Articles Discussing General Issues In New Jersey Labor & Employment Law.

On March 28, 2021, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed the New Jersey Small Business Retirement Marketplace Act, which requires qualifying employers to automatically enroll their employees in the New Jersey Secure Choice Savings Program. While enrollment in the program began on March 28, 2021, qualifying employers are not required to enroll their employees in the program until the end of 2021.

Effective October 1, 2021, the New Jersey Division of Taxation (the “NJDT”) ended the temporary relief period with regard to employers’ obligation to withhold income taxes for teleworking employees who work in New Jersey.1  Employers must therefore stop basing their obligation to withhold and remit income taxes on the

On October 5, 2021, Governor Phil Murphy signed into law amendments to the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD) that significantly expand causes of action available to older workers. While NJLAD has always prohibited age-based discrimination in employment, the new amendments create a new private right of action for forced retirement claims and eliminates a safe harbor provision which limited damages and gave small businesses more flexibility to manage their workforces.

On September 24, 2021, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law a bill that amends New Jersey’s Workers’ Compensation Act to require employers with 50 or more employees to provide hiring preferences to employees, following a work-related injury, who have reached maximum medical improvement but are unable to return to the position at which the employee was previously employed.

As we previously reported, on February 22, 2021, Governor Phil Murphy signed into law the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act (CREAMMA), which, among other things, legalized the recreational use of marijuana in New Jersey for adults age 21 and older. In addition, CREAMMA imposed on

On August 19, 2021, the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (the Commission) issued long-awaited initial rules implementing the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act (the Act), which Governor Murphy signed on February 22, 2021.  The Act legalizes the use of recreational marijuana for adults over

The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (the “Commission”) published the first set of rules and regulations on August 19, 2021 governing recreational cannabis use in New Jersey (“Personal-Use Cannabis Rules”) under the Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act (“CREAMMA”).  Those regulations do not include standards for employers to

As we previously discussed here, New Jersey’s Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act (“CREAMMA”) contains several protections for New Jersey employees who use recreational cannabis, while also reserving for employers the right to drug test under certain conditions. The most controversial twist in CREAMMA is that drug tests of employees and applicants must be accompanied by a “physical examination” conducted by a person who has been certified to recognize drug impairment. The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (the “Commission”) was tasked with establishing a Workplace Impairment Recognition Expert (“WIRE”) certification program to train and certify persons to conduct these “physical evaluations” on behalf of employers. The Commission has until August 21, 2021 to implement CREAMMA regulations.

Governor Murphy issued Executive Order 252, requiring employers in covered healthcare and other high risk congregate settings, including hospitals, correctional facilities and certain long-term care facilities, to establish a policy that, among other things, mandates vaccinations or weekly testing for “covered workers.”

By September 7, 2021, “covered setting” employers must

New Jersey is requiring employers in covered healthcare and high-risk congregate settings (“covered settings”) to establish a policy that: (1) mandates vaccinations or weekly testing for workers; (2) creates a system to track the results of the applicable testing requirements; and (3) creates a system to communicate the results of such testing to local public health departments.

On July 8, 2021, N.J. Governor Phil Murphy signed a package of bills expanding the power of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOLWD) to enforce state wage, benefit and tax laws, and enhancing penalties for employers that misclassify workers as independent contractors.  Commenting on the Murphy administration’s

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation (A5820/S3866) and Executive Order (EO) No. 244 on June 4, 2021, ending the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (but not the overall state of emergency) first declared on March 9, 2020, in EO 103.

Residential real estate developments that reopen their amenities amid an improving public health picture would receive COVID-19-related immunity under legislation that is working its way through the New Jersey Legislature.

Governor Phil Murphy announced that employers in New Jersey can soon allow employees to go without masks if they can prove they have been vaccinated. The new executive order, intended particularly for offices, will also lift the social distancing requirement for employees who can show their vaccination status.  The order

On May 24 and 25, 2021, New Jersey Governor Philip D. Murphy signed Executive Order (EO) 242 and EO 243, respectively, easing COVID-19-related workplace restrictions.  While EO 242 had less impact on employers than many had hoped, the governor clarified and expanded his directives with EO 243, which is