Workforce Bulletin

On August 1, 2022, the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights (DCR) adopted new and amended regulations concerning the “Display of Official Posters of the Division on Civil Rights,” which require employers, housing providers, and places of public accommodation to prominently display “in places easily visible” to those who would be affected by violations of these laws, posters created by DCR to inform individuals and covered entities of their rights and obligations under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) and Family Leave Act (NJFLA).

On March 10, 2020 the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“LAD”), employees who legally use cannabis as permitted by the state’s Compassionate Use of Cannabis of Medical Marijuana Act[i] (“Compassionate Use Act”) may not be fired because they use medical cannabis and that such employees are entitled to reasonable accommodation. In a brief opinion, the Court substantially adopted the Appellate Division’s reasoning in Wild v. Carriage House Funeral Holdings, Inc., about which we previously wrote.

Wild was employed by ...

Our colleagues Maxine Neuhauser, Nathaniel M. Glasser, Denise Dadika, & Anastasia A. Regne, at Epstein Becker Green have recently published a post on the Health Employment and Labor blog that will be of interest to our readers in the technology industry: “New Jersey’s Highest Court to Decide Whether Employers Are Required to Accommodate Medical Marijuana Use.”

Following is an excerpt:

In Wild, which we discussed in a recent client alert, plaintiff Justin Wild (“Wild”) alleged that his employer, Carriage Funeral Holdings (“Carriage ...

Our colleagues Nathaniel M. Glasser, Denise Merna Dadika, Maxine Neuhauser, and Anastasia A. Regne at Epstein Becker Green have recently published a post on the Health Employment and Labor Blog that will be of interest to our readers in the hospitality industry: "New Jersey Enacts Broad Employment Protections for Registered Medical Cannabis Users."

Following is an excerpt:

On July 2, 2019, New Jersey joined Illinois, Nevada, New Mexico, New York City, and Oklahoma in enacting employment protections for authorized users of medical cannabis. New Jersey’s new medical ...

On July 21, 2017, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie vetoed legislation that would have amended the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination to prohibit employers from requesting salary history information from prospective employees.  The legislation had passed easily though the State’s Democratically controlled Senate and Assembly, with votes along party lines.  With the upcoming gubernatorial election in November, employers may expect to see the bill revived and quite possibly enacted – particularly if the next governor is a Democrat. The proposed amendment may be ...

As a follow-up to our blog post from April 24, 2017, the New York Court of Appeals has issued its decision in Griffin v. Sirva, addressing the questions certified by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit regarding the scope of liability for employment discrimination based on an individual’s criminal history under the New York State Human Rights Law (“NYSHRL”). In its May 4, 2017 opinion, the Court of Appeals held that only a worker’s employer may be liable for direct discrimination under NYSHRL § 296(15), while other entities who do not qualify as employers may be ...

In a decision that will affect New Jersey employers seeking to arbitrate employees’ claims, the Appellate Division, earlier this month, in Morgan v. Ramours Furniture Company, Inc., held that arbitration clauses contained in employee handbooks are unenforceable where the handbook also includes a disclaimer that it does not create a contract.[1]  Accordingly, New Jersey employers whose handbooks currently include arbitration clauses should consider carefully, replacing them with either arbitration clauses in an employment application, and/or with a stand-alone ...

By: Maxine Neuhauser

Retail industry employers are likely to be particularly impacted by amendments to the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“LAD”), which became effective January 22, 2014.  The primary focus of the amendments was the addition of pregnancy as a protected classification and the requirement for employers to provide reasonable accommodation to allow women to maintain a healthy pregnancy or to recover from childbirth.[1] Employers should be aware, however, that the new law also added a provision to the LAD expressly prohibiting employer retaliation ...

By: Maxine Neuhauser

Hospitality industry employers are likely to be particularly impacted by amendments to the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“LAD”), which became effective January 22, 2014. The primary focus of the amendments was the addition of pregnancy as a protected classification and the requirement for employers to provide reasonable accommodation to allow women to maintain a healthy pregnancy or to recover from childbirth.[1] Employers should be aware, however, that the new law also added a provision to the LAD expressly prohibiting employer retaliation ...