Articles Posted in Business Law

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New Jersey employment law provides significant protections for employees who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or have recently given birth.

The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination provides protection against discrimination against pregnant and breastfeeding employees.  It also requires that employers make reasonablekids-300x225 accommodations available so that pregnant or breastfeeding employees and new mothers can perform their jobs.  It prohibits retaliation against employees who request such accommodations.  The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination gives a non-exhaustive list of such reasonable accommodations: “bathroom breaks, breaks for increased water intake, periodic rest, assistance with manual labor, job restructuring or modified work schedules, and temporary transfers to less strenuous or hazardous work.”

The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination generally gives more extensive protection to employees than Federal law, including pregnant and breastfeeding employees, and New Jersey State courts generally provide greater procedural protections for employees than Federal court.  Nonetheless, Federal law also provides protections for pregnant employees.

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The New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act and home improvement practices regulations presented a dilemma – they provide valuable tools protecting homeowners from unscrupulous home improvement contractors by awarding them triple damages and attorneys fees when successful, but risk imposing drastic penalties on legitimate contractors who miss some of their more technical requirements.  However, as the Appellate Division recently explained in the case of Philip Dattolo v. EMC Squared LLC and Edward T. Morgan, the requirement that a homeowner must provehouse-225x300 ascertainable damages which result from the consumer fraud violations goes a long way toward resolving this conflict.

Background

The facts of the case are these.  Dattolo contracted with EMC Squared LLC to construct a single-family home in Boonton, New Jersey in October 2018.  EMC was solely owned by Edward Morgan.  In March 2019, EMC offered a list of extras, and Dattolo accepted some.  EMC created a written change order but it was never signed.  In January 2020, Mogan told Dattolo that EMC was unable to continue.  He told Dattolo that the project received final inspections.  He gave Dattolo a final bill with credit for the unfinished work.  Dattolo refused to pay, asserting many construction defects existed which would cause him considerable expense to correct.

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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 Federal appeals court which hears New Jersey cases issued a precedential decision explaining the definition of “disability” for purposes of disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act. tess-225x300

Background

Andrew Morgan was employed by Allison Crane & Rigging LLC as a millwright laborer.  On September 29, 2020 he injured his lower back on the job.  He advised his supervisors, but continued his shift even though he was in “severe pain.”  He then saw a chiropractor who diagnosed Morgan with a bulging or herniated disc in his lower back.  He began treatment twice a week, and had pain when he sat, walked or turned.  The chiropractor placed him on light duty, which he advised his supervisors of in a meeting on October 7, 2020; they advised him not to file a workers compensation claim.  The light duty was to continue until November 25th, at which point the chiropractor advised that he could resume his full duties.

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New Jersey construction contractors and suppliers often have difficulty collecting money due them for their work or supplies.  One of the tools available to help ensure payment is including a personal guarantee in their construction contracts.  However, personal guarantees have certain requirements.  The Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey addressed this issue inhouse-225x300 the case of Extech Building Services, Inc. vs. E&N Construction, Inc., Shawn Roney and Joaquim Ferreira, et al.

Background

Extech Building Services, Inc., was the supplier of building materials on a construction project for the general contractor, E&N Construction, Inc.  There was a written six paragraph agreement in which Extech extended credit for the project to E&N.  The last paragraph of the agreement also had a provision for personal guarantees; however, the identity of the guarantors was not provided.  There were three signature lines.  Two had the names of Shawn Roney and Joaquim Ferreira, who were executives at E&N, which were signed; a third line was blank and unsigned.

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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 affords significant wage and hour protections to employees through the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law and the New Jersey Wage Payment Law.  Both laws were significantly strengthened by amendments in 2019, adding additional penalties,6-300x225 recovery of attorneys fees, enhanced damages, and a longer, six-year statute of limitations.  One question left open by the Legislature was whether the statute of limitations would be applied retroactively to cover conduct prior to the amendments, or prospectively to cover only conduct from 2019 onward.  The New Jersey Supreme Court has now unambiguously answered that question.

The New Jersey Wage Payment Law

The New Jersey Wage Payment Law was enacted in 1965 and governs the timing and payment of wages.  It prohibits withholdings of wages unless the law expressly allows or requires.  Wages must be paid at least twice per month, and no later than 10 days after the pay period covered.  The employee must be told in advance what she will be earning, and before any changes to her pay are made.  She must be paid all wages due when she leaves employment on the next regular payday.

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New Jersey employment law has generally upheld non-compete (or non-competition) agreements provided they met certain requirements aimed at allowing employees to earn a living.  Non-compete agreements have been much vilified by pro-employee groups, and much5-225x300 supported by pro-employer groups.  However, the United States Federal Trade Commission has issued a rule which would prohibit non-compete agreements.  At least one lawsuit has been filed aiming to block the new regulation, and others are expected.  So whether the rule will take effect, and if so in what form it will be allowed, is still an open question.  However, employers and employees should be prepared, because unless an injunction is issued the rule will become effective in several months.

The Rule

The Rule, part of the United States Code of Federal Regulations, defines non-compete clauses as:

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The Wage and Hour Division of the United States Department of Labor has issued a new regulation vastly increasing the number of employees who are entitled to overtime.

Background

Both Federal and New Jersey employment law both require that employees must be paid one and a half times their regular hourly rate (“timecourthouse-1223280__340-300x200 and a half”) for work beyond forty hours in any week.  However, there are exceptions.  The major exemptions are for executive, administrative, professional, and highly compensated employees.  In addition to the requirements particular to each exemption, the employees cannot be paid less than the threshold for the exemption.

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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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