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Category Archives: Employment

  1. 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…

  2. 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…

  3. 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…

  4. 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…

  5. Job Stress and Workers’ Compensation: What makes a claim?

    By: Cristina N. Hyde, JD As workers begin to emerge from their homes and return to their offices, it is important to recognize that a certain level of additional stress is inevitable thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and the way it has changed the work environment and personal interactions.  Even prior to the pandemic, recent…

  6. Case Law Alert: New Jersey Courts Address Issues Raised By Employee Use Of Marijuana

    By: Cristina N. Hyde, JD As the effects of New Jersey’s recent personal use cannabis legalization begin to percolate throughout the state, it is imperative that employers ensure that their practices and policies fairly recognize this evolving area of law.  When Governor Murphy signed cannabis reform into law last February, employers were already struggling to…

  7. U. S. House of Representatives approves H.R. 1195: The importance of addressing workplace violence in health care facilities gains traction

    By: Cristina N. Hyde, JD Introduced to the House of Representatives in February and approved last week, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act (H.R. 1195) has taken another important step toward addressing the unacceptable level of workplace violence experienced by health care and social service providers while on the job….

  8. Mental Health Matters: Does your business have a workplace health promotion program?

    By: Cristina N. Hyde, JD With mental health awareness month just around the corner, if you have not already begun to think about action steps to support your employees, it is time to start that conversation.  The last twelve months were arguably the most stressful months that most of us will see in our lifetime. …

  9. New Jersey Employers should continue adherence to safety protocols despite the existence of fully vaccinated employees

    By: Cristina N. Hyde, JD As we celebrate the availability of the COVID-19 vaccine, to say that people are eager to resume “normal life” would be an understatement.  Yet, employers should not hastily cast away workplace restrictions despite an increasing population of fully vaccinated employees.  Instead,  according to the newest guidance issued by the Centers…

  10. New Jersey Division of Civil Rights introduces amendments to Family Leave Act

    By: Cristina N. Hyde, JD With several of the current rules enforcing New Jersey’s Family Leave Act (NJFLA) set to expire this July, the Division of Civil Rights (DCR) recently announced proposed rules that would broaden family leave protection and build-in the re-adoption of important provisions from 2014, 2019 and 2020, before they lapse. Published…