On March 7, 2019, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) released a proposal to increase the minimum salary threshold for the administrative, executive, and professional overtime exemptions. 

Yesterday, Governor Murphy signed A3975 into law, significantly expanding the New Jersey Family Leave Act (FLA) and Family Leave Insurance (FLI) programs to provide greater benefits to workers including additional time off, higher compensation, and increasing the class of individuals who qualify for leave.

Employers often implement binding arbitration policies as a way to avoid litigating claims in court. Many employers prefer arbitration because it can be confidential, less costly, and consume significantly less time than a trial. A recent decision from the New Jersey Appellate Division highlights how one word can make or break the enforceability of such policies.

In accordance with an agreement reached between the Governor and legislative leaders earlier this month, the New Jersey Legislature approved legislation, A-15 (the “Bill”), on January 31, 2019 to increase the state hourly minimum wage requirement from $8.85 to $15 over a five (5) year period. The Governor is expected to sign the Bill into law on Monday, February 4, 2019.

On January 17, 2019, Governor Phil Murphy and Legislative Leaders announced the collective decision to raise the minimum wage rate in New Jersey from $8.85 per hour to $15 per hour for most businesses over a five (5) year period. On January 24, 2019, the New Jersey Assembly's Labor Committee approved legislation (Assembly Bill A-15) that would implement the minimum wage increase. If approved by other Legislative Committees, passed by both the full Assembly and Senate, and signed into law by the Governor in its present form, key provisions of Bill A-15 include the following

In two recent decisions, the Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) required school boards to continue paying employees the salary increases as written in their three-year contracts, even after those contracts have expired, disrupting the longstanding practice of withholding salary increments during negotiations until a new contract is formed.

For employers and small business owners, employee sick time is no sneezing matter. At least one study suggests that employees who come to work sick cost the country over $160 billion dollars in lost or lowered productivity.

An employee's disclosure of salary information might violate workplace rules, but firing an employee for that disclosure might violate the Equal Pay Act.

This week's Corporate blog discusses how post-employment restrictive covenants are enforced and how a new bill before the New Jersey Labor Senate Committee could affect business owners.