By: Cristina N. Hyde, JD Earlier this month, President Biden announced that the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) must promulgate a rule mandating all employers with 100 or more employees to either require workers to get a COVID-19 vaccine or produce a weekly negative test result before reporting to work. This…
Posts by Administrator
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Telehealth and Telemedicine Reminder: Registration Applications are due by October 15, 2021
By: Cristina N. Hyde, JD On July 13, 2021, the New Jersey Department of Health (DOH) adopted new regulations that require all telemedicine and telehealth organizations providing services in New Jersey to submit a registration application before October 15, 2021. The newly codified Registration Standards for Telemedicine and Telehealth Organizations (N.J.A.C. 8:53) implement certain provisions of…
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Courtroom Cue: New Jersey Supreme Court rules that employer could be liable for two racial slurs
By: Cristina N. Hyde, JD Reminding New Jersey business owners of the importance of anti-discrimination training and written anti-discrimination policies, the New Jersey Supreme Court recently determined that an employer could be held liable for the utterance of two racially offensive comments by a supervisor. Rios v. Meda Pharm., Inc., ___ N.J. ___ (2021) In…
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Home-based bakers rise to the challenge: New Jersey prohibition on selling homemade food will end soon
By: Cristina N. Hyde, JD In a long overdue step to align New Jersey with the rest of the nation, the Department of Health (DOH) recently adopted new rules allowing the sale of certain homemade foods for profit. Expected to take effect this fall, the new rules will create a cottage law establishing a regulatory scheme…
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Assembly Bill No. 4250: Governor Murphy Signs Permanent Remote Online Notarization Law
By: Cristina N. Hyde, JD On July 22, 2021, New Jersey became the 35th state to enact a permanent remote online notarization (RON) law. The New Jersey Law on Notarial Acts (Act) revises existing law concerning the qualification and duties of notaries and permanently authorizes electronic signatures as well as various notarial acts performed by remotely…
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Efforts to Stop Worker Misclassification Continue With New Legislation
By: Cristina N. Hyde, JD On July 8, 2021, Governor Murphy reminded New Jersey residents of his commitment to address worker misclassification. By signing a four-bill legislative package he approved several administrative safeguards intended to make it more difficult to improperly classify employees as independent contractors. Through this new legislation, the Department of Labor can…
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Courtroom Cue: New Jersey District Court Orders Production of Psychiatric Records In Connection with Hostile Work Environment and Emotional Distress
By: Cristina N. Hyde, JD Last month, the New Jersey District Court ordered the release of psychiatric records related to a plaintiff’s claims that her colleagues created a hostile work environment and caused her to suffer severe emotional distress. This action is an important reminder that an employer can compel the release of an employee’s…
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Unvaccinated or At-Risk Employees? OSHA has Updated Guidance For That
By: Cristina N. Hyde, JD On June 10, 2021, OSHA updated its guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the spread of COVID-19. The guidance applies to all employers and employees who do not fall within the scope of OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). It contains both recommendations and descriptions of existing mandatory OSHA standards, but is…
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COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard: OSHA acts to ensure continued protection of healthcare employees
By: Cristina N. Hyde, JD On June 21, 2021, OSHA’s COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) was published in the Federal Register. Fueled by concerns over divergent approaches to workplace safety taken by state and local governments, the healthcare industry specific regulations were issued in conjunction with updated guidance for other industries. The ETS is…
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Preparing to Reopen Your Business? What You Should Know About Recent Changes to Masking and Social Distancing Mandates
By: Cristina N. Hyde, JD Last month, Governor Murphy signed two new executive orders that relaxed several restrictions originally designed to limit person-to-person contact during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Citing recent statistics showing significant progress in the battle against the coronavirus, Executive Order No. 242 and Executive Order No. 243 specifically address masking and…