Employees’ use of social media in the workplace can be harmful to employers both legally and from a public relations standpoint. It can decrease company morale in the event employees choose to use social media as a forum to complain about their employer. It can also be costly to employers,…
Labor & Employment
Understanding the Overlap and Distinctions Between FMLA and NJFLA
Employees are eligible for 12 weeks of unpaid leave under both State and Federal Law. Under Federal law, the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) governs employee leaves of absences whereas the New Jersey Family Leave Act (“NJFLA”) governs State leave. While there are some similarities between the two Acts,…
#MeToo: What’s An Employer To Do?
The floodgate of sexual harassment allegations spawned by the #MeToo movement is evidence that employers are dropping the ball on fostering work environments free from inappropriate sexual behaviors. The good news is there are simple things an employer can do to prevent workplace harassment from occurring in the first place,…
Are Unpaid Internships Ready for a Comeback?
In NJBIA’s recent article, Kathleen Connelly, a member of Lindabury’s Employment Law practice group, discusses the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) new test to determine if a student intern is an employee, which may make unpaid internships a more viable option for employers. “By no means is this a green…
DOL & NLRB Reverse Positions Seen As Anti-Employer
The change in administrations has brought a series of reversals of the Obama era’s less than employer-friendly positions by the U. S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board). This article highlights some of the favorable recent developments from these agencies that may be…
Governor Signs Legislation – Breastfeeding Is Now A Protected Category Under The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination
Effective Monday, January 8, the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination was amended to include breastfeeding as a protected status. As a result, an employer cannot refuse to hire, cannot discharge, and cannot treat someone adversely with regard to the terms, conditions or privileges of their employment because that employee is…
EEOC’S Pay Reporting Requirements Suspended
On August 29, 2017, the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) announced that it was immediately suspending the revised Equal Employer Information Report (“EEO-1 Report”), which included burdensome pay reporting obligations for employers. Previously, the EEO-1 Report directed federal contractors and employers with 100 or more employees to report annually…
Court Sets Forth a Formula For Employers to Avoid Liability in Disability Discrimination Claims
Employers who take proactive measures and engage in an interactive process with their employees could avoid liability in disability discrimination lawsuits. One recent case, Grau v. AHS Hospital, Docket No.: A-3959-15T1, sets forth a good model of how employers should approach an employee’s demand for disability accommodation for purposes of…
Legal Advice On: Diversity, Discrimination and Immigration
Lindabury’s Labor and Employment Law partner, John H. Schmidt, was interviewed by New Jersey Business Magazine‘s Editor-in-Chief Anthony Birritteri for the article published in the May 2017 issue. Their discussion focused on the fine lines of major issues employers face regarding diversity and discrimination in the workplace and in the…
Proposed Wage Discrimination Legislation Could Alter New Jersey’s Employment Playing Field
Although it is presently illegal under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (the “LAD”) to pay people different wages for performing the same work under similar working conditions because of their gender, there is currently pending in both the State Senate and Assembly legislation “concerning equal pay for women and…