The failure to establish a causal nexus between protected whistleblowing activity and the termination of her employment was the demise of plaintiff’s whistleblowing claim in a recently issued Appellate Division opinion in Brown v. Regina Foley, et. al. 2021 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 957 (decided May 20, 2021). In Brown,…
The New Jersey Supreme Court recently addressed, among other issues, the question of whether a “suggested course of action” by a supervisor to a subordinate can suffice as a reasonable belief under New Jersey’s whistleblower law that the supervisor wants the subordinate to engage in conduct that violates law or…
Attorneys who violate the “Golden Rule” when providing a closing summation to a jury at trial risk losing a verdict for their clients, so says the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division in Morgan v. Willie Maxwell II, et. al., 2021 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 718 (decided April 26, 2021).…
Vincent Hager suffered serious work-related back injuries on a construction job while working for M&K Construction. He underwent surgeries and was prescribed opioid medication for his chronic pain which did not provide him adequate relief. Hager then enrolled in New Jersey’s medical marijuana program for pain management and to overcome…
Although there is no bright-line rule as to what constitutes an adverse employment action, New Jersey state and federal courts have held that actions causing direct economic harm (such as hiring, firing, failing to promote, or adjusting wages or benefits) qualify as adverse actions sufficient to support a prima facie case of…
Following a trial at the Law Division and an appeal to the Appellate Division, the New Jersey Supreme Court was asked to resolve whether a plaintiff could recover damages under a promissory estoppel theory of liability because he relied on defendant’s promise in quitting his prior employment. Goldfarb v. Solimine,…
The American Rescue Plan (ARP) signed into law by President Joe Biden provides plenty of benefits for those eligible including: a) $242 billion in relief payments such as Economic Impact Payment of up to $1,400 for individuals or $2,800 for married couples, plus $1,400 for each dependent; b) expansion of…
In Haley v. Bd. of Review, DOL, 2021 N.J. LEXIS 223* (Decided March 17, 2021) our New Jersey Supreme Court held that pretrial detention is not an absolute bar to receiving unemployment compensation benefits for the time following dismissal of the criminal charges and release from detention. Based on the…
Dr. Zeferino Martinez, a 70-year-old orthopedic surgeon, was fired in 2017 by UPMC Susquehanna, a Pennsylvania located hospital where he worked. UPMC claimed Dr. Martinez was let go not because of his work performance, but rather because the hospital was “moving in a different direction and his services were no…
Back on January 13, 2020 this blog site discussed a New Jersey Appellate Division decision interpreting the New Jersey Pregnant Workers’ Fairness Act (PWFA) which amended existing provisions of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) at N.J.S.A., 10:5-12(s) thereby requiring employers to provide pregnant (and breast feeding) workers with…