Employment Law Notebook

New Jersey voters legalized marijuana at the ballot in November.  Now two new laws are significantly restricting what an employer can and can’t do with regard to background checks related to marijuana-related criminal history, and drug testing employees and applicants for marijuana.  The background check requirements come from a new Decriminalization statute and the drug testing restrictions co

To Vaccinate Or Not To Vaccinate?   Employers Should Tread Carefully Before Requiring Employees To Get A COVID-19 Vaccination

The New Jersey Department of Labor has released a great deal of information on its website for both employees and employers in connection with the New COVID-19 Workplace Health and Safety Rules that went into effect on November 5.

With the potential release of vaccines for COVID-19 expected in the near future, can employers require employees to get vaccinated? What rights do employees have if they don't want to be vaccinated?  We tackle these questions in this video. 

Due to the growing number of new COVID-19 cases emerging across the state of New Jersey, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy issued an executive order yesterday imposing mandatory health and safety protocols on businesses, non-profits, educational entities and governmental entities that have any employees performing work at an employer’s worksite.  The mandatory requirements, which go into effect a

As if the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t created enough challenges for employers, the rollout and evolution of different school learning plans has created confusion about an employer’s obligations to adjust the schedule and shifts of employees with children in school, how employees must be paid when they spend part of their day assisting their children, and whether or not employers can reduce an empl

We have found this to be all too common this year: 

https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2020/09/i-have-to-pay-back-nearly-11k-in-...

Many of us travel during the summer and don’t typically report our vacation plans to our employers.  However, employees who work in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut can expect to be asked by their employers to provide such information due to new travel advisory rules that the three states put in place in late June.

Due to COVID-19, many employers who are contemplating reopening their businesses or returning employees to the worksite are overwhelmed. They want to run a successful business, but are confused about what rules to follow, how to decide which employees should come back first, what to do to keep them safe, and simply how to stay sane!

With laws and standards changing every week, it can be overwhelming to keep track of new guidance related to COVID-19 issues.  We have compiled a list of various key links to guidance documents issued by various New Jersey and federal government agencies and New Jersey business groups in response to COVID-19.  The guidance referenced here is not industry-specific.