On Thursday, March 4, 2021, the Honorable Anne E. Thompson, a Senior Judge for the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, heard oral argument on a motion for summary judgment filed by the New Jersey Civil Justice Institute (“NJCJI”) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in their pending civil action against More »
Read More »On Wednesday, February 24, 2021, the Assembly Labor Committee heard testimony on a sweeping bill that all but prohibits employers’ use of restrictive covenants from a practical perspective. Among other things, the bill requires employers to provide 100% pay and continue contributions to fringe benefits for former employees during the duration of a restrictive covenant More »
Read More »On January 21, 2021, the Honorable Craig L. Wellerson, Presiding Judge of the New Jersey Superior Court, Law Division, Civil Part (Ocean County), issued a bench opinion holding that N.J.S.A. 10:5-12.7 is pre-empted by the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”). That statute, enacted by the New Jersey Legislature in 2019, has the practical effect of barring More »
Read More »This week, NJBIZ published an unedited Zoom interview that its chief editor, Jeff Kanige, conducted with NJCJI’s new President, Anthony Anastasio. Anthony discussed NJCJI’s mission along with its current and future priorities. He also discussed the shifting political landscape in Washington D.C. and its effect on legislative and regulatory priorities in New Jersey. A link More »
Read More »A3625, legislation that imposes restrictions on the use of biometric information by businesses, was released from the Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology Committee after a hearing on Monday, January 25, 2021. The Chair of the Committee and sponsor of the bill, Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker, offered some brief comments at the outset of the hearing. Assemblyman More »
Read More »On January 19, 2021, the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, issued a noteworthy decision enforcing an arbitration agreement in the employment context. The plaintiff in the case claimed that her supervisor committed various acts of sexual harassment and retaliation prohibited by the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. The defendant-employer moved to compel arbitration of More »
Read More »S1559, legislation that would expand policyholders’ ability to bring bad faith claims against their automobile insurers, was released from the Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday, January 21, 2021, with amendments. The sponsor of the bill, Senator Nicholas Scutari, testified in support of this legislation. Senator Scutari generally claimed that policyholders have no recourse against their More »
Read More »On January 8, 2021, U.S. Magistrate Judge Joel Schneider issued a ruling in multidistrict product liability litigation that analyzes the standards for designating discovery materials as confidential in such cases. This ruling may have widespread significance, as it is one of the few instances where those standards are discussed in detail and applied against a More »
Read More »On Wednesday, January 13, 2021, the New Jersey Supreme Court issued its decision in Branch v. Cream-O-Land Dairy, in which NJCJI appeared as amicus curiae. The decision presents a cautionary tale for employers who rely on comments or decisions by officials from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) regarding the appropriateness More »
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