Blog
- Zazzali Firm Happy to Announce That Firm Partner, Colin M. Lynch, approved as Treasurer of the Execu
May 22, 2019
Firm Partner, Colin M. Lynch, Esq, was approved as the new Treasurer of the Labor and Employment Section of the New Jersey State Bar at its 2019 Annual Meeting. Mr. Lynch previously served as the Labor and Employment Section's Recording Secretary. At the meeting, John Shahddanian, Esq., was appointed the new Recording Secretary; Stephanie Wilson, Esq., assumes the duties of Second Vice Chair with Keith Waldman, Esq., taking the position of First Vice Chair; and...Read More - New Jersey Supreme Court Recognizes That Tenured, Part-Time Hourly School Employees are Protected Fr
May 14, 2019
On April 30, 2019, the New Jersey Supreme Court held for the first time that when school employers allocate hours to part-time educational employees in positions whose hours fluctuate, preference must generally be given according to tenure and seniority status in assigning hours. The decision also clarified for the first time that tenured, part-time educational employees are protected from reductions in the numbers of hours worked, even if a fixed number of hours is not...Read More - Governor Phil Murphy Signs Law that Protects LAD Rights and Bans Non-Disclosure Provisions in Settle
Apr 29, 2019
On March 18, 2019, Governor Murphy signed Senate Bill No. 121 into law, which is also referred to as the #MeToo Bill. Exempting collective bargaining agreements, it provides that employment contracts cannot waive an employee’s rights under the LAD (which includes a right to a trial by jury). It provides that “[a] provision in any employment contract that waives any substantive or procedural remedy relating to a claim of discrimination, retaliation, or harassment shall be...Read More - Update on Medical Marijuana in the New Jersey Workplace
Apr 1, 2019
On January 18, 2010, the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act (CUMMA), N.J.S.A. 24:6I-1 et seq., was signed into law to protect from arrest and other penalties patients who use marijuana to alleviate suffering from debilitating medical conditions, as well as their physicians, primary caregivers, and those who are authorized to produce marijuana for medical purposes. In a previous blog post, we discussed a case from the District Court of New Jersey that concluded...Read More - New Jersey Becomes the Fourth State to Raise the Minimum Wage to $15/hour
Mar 12, 2019
On February 4, 2019, Governor Phil Murphy signed a bill that gradually raises the minimum wage to $15 per hour by the year 2024. However, the law does include separate requirements for some sectors of the workforce, such as farmworkers, seasonal workers, tipped employees, and employees of businesses with less than six workers, who will have to wait longer to reach the $15 threshold. The law applies to private employers of all sizes, as well...Read More - The NLRB Takes Another Bite at Workers’ Rights: Common Law Test for Determining Independent Contract
Feb 20, 2019
On January 25, 2019, in SuperShuttle DFW, the National Labor Relations Board (Board) reversed FedEx Home Delivery and returned to its traditional common law test for determining employee vs independent contractor status under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). SuperShuttle DFW, Inc. concerned airport shuttle drivers who transported passengers to and from the Dallas-Fort Worth airport. The drivers signed a one-year franchise agreement with SuperShuttle, under which each driver supplied its own van, paid a...Read More - Supreme Court Issues Decisions Pertaining to Arbitrability of Disputes Under FAA
Jan 22, 2019
In the recent New Prime Inc. v. Dominic Oliveira decision, the United States Supreme Court issued a rare refusal to send a dispute to arbitration, interpreting an exception under the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) that will have a major impact in the labor and employment context. The case concerned whether Plaintiff, a trucker who brought a wage dispute for unpaid wages against his employer and who alleged that he was an employee misclassified as an...Read More - Is Your Arbitration Agreement Enforceable? If It Does Not Designate an Arbitration Forum, It May Not
Dec 20, 2018
In a recent case, the New Jersey Appellate Division addressed the question of whether an arbitration agreement that does not specify an arbitration forum, or any process for conducting the arbitration, is enforceable. The court held that it is not. In Flanzman v. Jenny Craig, Inc., Dkt. No. A-2580-17T1 (App. Div. 2018), the plaintiff, an eighty-two-year-old weight loss counselor who had worked for defendant employer for twenty six years, filed a lawsuit against her former...Read More - New Jersey Legislature Considering a Bill That Radically Transforms Existing Law Governing the Enfor
Dec 7, 2018
A Bill currently pending before the Legislature in New Jersey effectively re-writes the existing common law governing enforcement of employment non-compete agreements by placing substantial additional limitations on an employer’s ability to both enter into and enforce such agreements. All signs point to the likelihood that this Bill will become law. An agreement not to compete (also known as a restrictive covenant) typically restricts an employee from competing with or soliciting clients from an employer...Read More - DOL Issues FAQs on the NJ Earned Sick and Safe Days Act
Nov 1, 2018
The New Jersey Earned Sick and Safe Days Act, which was summarized by the Firm in a previous blog post that can be accessed HERE, went into effect on October 29, 2018. There are still questions concerning how the law is to be implemented. There are currently proposed regulations issued by the New Jersey Department of Labor (DOL), which are anticipated to go into effect sometime in 2019. In the meantime, the DOL issued detailed...Read More