Articles Discussing Human Resource In New Jersey.

On January 19, 2022, Governor Philip D. Murphy signed Executive Order (EO) 283, which requires that healthcare workers and those at high-risk congregate settings be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, including receipt of a booster shot, or have their employment terminated. Currently, New Jersey allows unvaccinated healthcare workers to bypass

All applicants and employees working in any New Jersey Department of Human Services (“DHS”) funded, licensed or regulated program serving adults with developmental disabilities are subject to mandatory drug testing, effective May 1, 2018. Under the Stephen Komninos’ Law, New Jersey Public Law 2017, Chapter 238, covered employers are required to administer pre-employment, random and reasonable suspicion drug testing. The law does not require alcohol testing.

Executive Summary: Rejecting Freehold Township’s claim the entire case was barred by the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA), a workers’ compensation judge ruled the municipality must reimburse its employee for the cost of medical marijuana to treat his work-related injury. This contrasts with a recent decision from Maine’s highest court, which held that compliance with an administrative order compelling an employer to subsidize an employee’s use of medical marijuana constitutes aiding and abetting, which is a violation of the CSA.

The New Jersey State Assembly is considering a bill (A-4119) that would amend the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“LAD”) to prohibit an employer from seeking compensation information on a candidate. If passed, the legislation will affect the hiring process in New Jersey, including requiring changes to application materials, interview questions, and negotiations over compensation.

On September 14, 2016, Morristown, New Jersey became New Jersey’s 13th municipality to require private employers to provide paid sick time to employees.1 The Morristown ordinance takes effect on October 4, 2016, leaving employers little time to modify policies and ensure compliance.

Private-sector employees who work at least 80 hours during a calendar year in Morristown, New Jersey, will be entitled to paid sick leave under Ordinance No. 35-2016, passed by the Morristown Town Council on September 13, 2016.

A bill making its way through the New Jersey legislature provides that an employee may request, and an employer must consider, changes to work hours, work locations, and more consistent work hours, among other terms and conditions of employment, as a matter of right. The employer, in turn, must engage in a “good faith interactive process” to consider the employee’s request and explain the basis for any denial.

As previously reported, on August 11, 2014, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed “The Opportunity to Compete Act” – New Jersey’s so-called “ban-the-box” law – which restricts the ability of covered employers to inquire into, and use, criminal records. On November 2, 2015, New Jersey’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development, which is responsible for enforcing the Act, released “The Opportunity to Compete Act Rules” (Rules). The Rules became effective on December 7, 2015. This Insight will provide an overview of the Act and also will highlight key portions of the new rules.1

Last month, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) released final regulations to further define some of the ambiguous terms contained in New Jersey’s “Ban the Box” law, titled the Opportunity to Compete Act (OTCA), which went into effect March 1, 2015. As a reminder, OTCA prohibits most New Jersey employers from requiring an applicant to complete a job application that makes any inquiries regarding the applicant’s arrest or criminal record, or from making any inquiry (verbal or written) concerning an applicant’s arrest or criminal record during the “initial employment application process,” which runs from the employer’s first “contact” with the applicant concerning potential employment and concludes when the employer has conducted a first interview of the job applicant, with some industry exceptions.

Five years ago, in Quinlan v. Curtiss-Wright Corporation, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that a trusted employee’s act of stealing and using her employer’s confidential personnel documents in furtherance of her discrimination lawsuit constituted protected activity under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“LAD”).1 On June 23, 2015, the court revisited this highly controversial decision in State v. Saavedra, stating, to the surprise of many, that Quinlan “did not endorse self-help as an alternative to the legal process in employment discrimination litigation.” Instead, the court held that Quinlan did not require the dismissal of the indictment of a Board of Education employee who unlawfully took confidential student documents to support her LAD suit against her employer and she could still be criminally prosecuted for her actions. The court held, however, that Quinlan could be a basis for a justification defense against such prosecution.

The trend of municipalities in New Jersey enacting paid sick leave ordinances continues. Littler previously reported on the enactment of two such laws in Jersey City (effective January 24, 2014)1 and Newark (effective May 29, 2014).2 Since that time, an additional six municipalities in New Jersey have passed paid sick leave laws including Passaic, East Orange, Paterson, Irvington, Trenton and Montclair. For the most part, the ordinances are consistent and generally model Newark’s paid sick leave law, which differs from the Jersey City sick leave law.

The proliferation of municipality sick leave laws in New Jersey continues with no sign of letting up. Passaic, East Orange, Paterson, and Irvington recently passed their own paid sick leave ordinances, and voters in Trenton and Montclair approved similar laws in the recent election. It is imperative for employers in these cities to take proper precautions and look closely at current sick leave policies.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has signed into law The Opportunity to Compete Act, otherwise known as the “Ban the Box” bill. This legislation will restrict employers from inquiring about an applicant’s criminal background during the initial stages of the application process. The law will take effect on March 1, 2015, the first day of the seventh month following the signing date.

On August 11, 2014, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed “The Opportunity to Compete Act,” which restricts the ability of covered employers to inquire into, and use, criminal records. New Jersey’s so-called “ban-the-box” law, which will be effective March 1, 2015, follows closely on the heels of similar legislation enacted in the past two years.

A New Jersey appeals court has upheld a state law banning employers from stating in job advertisements that applicants “must be currently employed,” ruling the law does not infringe upon the constitutional right to “free speech.” New Jersey Dep’t of Labor and Workforce Dev. v. Crest Ultrasonics et al., No. A-0417-12T4 (N.J. App. Div. Jan. 7, 2014).