In Rios, Jr. v. Meda Pharmaceutical, Inc., et al. (A-23-20) (08476) (June 16, 2021), the Supreme Court of New Jersey held that a supervisor’s use of two offensive slurs were sufficiently severe or pervasive enough to create a hostile work environment in violation of...
Biden administration’s new executive order combats discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation
On January 20, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 13988 (“EO 13988”) which expands the prohibition of discrimination based on gender identity and/or sexual orientation. In so doing, EO13988 relies on the 2020 United States Supreme Court decision of Bostock...
EEOC Issues Guidelines Regarding COVID-19 Vaccination of Employees
On December 16, 2020, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) published revised guidelines regarding COVID-19 vaccination for employees. While the guidelines permit vaccination of employees, there are significant legal issues about which...
State of New Jersey Executive Order No. 192 Requires COVID-19 Workplace Safety Protocols
Effective November 5, 2020, Executive Order No. 192 is in effect, requiring New Jersey employers to implement certain workplace safety protocols. This is the State’s latest effort to increase workplace safety for employees. Specifically, Executive Order No. 192...
New Jersey Creates Rebuttable Presumption of Workers’ Compensation Coverage for COVID-19 Cases Involving “Essential Employees”
On September 14, 2020, Governor Murphy signed SB 2380 into law, which creates a rebuttable presumption of workers’ compensation coverage for “essential employees” who contract COVID-19 during a state of emergency. The law is retroactive to March 9, 2020. Pursuant to...
“Training Module” Arbitration Policy In New Jersey Law Against Discrimination Matter Approved By Supreme Court
In the recent decision of Skuse v. Pfizer, Inc., et al., (Docket No. A-86018, 082509, decided on August 18, 2020), the New Jersey Supreme Court held that an arbitration policy that was distributed to employees via email as a “training module” was valid and...