In 2010, the New Jersey Supreme Court created a qualified privilege for an employee taking documents to support an employment discrimination suit.1 However, this past December, in State of New Jersey v. Ivonne Saavedra,2 the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, ruled that the qualified privilege should not be applied to protect a criminal defendant from a grand jury indictment for “official misconduct” for having taken those documents to support a retaliatory discharge claim.
Articles About New Jersey Labor And Employment Law.
New Jersey Ban on ‘Currently Employed’ Requirement in Job Ads Resists Constitutional Challenge
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).
New Jersey Law Now Requires Employers to Post and Notify Employees of Gender Equity Laws
New Jersey employers now have important new compliance responsibilities related to the 2012 amendments to the New Jersey Equal Pay Act. Effective January 6, 2014, employers must provide notice to employees of their right to be free from gender discrimination in the workplace, including inequity or bias in pay, compensation, benefits or other terms and conditions of employment under existing federal and state laws. The Department of Labor and Workforce Development (LWD) published the required notice and related regulations in the New Jersey Register.
Legal Alert: Bill to Amend New Jersey Law Against Discrimination to Include Protections For Pregnant Workers Passed By Legislature, Awaits Governor Approval
Executive Summary: Both houses of the New Jersey legislature have passed a bill that would amend the Law Against Discrimination to include protections for pregnant workers, including reasonable workplace accommodations and unpaid leave.
New Notice Requirements for New Jersey and Jersey City Employers
Beginning January 6, 2014, all New Jersey employers with at least 50 employees, whether working inside or outside of New Jersey, will be required to conspicuously post and distribute to employees a new gender equity notice. The notice advises employees of their rights to be free from gender inequity or bias in pay, compensation, benefits, or other employment terms and conditions under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Equal Pay Act of 1963. (For a detailed discussion of this notice requirement, see our article, New Jersey’s Mandatory Gender Discrimination Notice Available.)
New Jersey’s Mandatory Gender Discrimination Notice Available
The New Jersey Department of Labor has issued a new mandatory gender equity notification form. Employers with at least 50 employees, whether working inside or outside of New Jersey, must conspicuously post the notice, as well as distribute it to employees (P.L. 2012, c.57). The notification serves to put employees on notice of their rights to be free from gender inequity or bias in pay, compensation, benefits, or other employment terms and conditions under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Equal Pay Act of 1963. Governor Chris Christie signed the anti-discrimination notice requirements in September 2012, after the bill received final legislative approval in June. The proposed form of notice was originally published and opened for public comment on January 7, 2013.
New Jersey Adds Minimum Wage with Automatic Increases to Its Constitution
On November 5, New Jersey became the fifth state to add a minimum wage to its state constitution with 61 percent of voters supporting the ballot question. This was a hotly contested issue as business groups and unions spent significant money and time advocating for their respective positions. The constitutional amendment raises the state minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.25 an hour and sets automatic increases which are tied into the rate of inflation starting in January 2014. New Jersey is now the fifth state to add a minimum wage to its constitution — Florida, Colorado, Nevada, and Ohio already have such provisions — and the 11th state in the country that has automatic increases to the minimum wage.
New Jersey Voters Approve Constitutional Amendment to Increase Minimum Wage
New Jersey voters approved, 61 to 39 percent, an amendment to the state constitution that increases the state’s minimum wage to $8.25 per hour for non-exempt employees, a $1 per hour increase from the current $7.25 per hour minimum wage. Under the amendment, each year on September 30 the minimum wage will increase if the consumer price index (CPI) increases, with the revised minimum wage taking effect the following January 1. If, however, the federal minimum wage, which is currently $7.25 per hour, exceeds the state rate, the state rate will increase to match the federal rate, and further revisions based on the CPI will be based on the increased, matched rate.
Paid Sick Leave Ordinance Adopted in Jersey City, New Jersey
On September 26, 2013, Jersey City, New Jersey became the latest jurisdiction to mandate that private sector employees receive paid sick leave. Jersey City joins a handful of U.S. cities1 with a mandatory paid sick leave requirement: San Francisco, California; New York City, New York; Portland, Oregon; and Seattle, Washington.2 Additionally, paid sick leave requirements exist in Connecticut and Washington, D.C. The ordinance takes effect January 24, 2014. However, for employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in effect on the ordinance’s effective date, the ordinance covers them on the date the CBA terminates.
Jersey City Ordinance to Require Sick Leave for All Private Sector Employees Working in City
In an effort to decrease public and private health care costs and promote preventive health services by enabling workers to seek early and routine medical care for themselves and their family members, Jersey City, New Jersey, has enacted a City Ordinance mandating that all private employers in the city provide their employees with paid or unpaid sick time. Ordinance No. 13.097 will take effect on January 23, 2014 (120 days after date of enactment), or at the expiration of current collective bargaining agreements for those employees working under such agreements. Jersey City is the first city in New Jersey and the sixth city nationwide to enact such legislation.
New Jersey Minimum Wage Referendum on November Ballot
This November, New Jersey voters will have the opportunity to vote on an increase to the state minimum wage. The ballot referendum also would authorize an amendment to the New Jersey State Constitution to link future minimum wage increases to the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Legal Alert: Jersey City Passes Paid Sick Leave Law; Applies to Employees Who Work At Least 80 Hours Per Calendar Year in City
Executive Summary: The Jersey City Council voted 7-1 to pass a bill that will provide paid sick leave for workers in New Jersey’s second largest city. Any business with 10 or more employees must offer as many as five paid sick days per year. Businesses with fewer employees will be required to provide unpaid sick days. The ordinance carries civil penalties, creates a private right of action for aggrieved employees, and empowers the Jersey City Department of Health and Human Services to audit employers and investigate and adjudicate complaints.
New Jersey Employers Must Post New ‘NJ SAFE Act’ Domestic Violence Leave Notification
The New Jersey Department of Labor has issued the notice required to be posted under the New Jersey Security and Financial Empowerment Act (“NJ SAFE” Act). The NJ SAFE Act goes into effect on October 1, 2013. The statute requires employers to provide up to 20 days of unpaid leave during any 12-month period to eligible employees who have been the victim of an incident of domestic violence or a sexually violent offense or whose child, parent, spouse, domestic partner or civil union partner was a victim of such an act. (For more on the NJ SAFE Act, please see New Jersey Employers Must Provide Unpaid Leave to Victims of Domestic Violence under New Law.)
New Jersey Decision Offers Cautionary Tale to Employers Regarding How Courts May Interpret Whether Employee’s Release is Knowing and Voluntary
On August 26, 2013, the New Jersey Appellate Division reversed a grant of summary judgment to an employer upon concluding, based on little more than the plaintiff’s self-serving statements, that its former employee’s detailed release of claims was not “knowing and voluntary.” Although this decision may later prove to be an outlier, it serves as a warning to employers of the highly critical manner in which some courts may scrutinize release agreements.
New Jersey Governor Signs New Law Banning ‘Salary Secrecy’
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has approved legislation banning retaliation against employees who discuss their jobs and compensation with their colleagues if the purpose of the discussion is to assist in investigating potential discriminatory treatment concerning “pay, compensation, bonuses, other compensation, or benefits.” The new legislation (P.L.2013, c.154) prohibiting “salary secrecy” is designed to combat the obstacles to uncovering wage discrimination created by discouraging employees from discussing their wages and benefits with others. The new pay equity protection is effective immediately.