Employment Law Notebook

Today, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction to halt the U.S. Department of Labor’s  new overtime rule from going into effect December 1.

Recently, McDonald's entered into a multi-million dollar settlement in a wage & hour class action in California.  This settlement is not unusual in terms of the dollar amount or that a well known company involved.  What is striking is that the franchisor McDonald's, took part in the settlement.  Usually the franchisor goes to great lengths to ensure that it is not responsible for wage &

It has become commonplace to see news story after news story in which women are speaking out about being sexually harassed by high-level and high profile men.  The good news is that this shows that more women are starting to feel it is a safe environment to talk about sexual harassment.  Unfortunately, as a practical matter, in workplaces across this country, many women do not feel comfortable

New Jersey voters will now get the last word on the $15 minimum wage.  Two months after the state legislature passed a bill that would increase the state’s minimum wage to $15 per hour, Governor Chris Christie vetoed the bill.  In announcing his decision, the Governor stated that the wage hike “would trigger an escalation of wages that will make doing business in New Jersey unaffordable”, parti

Counsel frequently research their adversaries and plaintiffs looking for dirt.  However, this case shows that engaging in a deception to fish for that information can backfire:  http://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-decision-idUSKCN1051PR

Trenton, NJ

By Lisa I. Fried-Grodin

Trenton, NJ

By Lisa I. Fried-Grodin

This Thursday June 23, 2016, the New Jersey Senate is scheduled to vote on a bill that would make New Jersey the third state in the country to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour.  The New Jersey Assembly passed the bill in May. If approved, the bill would be sent to Governor Chris Christie. 

Yesterday, the New Jersey Supreme Court rejected an employer’s attempt to control the number of potential discrimination lawsuits by contractually requiring employees to bring such claims within six months.  Referencing the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination’s (“NJLAD”) critical role in eradicating discrimination in the workplace, the Court in its new decision, Sergio Rodriguez v.

Today's announcement means that many more people will be entitled to overtime. I expect the largest impact to be among administrative assistants, "assistant managers", and the like who have office or non-manual jobs.

Regardless one's view on whether $15 per hour minimum wage is a good thing or not (which, is something that fundamentally should be decided by lawmakers), even the most business-friendly Justices had to reject a super-tenuous argument based on discrimination against small business vs.