Labor & Employment Insights — Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper, P.C. Firm News & Events

NJ Leads the Way in Mandating Severance Payments for Laid-off Employees

Published on: March 10, 2020 | by Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper, P.C.

For nearly two decades New Jersey employers had to comply with the notice requirements of the Federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN), 21 U.S.C. 2100 et seq., as well as New Jersey’s similar counterpart, Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act (NJ WARN Act), N.J.S.A. 34:21-2. While not identical, both statutes require New Jersey employers with 100 or more employees to provide 60 days’ written advance notice to those employees affected by a “mass layoff” or “plant closing” or a “termination of operations” or “transfer of operations” as those are defined under the respective statutes. Both laws require similar notifications to designated state and local officials. A failure to provide the required 60 days’ advance notice could result in liability for wages and benefits for the period for which the notice was not provided to the affected employee.

As a result of the Toys ‘R’ Us bankruptcy filing in 2017, more than 30,000 workers were laid off nationally, and approximately 2,000 in New Jersey. Initially, these employees were not provided with any severance benefits but an ensuing battle ultimately resulted in the establishment of an assistance fund to provide some monetary relief to affected employees. Critics claimed that these benefits fell far short of what these workers should have been paid.

The Toys ‘R’ Us closures’ effect upon the citizens of New Jersey did not go unnoticed by the state legislature. On Jan. 21, 2020, New Jersey amended the NJ WARN Act to become the first state to mandate employee severance payments in the event of a closure of operations or mass layoff of employees. The amendments also extend significant additional protections to New Jersey employees, making it the most progressive law of its kind in the country. The law goes into effect July 19, 2020.

New Jersey Employers Beware – Classify Employees as Independent Contractors At Your Own Peril

Published on: February 11, 2020 | by Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper, P.C.

NEW JERSEY AND YOU, PERFECT TOGETHER? NOT SO MUCH.

Slew of Bills Out of Trenton Impose Increasing Burdens on Those Doing Business in the State

PART 1

New Jersey Employers Dealing With New Legislation on Severance, Leave Rights, and Fair Workweek Scheduling

Published on: February 11, 2020 | by Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper, P.C.

NEW JERSEY AND YOU, PERFECT TOGETHER? NOT SO MUCH.

Slew of Bills Out of Trenton Impose Increasing Burdens on Those Doing Business in the State

PART 2

Restrictive Covenants In The Employment Setting In New Jersey Where We Now Are? Where May We Be Going?

Published on: February 7, 2020 | by Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper, P.C.

I. Where We Are

A. What Are Restrictive Covenants in the Employment Setting in New Jersey?

Generally speaking, restrictive covenants in an employment setting take one of three forms: a covenant not to compete, a non-solicitation covenant, and/or a non-disclosure covenant.

Amendments to New Jersey’s WARN Act Expands Coverage To Include More Employers

Published on: January 21, 2020 | by John H. Schmidt, Jr.

Employers doing business in New Jersey have been subject to both the federal and state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (“WARN”) for more than ten years. Under the prior laws, if an employer were to close a facility employing more than 50 fulltime employees, it was required to provide those employees with at least 60 days’ advanced notice of the closure or face a penalty that required the employer to pay severance compensation to each of the terminated employees. Amendments to the New Jersey legislation signed into law by Governor Murphy in January 2020 not only require employers to provide more notice to employees, but will also impose new economic burdens upon the employers.

These amendments to New Jersey’s WARN Act require employers who plan to close one or more establishment(s) within the state that will result in the layoff or termination of 50 or more employees (fulltime and/or part-time employees) from that establishment(s), are required to provide the affected employees with at least 90 days advanced notice of the layoff or termination of employment. Additionally, employers will be obligated to pay severance compensation to each of the affected employees in an amount equal to one week of severance compensation for each year of service. The severance compensation must be paid on or before the last day of employment. If an employer fails to pay the appropriate severance compensation, the employer will fact a penalty obligating it to pay an additional four weeks of compensation to each employee not correctly paid.

Amendments to the Act also define severance compensation as compensation due for back pay associated with the termination in an apparent attempt to characterize the severance compensation as wages for the purposes of bankruptcy.

“Crown Act” Amends New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination

Published on: December 31, 2019 | by John H. Schmidt, Jr.

New Jersey has one of the most progressive laws prohibiting discrimination in the workplace, as well as in places of public accommodation. That law’s protections against race discrimination have been further expanded under recent legislation signed into law by Governor Murphy. The new act is commonly known as the “Crown Act.”

Under the new law, it is now illegal to discriminate against anyone because of their race, inclusive of traits historically associated with race “including but not limited to, hair texture, hair type, and protective hairstyles.” The new law further defines protective hairstyles to include “such hairstyles as braids, locks and twists.” In short, you cannot refuse to continue to employ any current employees or refuse to employ prospective employees if they are sporting hairstyles that are characteristically associated with a particular race of people.

“Have We Become Too Sensitive at Work?” One Woman Today Podcast

Published on: December 16, 2019 | by Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper, P.C.

Lindabury’s Employment Law Group partner, Kathleen Connelly joins Jeanie Coomber for her podcast series One Woman Today discussing “Workplace Sensitivity Training, Harassment and Bullying”. In their conversation, Kathleen shares her wisdom on what constitutes “bad behavior” and how education of employees and thorough and fair investigations is paramount for employers.

You may listen to the archived podcast here.

Failing to Pay Appropriate Wages, Keep Appropriate Records and Retaliating Against Complaining Employees Can Now Land You in Jail

Published on: September 24, 2019 | by Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper, P.C.

New Jersey has adopted one of the strongest wage theft laws in the country and jumps to the forefront in protecting employee wages. Effective November 1, 2019, New Jersey employers will face enhanced civil and criminal penalties, including possible jail time, for failing to pay employees in accordance with the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law, the New Jersey Wage Payment Law and the New Jersey Wage Collection Law.

Enhanced Penalties for Violators: Under the new Wage Theft Act, an employer who fails to pay minimum wage or the agreed-upon wages to an employee, any overtime compensation due the employee, or pay the employee in a manner required by law (e.g., paying employees in cash without deducting appropriate taxes) is liable to the aggrieved employee for the full amount of the wages owed plus liquidated damages up to 200%, costs of the litigation and attorneys’ fees. An employer seeking to avoid liquidated damages must 1) be a first-time offender; 2) demonstrate that the failure to pay appropriate wages was an inadvertent, good faith mistake, and 3) acknowledge that it violated New Jersey wage laws and pay the amount owed within 30 days. An agreement between the employer and employee to work for less wages than required by law is not a defense to a violation.

In addition, violators face enhanced fines of $500 and 20% of the owed wages for a first offense, increased to $1,000 and 20% for each subsequent offense, and administrative penalties ranging from $250 for a first violation to $500 for every subsequent violation.

How One Hashtag Transformed the Law

Published on: August 8, 2019 | by Lisa Gingeleskie

It has been nearly two years since the viral #MeToo tweet that sparked a national debate about sexual harassment in the workplace. While #MeToo has not changed the legal standard by which sexual harassment is defined in New Jersey, it has had a dramatic impact on the way sexual harassment is perceived and tolerated in our culture. Perhaps the movement’s biggest impact can be seen in the passage of both federal and state legislation aimed at providing greater protections to victims of workplace sexual harassment. This article takes a closer look at these legislative initiatives as well as potential changes on the horizon.

Federal Legislation

2017 Tax Cuts & Jobs Act

Kathleen M. Connelly Quoted in ROI-NJ – “Drug Dilemma”

Published on: July 29, 2019 | by Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper, P.C.

Kathleen M. Connelly, a member of Lindabury’s Employment Law practice group, was recently interviewed by ROI-NJ regarding the Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act, which was signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy on July 2nd. New Jersey joins a growing list of states enforcing workplace protections for medical marijuana users. Kathleen said the difficulty from the employer standpoint is the tension between understanding that people see benefits from cannabis in medical treatment but also needing to ensure these individuals aren’t under the influence while performing job duties.

You can read the full article here.