Clear evidence the seismic effects of the national #Me Too movement has reached the shores of New Jersey occurred when New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy recently signed into law S.121 which effectively stops employers from requiring employees to sign nondisclosure confidentiality agreements – commonly referred to as “NDAs” – when…
When enacting the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD), the New Jersey Legislature declared, “that practices of discrimination against any of its inhabitants…are matters of concern to the government of the State, and that such discrimination threatens not only the rights and proper privileges of the inhabitants of the State…
In furtherance of its continuing effort to protect and promote fair wages for workers, the New Jersey Assembly Labor Committee recently approved two bills which would have that effect. The first bill A1094 was sponsored by Assemblypersons sponsored by Joann Downey, Pamela R. Lampitt, Gary S. Schaer, Eric Houghtaling, Daniel…
The class action lawsuit is an effective way for employees with small individual wage claims to band together and recover unpaid wages from large, powerful employers. Class action lawsuits provide a cost-effective way for employees to share the costs and fees incurred in the effort to collect relatively small amounts…
From the nearly universal perspective of employment lawyers like the attorneys at Mashel Law who represent employees in workplace disputes, any document containing an arbitration clause forcing an employee to waive his/her right to sue their employer in court for committing wrongs such as workplace discrimination or retaliation is very…
Our country’s attitudes towards the use of medical and recreational marijuana are rapidly changing. According to a recent Pew report 74% of Millennials, 63% of Gen Xers and 54% of Baby Boomers favor legalizing the use of marijuana. Currently, recreational marijuana is legal in nine (9) states. In addition, thirty…
It may be unsettling for some to learn that an employer under some circumstances may lawfully discriminate against an applicant or existing employee due to their disability. However, to do so the employer must show that even with a reasonable accommodation the employee’s disability precludes their ability to perform their…
The use of social media is ubiquitous in our society. One of the most common forms of social media is maintaining a personal profile account or page on Facebook. The Facebook profile is a place where a person can connect with friends, post newsfeeds, thoughts, and photos. If you share…
Forced arbitration is bad for employees. It is bad because it requires employees to waive their right to sue in court and in doing so denies employees the opportunity to have legal disputes with their employer resolved by a jury. This means that laws prohibiting workplace discrimination and retaliation are…
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy recently signed into law Bill A-3871 which immediately takes effect and amends N.J.S.A. 43:21-5 by removing the “simple misconduct” and “severe misconduct” standards for unemployment insurance benefits disqualification and instead replaces them with a more straightforward and manageable “misconduct” standard. Previously, a finding of severe…