Articles Tagged with “New Jersey Employment Lawyers”

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New Jersey wages are governed by a set of laws: the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law, the Wage Collection Law, the Wage Theft Act, and the Wage Payment Law.  These New Jersey employment laws govern the amount and timing of wages owed to New Jersey employees.  A New Jersey appeals court issued a precedential decision on when commissions must be paid under the Wagecourthouse-NY-300x199 Payment Law, which governs when wages must be paid, in the case of Musker v. Suuchi, Inc.

Background

Rosalyn Musker was employed as a senior platform delivery manager by Suuchi, Inc.  Part of her compensation was commissions on the gross revenue from sales of software, software related services, and related subscriptions for apparel manufacturers.  These sales were governed by a company commission plan.  The commission plan contemplated continuing revenue streams.  Only revenue from these sources, and no others, was governed by the commission plan.

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The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which hears appeals from federal district courts in New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania and the United States Virgin Islands, recently rejected a challenge to the New Jersey Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights in the case of New Jersey Staffing Alliance vs. Cari Fais, Acting Director of the New Jersey State Division of Consumersupreme-court-building-1209701__340-300x200 Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety.

Background: The New Jersey Temporary Workers Bill of Rights

The New Jersey Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights was passed by the New Jersey Legislature in 2023.  It was designed to protect temporary workers employed in New Jersey.  It enacted several measures to meet this goal.  These include disclosure requirements and certification procedures.  It also imposes joint and several liability on both staffing firms and the businesses which obtain temporary workers through those staffing firms.

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New Jersey employment law prohibits both disability discrimination and retaliation against an employee who objects to disability discrimination.  A New Jersey appeals court examined both situations in the case of Algozzini vs DGMB Casino LLC, d/b/a Resorts Casino Hotel.imagesCAWQ89PS

The Explosion

Bart Algozzini was director of slot operations at Resorts Casino Hotel for five years when he suffered second and third degree burns over seventy percent of his body during a boat fuel explosion on July 17, 2019. He was hospitalized for a month.  He spent two weeks in a medically induced coma, was intubated, resuscitated after a cardiac arrest, and went through multiple skin graft surgeries.  Thereafter he went to an inpatient rehabilitation, followed by outpatient physical therapy.   He was discharged from outpatient physical therapy on January 30, 2020 but still needed to walk with a cane and use a shower chair.

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Federal and New Jersey employment law both prohibit discrimination because of an employee’s gender.  The United States Supreme Court’s recent decision in the case of Muldrow v. City of Saint Louis establishes what employees must prove to have a viable lawsuit for gender discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  Because New Jersey courts often look to Federal case law about Title VII to guide them in interpreting New Jersey employment law, it is likely that this standard will be adopted as the law in New Jersey.scoutus-room

Background

Jatonya Clayborn Muldrow was a long serving, decorated officer with the St. Louis Police Department.  Justice Elena Kagan described the factual background of the case.

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Background

Employment as a teacher and in many other New Jersey public school positions requires that the employee hold a certificate to work in their positions.  However, under certain1-300x225 circumstances, these certificates can be suspended or revoked, rendering the employee ineligible to work in their chosen profession.

The New Jersey Commissioner of Education can suspend the certificates of employee’s who leave before their term of employment ended without their employer’s consent.

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Arbitrators make the final decision in hearings on tenure charges.  Appeals are limited.  However, the scope of their powers to fashion appropriate discipline was open to question.  As I wrote last year, the Appellate Division of New Jersey’s Superior Court ruled in the case ofschool-bus-1-300x200 Sanjuan v. School District of West New York that arbitrators were limited in those powers, and could not impose demotion as a remedy for disciplinary violations.  The case was appealed, and the New Jersey Supreme Court issued a decision overturning the Appellate Division’s decision.

Background

Amada Sanjuan worked for the West New York Board of Education as an assistant principal.  On February 12, 2020, she fell down a flight of stairs, was injured, and was out of work as a result.  Sanjuan claimed that she fell while picking up a piece of paper on the stairs.  However, video showed that she removed a piece of paper from her purse after she fell, and placed it at the top of the stairs.

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A recent New Jersey employment law decision in the case of Rosemary Beneduci vs. Graham Curtin, P.A. addressed when failing to offer an employee of one business entity a job with a second when the two merge constitutes an illegal employment practice under New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination.  While the case involved two law firms, it would be equally applicable to any employers.NJ_State_House-300x200

Background

As the opinion explained them, the facts are relatively straightforward.  Rosemary Beneduci was a long-time employee of Graham Curtin, P.A., a major New Jersey law firm.  She had been on disability leave for knee replacement surgery.  At the same time, Graham Curtin was merging with a second firm, McElroy Deutsch.  When the merger was completed, McElroy would be the surviving firm.  All of the attorneys and employees at Graham Curtain who did not leave for another firm were offered employment with McElroy except for Beneduci.  All of them became employees of McElroy except for Beneduci and one part-time employee who chose to retire.  The testimony indicated that Graham Curtin’s employees were hired based on the recommendation of its former managing partner; he recommended all the employees be hired by McElroy except for Beneduci.  When Beneduci emailed the managing partner, her direct supervisor, that she would be returning to work, he met with her, terminated her and offered her a severance agreement.  She rejected the agreement and sued Graham Curtain, its managing partner, and McElroy for violation of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.

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Appellate Division Demonstrates Why It Makes Sense to Pursue Civil Service Disciplinary Appeals.

New Jersey civil service employees have protections which other employees do not.  The heart of this is the opportunity to appeal major discipline imposed by their employers.  A recentcop New Jersey appellate decision in the case of In the Matter of Malikah Spencer, Essex County, Department of Corrections, demonstrates that this process gives New Jersey civil service employees a fair hearing in these appeals, and demonstrates why civil service employees should pursue appeals of employer imposed major discipline.

Background

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Independent Contractors versus Employees Under New Jersey Employment Law

Under New Jersey employment law, the classification of a worker as an employee or independent contractor has significant ramifications for both the employer and employee, including the ability of the employer to shift the cost of insurance, payroll taxes and benefits to the employee, and relieving it from having to pay time and a half for overtime.  The New Jersey Supreme Court explained in the seminal case ofbuilding-home-construction-contractor-blueprint-architecture-300x200 Hargrove vs. Speepy’s LLC, that there are different, fact sensitive tests for this determination depending on the context, such as for wage issues, workers compensation and unemployment.  More recently, the Supreme Court addressed this issue in the context of whether an employer must make contributions for disability and unemployment in the case of East Bay Drywall, LLC vs. New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

Background: East Bay’s Business Model

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New Jersey Civil Service Law provides an effective appeals process for employees to use when challenging discipline imposed by their employers.  This was recently illustrated in the case of In the Matter of Sherman Abrams, Northern State Prison, Department of Corrections.us-1978465__340-300x200

 

Background: The Abrams Case

Sherman Abrams was, and apparently still is, an operating engineer working for the New Jersey Department of Corrections (DOC) at Northern State Prison.  He did not report to work on October 31, November 1, and November 2, 2017.  He received a Preliminary Notice of Disciplinary Action (a “PNDA,” a Civil Service Commission Form 31-A) for excessive absenteeism and unauthorized absences.  The DOC thereafter issued a Final Notice of Disciplinary Action (a “FNDA,” a Civil Service Commission Form 31-B) terminating his employment.

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