In what may be the beginning of a wave of post-COVID-19 lawsuits, a former Assistant Director of Nursing filed a whistleblower complaint against her employer, a long-term care facility. The lawsuit claims termination for raising concerns about alleged health and safety issues relating to, inter alia, staffing levels and the use of effective personal protective
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A Quick Overview of New Jersey’s New WARN Act
New Jersey’s WARN Act (the Millville-Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act) has been amended, effective July 19, 2020. N.J.S.A. § 34:21-1, et seq., to expand greatly its scope and requirements:
- Definitions: the terms below will change to expand the Act’s coverage of employers and their actions.
- Establishment- the Act no longer
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Ohio Court Reverses Enforcement of Employment Arbitration Agreement
An Ohio appellate court reversed enforcement of an employment arbitration agreement, holding that the agreement was both substantively and procedurally unconscionable because it required the parties to submit to arbitration all claims arising among them, even those unrelated to the employment relationship. Please click here for a complete analysis by our colleagues.
Cincinnati and Boston to Ban Discrimination Against Natural Hair
In February 2019, the New York City Commission on Human Rights amended the New York City Human Rights Law to ban discrimination against natural hairstyles as part of the Law’s prohibition against race or color discrimination. This past July, California created the CROWN Act (“Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair” (SB 188))…
New York State Further Expands Anti-Discrimination Laws
In addition to the laws expanding sexual harassment liability, the New York State Legislature also passed last week three laws that will bar employers from inquiring about applicants’ salary history, prohibit wage differentials based on protected class status, and ban race discrimination based on hairstyle. For a complete review, see our article by clicking here
Significant Expansion of Harassment Laws in New York State
Employers in New York State will soon be faced with greater potential liability for sexual harassment under legislation passed last week. The same law contains a variety of other changes governing workplace harassment. For a complete summary see our article by clicking here.
Washington Supreme Court Confirms Higher Standard for Harassment at a “Place of Public Accommodation”
Under the Washington State Law Against Discrimination (“WLAD”), the statute prohibits “places of public accommodation” discriminating against individuals on the basis of sex, race, national origin, and sexual orientation. RCW 49.60.215. “Places of public accommodation” is broadly defined and includes all facilities or businesses used by or open to the public. Sexual harassment is a…
New Jersey Hotels Must Provide “Panic Buttons”
New Jersey Governor Murphy signed Bill S-2986 into law on June 11, 2019 mandating that “larger” hotels protect workers from sexual violence, assault, and other acts of harassment and violence that can occur on hotel premises by co-workers and/or guests. A copy of the law can be seen by clicking here. The law notes…
Workplace Gossip May Lead to Title VII Liability, Fourth Circuit Holds
An employer’s failure to stop a false rumor that a female employee slept with her male boss in order to obtain a promotion can give rise to liability under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, according to a recent decision by the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Parker v. Reema…
New Jersey: Non-Disclosure Provisions Prohibited in Settlement Agreements and Other Contracts
In what could be the next wave of legislation, New Jersey has amended the State’s Law Against Discrimination to bar enforcement of non-disclosure provisions in settlement agreements and employment contracts. For a complete discussion of the new law, effective March 18, 2019, please click here.