Following a $2 trillion plus stimulus bill passed in the Spring of 2020, the Congress has finally been able to come to terms on another economic stimulus and relief bill, and the president has finally signed it into law. The bill is over nearly 5,600 pages long and has a…
New Jersey Lawyers Blog
Paid Leave Requirements Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act Are Important New Jersey Employment Law Developments
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) on March 18, 2020. This law includes two Acts providing for paid leave to be enforced by the US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. They provide great protections for New…
New Jersey Civil Service Appeal Process is a Two Way Street
As we have explained here before, the New Jersey Civil Service appeal process gives civil service employees a meaningful avenue for appealing discipline imposed by their government employers. However, a recent appellate opinion is a good reminder that this meaningful avenue for appeal is a two-way street. The New…
Opinions in Other Areas of New Jersey Law Provide Guidance When Challenging Arbitration Agreements in New Jersey Employment Contracts
It is interesting that the trend in New Jersey employment law is to enforce arbitration agreements in employment contracts, while at the same time finding them unenforceable in consumer and commercial contracts. However, the law is the same: whatever the area, arbitration agreements are interpreted and enforced – or not…
Appellate Division Decision Demonstrates Enforceability of Arbitration Awards in New Jersey Construction Law
Construction Arbitration Complex New Jersey construction law cases can be extremely expensive to litigate in court because of the amount of documents involved, the number of witnesses, and the need for experts. Therefore, many construction contracts contain arbitration provisions. The view is that arbitration can save money in the litigation…
The Effect of Joint Ownership on a New Jersey Estate’s Inheritance Tax Liability
Except in the case of spouses, civil union partners and domestic partners, when a New Jersey resident dies owning a jointly held asset, whether it is real estate, stocks, bank accounts, etc., the entire value of the asset will be taxed as if it belonged to the decedent. If the…
Appellate Division Rules that New Jersey Civil Service Appeals Must be Decided Based on Independent Fact-Finding by Administrative Law Judge
The State and Federal Constitutions require that when the government takes action against someone that person must receive due process. For Civil Service employees, that process is the disciplinary appeals process. Therefore, in the case of In re Smith, Irvington Township, Department of Public Safety, the Appellate Division ruled that…
Facts Still Matter When Trying to Enforce Arbitration Agreement Under New Jersey Employment Law
The recent trend has been for courts to find arbitration agreements enforceable under both Federal and New Jersey employment law. However, prior to enforcing an arbitration agreement, courts must find that there was actually agreement. This simple concept was emphasized again by the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of…
New Jersey Attorney General Directives on Release of Police Officer Disciplinary Records Will Affect Discovery in Employment Law Cases
Background In the wake of the death of George Floyd, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal issued two directives amending New Jersey’s Internal Affairs Policy and Procedures (commonly referred to as the “Attorney General Guidelines” or the “IAPP”). The thrust of these directives is to allow for the disclosure…
Appellate Division Rules that Special Disciplinary Arbitration by the New Jersey Public Employee Relations Commission is not Available to Police Officers Employed by New Jersey Public Colleges
A while ago I wrote a blog detailing the disciplinary process and appeal rights of non-civil service police officers under New Jersey employment law. The Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey recently issued an opinion clarifying who is and isn’t a law enforcement officer entitled to these…