The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating effect on New Jersey’s employment landscape for more than a year. Congress passed several bills in 2020 intended to help people impacted by the pandemic, both medically and economically. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which became law in March 2020, provided…
New Jersey is an “at will employment” state, meaning that employers can fire an employee for any reason, or no reason at all, provided that they do not violate the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD) or other applicable laws or regulations. Private employers are subject to laws like the…
Workers are often best able to negotiate with their employers for better pay, safer or improved working conditions, and other features of employment when they can do so as a group. Many employers prefer, however, that their employees not do this. Federal and New Jersey labor laws protect workers’ right…
New Jersey employment laws bar discrimination based on disability. An employer cannot fire an employee or subject them to other adverse actions because of an injury, illness, or other condition that significantly affects their lives. State law uses a broad definition of “disability” that includes physical and mental conditions. Two…
Employers in New Jersey use increasingly high-tech methods to monitor their employees throughout the work day. Some of these methods raise concerns about employee privacy, especially systems that collect biometric data. “Biometrics” refers to the automated use of physical characteristics to identify individuals. For example, many smartphones give users the…
New Jersey employment laws ensure that employers pay minimum wage to all non-exempt employees, as well as a greater rate of pay for overtime hours. These laws only apply to “employees.” Employee misclassification happens when an employer wrongly classifies an employee as an “independent contractor.” State law has a clear…
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed a bill into law in February 2021 that creates a legal framework for the recreational use of cannabis by adults in the state. Voters paved the way for the new law when they approved Public Question 1 by a substantial margin on Election Day…
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is charged with enforcing the federal statute that governs employees’ right to organize, engage in collective bargaining, and engage in other related activities. Its General Counsel (GC) investigates alleged violations of both employees’ and employers’ rights. The members of the Board itself adjudicate complaints…
Arbitration agreements are a common feature in many employment contracts. Under an arbitration agreement, the employee and employer agree to submit any disputes to the arbitration process, either before or in place of filing a lawsuit. Advocates for employees’ legal rights tend to view arbitration as favoring employers for a…
Both federal and New Jersey employment laws prohibit employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of religious affiliation, beliefs, or practices. Employers must accommodate employees’ religious practices to the extent that doing so is not an “undue hardship” on their business. As with many other areas of antidiscrimination law,…