In January, then-Governor Phil Murphy signed a law creating a reinstatement right that never existed before. For employers of any size. It takes effect July 17, and even employers confident they’ve got employee-leave compliance handled could be blindsided.
A federal appeals court ruled in 2024 that New Jersey job applicants had no legal recourse when employers rejected them over a positive recreational cannabis test. The New Jersey Appellate Division just disagreed.
A pharmaceutical company’s compliance officer claimed she spent years flagging what she believed were Anti-Kickback Statute violations. What followed, according to her complaint: bogus HR investigations, a forced apology, a retaliatory performance review, a final warning memo, interference with her medical leave while she was undergoing cancer treatment, and ultimately termination. The employer moved to dismiss on statute of limitations grounds. The New Jersey Appellate Division just reversed.
Fail any one of the three prongs of New Jersey’s ABC test, and the worker is your employee. The Department of Labor adopted new independent contractor rules on May 5, making that standard official in binding regulation, and employers have until October 1 to get their contractor relationships in order.
The Third Circuit just predicted that New Jersey’s “reverse discrimination” rule is incompatible with the NJLAD. Federal courts in New Jersey are no longer applying it.
He worked as a building superintendent for three and a half years. His employer conceded he did the work. He was never paid wages after his first two weeks. The New Jersey Supreme Court just explained why that arrangement is going to cost the employer. Continue reading
The job requirements were… a lot: craft-beer exams, choreography, flair tricks, social media posts, and a “weight proportional to height” standard. Oh, and a mechanical bull. Eighteen longtime bartenders said the whole thing skewed younger. The court said their lawsuit had a more basic problem. Continue reading
Under basic contract law, yes. But thanks to the Ending Forced Arbitration Act, that may not be the end of the story. Continue reading
Performance improvement plans are often treated as neutral management tools. This case shows how quickly a PIP can become the centerpiece of a retaliation claim once an employee raises equity concerns. Continue reading
Whistleblower cases do not begin with evidence and proof. They begin with allegations. If those allegations are plausible, employers get forced into discovery. Under CEPA, that bar is very low. Continue reading
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