

The EEOC is the federal agency responsible for enforcing federal anti-discrimination laws.  Workers who claim they have been subject to unlawful discrimination and wish to bring a claim under these federal laws must first file a charge with the Agency.  The EEOC can resolve the charge in a number of ways.  If the agency declines to bring a lawsuit itself, it issues the individual a “Notice of Right to Sue” (commonly called a “Right-to-Sue Letter”) allowing the employee to file the claim in court.  The EEOC’s issuance of a Right-to-Sue Letter starts a 90-day filing deadline for the employee to bring the lawsuit.  The EEOC’s new practice will keep this 90-day clock from starting.Continue Reading EEOC stops issuing right-to-sue letters in response to COVID-19, delaying litigation deadlines

On Wednesday, March 25, 2020, New Jersey Governor Murphy signed S2304, which amends the New Jersey Earned Sick Leave Law, the New Jersey Family Leave Act, and the New Jersey Temporary Disability Law. The changes are aimed at making job-protected leave and paid benefits available to more employees amid the current COVID-19 epidemic.

By way of background, in certain circumstances: the New Jersey Earned Sick Leave law requires employers to provide paid sick leave benefits; the New Jersey Family Leave Act requires certain employers to provide job-protected leaves of absence to eligible employees, including to care for a family member with a serious medical condition; and the Temporary Disability Law provides paid benefits to employees, including for their own non-work-related disabling condition or to care for a family member.
Continue Reading New Jersey amends family leave and benefits laws amid coronavirus concerns

The start of 2020 has already proven to be a busy year for employers in New Jersey. In addition to becoming the first state in the nation to mandate severance payments for mass layoffs, New Jersey has enacted some sweeping changes to its independent contractor laws.

Governor Phil Murphy recently signed five bills aimed at addressing misclassification of workers. These bills impose new requirements on companies, expand the scope of liability, and give the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development significant new authority.Continue Reading New Jersey enacts major changes on the independent contractor front

Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation yesterday, January 21, 2020, amending New Jersey’s mini-WARN law, the Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act (the “Act”). Most notable among the changes is the requirement that companies with 100 or more employees (now including part-time workers) pay severance to employees impacted by a mass layoff. A “mass layoff” is considered any plant closing or transfer resulting in 50 or more employees losing their jobs.

Pursuant to the Act, impacted employees must receive at least one week of pay for every year of service as a severance payment. When calculating the amount of severance pay, the rate of pay must be the greater of the employee’s average rate of compensation during the last three years or the employee’s final rate of pay. If the employee is entitled to a greater amount of severance under any contract, policy, or collective bargaining agreement, the employee must receive the greater amount. The Act classifies the severance payments as “compensation due to an employee” that has been “earned in full,” so that employees who do not receive the required severance have a priority claim if the employer files for bankruptcy.Continue Reading New Jersey law requires severance pay in mass layoffs

For employers in the Garden State, 2019 brought a barrage of legal changes and new requirements. As 2019 comes to a close, we recap some of the most significant changes to the employment landscape in New Jersey.

Minimum wage

In July 2019, the New Jersey minimum wage increased to $10 per hour. This number will increase again effective January 1, 2020 to $11 per hour, with few exceptions. This number will continue to increase every January 1 through 2024 when the minimum wage will hit $15 per hour.Continue Reading Year in review: 2019 employment law changes in New Jersey

A part of the hiring process for many employers involves asking applicants about their prior salary and compensation information. Employers might use this information in deciding whether to make an offer to a particular candidate and the amount of compensation to offer the potential employee. However, beginning January 1, 2020, employers in New Jersey will no longer be permitted to request this information.

The new law prohibits New Jersey employers from inquiring into an employee’s salary history before making an offer; using salary history to “screen” an applicant; or requiring an applicant’s salary history to meet any minimum or maximum criteria. Employers also cannot use an applicant’s refusal to volunteer compensation information as a factor in any employment decision. There are certain exemptions, including internal applicants and disclosures required by federal law.Continue Reading New Jersey prohibits employers from asking about salary history