I have written a few times on the new, very aggressive, enforcement measures that the New Jersey legislature has recently taken on the issue of misclassification. On this troubling note, I just read an article where other management-side employment law attorneys also recognize that these so-called workplace protection laws can do tremendous damage to their
Employer Withholds Last Wages To Compensate It For Training Costs: Is This An Employer Expense?
A thorny issue for employers is training newly hired people, then having those people quit (for whatever reason) and being stuck with the training costs. What can the employer do? I think there are few options, but one option, a risky one, is to not pay the employee or withhold their pay when they leave.
New Jersey Tightens Up Already Stringent Independent Contractor Enforcement Hammers: Is There No End In Sight?
I have often blogged about the very enforcement-oriented stance of the Murphy Administration and the New Jersey Department of Labor (“NJDOL”). Well, I have now even more evidence. On July 8, 2021, Governor Murphy signed three bills into law that broaden the agency’s power to enforce State wage, benefit, and tax laws.
The first law,
New Enforcement Powers Given to New Jersey DOL Exercised In Broad Fashion For First Time: The Coming Of The Storm?
In July 2019, the New Jersey Legislature amended and expanded the State’s wage-hour laws to give the enforcing agency the power to stop an errant contractor, especially those doing prevailing wage work, from actually doing any more work until the violations are remedied. In its first exercise of this awesome authority, the agency has directed
Paid Time Off For Getting The Vaccine: States Are Moving Towards That.
I have been asked many times by clients if they need to give employees paid time off in order to get the vaccine. I tell them (in New Jersey) that they are not compelled to do so, but it is a good idea. Some States have gone farther than just suggesting it is a “good
New Jersey Business Association Challenges Union Boondoggle Requirement of Mandatory Apprenticeship Program For Construction Employers
I do a great deal of prevailing wage defense on behalf of employers, both on a federal level (i.e. Davis-Bacon Act) and the State of New Jersey prevailing wage statute. It sometimes seems that trade unions are able to aggressively lobby the NJDOL to take administrative actions that militate against non-union employers or make it
Payroll Audit Independent Determination Program Is a Bust… for an Obvious Reason!
When the USDOL self-reporting program was announced, I was highly skeptical. Even though there seemed to be assurances that no undue enforcement actions would be taken, it just did not seem that employers would voluntarily subject themselves to such government review. Evidently, I was right. The USDOL has announced that this voluntary compliance program, the
New Jersey DOL Poster Basically Invites Workers to Claim They Are Not Independent Contractors
The State of New Jersey (and many other states) has started to tighten up laws regarding independent contractor status. One troubling component (to management-side practitioners and employers alike) of this New Jersey initiative is to compel employers to post a notice that explains elements of independent contractor law and, essentially, invites workers to file suits
Many Wage and Hour Issues Arise in Return-to-Work Scenarios From COVID-19
We are seeing states start to re-open and businesses start to come back to life and bring their employees back. There are many difficult economic issues that surround these developments, not the least of which is the continuing need to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act (and state wage and hour laws). These issues
Another Construction Industry Wage-Hour Lawsuit: The Trend Continues
The construction industry has had a long history of wage violations, whether of prevailing wage laws or just “ordinary” wage hour laws. Another example of this trend has emerged in New Jersey where an entity (and its subcontractors) have been sued in federal court in a collective action for alleged failure to pay overtime. The