Articles Tagged with “New Jersey Employment Lawyers”

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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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New Jersey is one of the most employee-friendly states in the nation; and its becoming more and more employee-friendly every year. On February 6, 2023, Governor Murphy signed the Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights Act into law.  This law clarifies and expands employee protections for non-exempt (hourly) employees who work forphoto__1894482_mclaughlin_nardi_4712 temporary staffing agencies.

As a preliminary matter, it is important to note that this Act does not apply to all temporary workers.  Indeed, a prior version of the law was vetoed by Governor Murphy who requested a narrower application of the law. As a result, the final law defines “temporary laborers” as those who contract for employment in a “designated classification placement” with a temporary staffing agency. “Designated classification placement” is further defined to include:

  • Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations;
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New Jersey whistleblower protection laws protect employees who object to or try to prevent illegal conduct by their employers, be they private sector employers or state or local government employers.  However, while New Jersey employment law gives strong protection to employees, a recent published appellate decision in the case of McVey v. Atlanticare Medical Systems Incorporated makes clear that neither the New Jersey nor Federal constitutions provide free speech protections to employees of privatecourthouse-1223280__340-300x200 sector employers, particularly when that speech violates a company policy or is racist.

Background

Heather McVey was an employee of Atlanticare Medical Systems Incorporated, a private employer.  She was hired as a nurse in 2005.  She was promoted several times, eventually becoming Corporate Director of Customer Service.  She was an at will employee.  She had a Facebook page under a fictitious name, “Jayne Heather,” but used her actual photo for her profile, and listed her employment as “Corporate Director at Atlanticare Regional Medical Center.”

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The Civil Service Commission

The New Jersey Civil Service System is governed by the Civil Service Act and Civil Service Regulations.  Chapter 2 of Title 11A of the Civil Service Act, N.J.S.A. 11A:2-1, et seq., establishes the  New Jersey Civil Service Commission (thestone-judge-778488-m-thumb-240x320-71245-thumb-220x293-71246-thumb-220x293-71247 “Commission”).   The Commission is a department of the executive branch of the New Jersey State Government.  Administratively it is part of the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Nonetheless, it operates as an independent agency.  It is free from control of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

The Commission has five members.  Three members are required for a forum.  This has led to a backlog of cases when less than three have been appointed.

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