Top News Clips for the Week of December 31-January 6
A selection of the need-to-know civil justice news for the week of December 31-January 6.
Arbitration One Of A Host Of Issues To Watch In 2017
A recent article by Law360 surveyed New Jersey’s legal community about what issues it thinks we should all keep an eye on as members of the legislature come back to Trenton to finish up the second half of their two-year session and vie for re-election. Employment laws that increase employer liability, such as paid sick leave and equal pay, were identified by many as key issues, and NJCJI’s chief counsel, Alida Kass, pointed out that several anti-arbitration measures have also been introduced.
NJCJI Opposes the “Wage Theft” Bill
The New Jersey Civil Justice Institute strongly opposes the so-called “wage theft” bill the Assembly Labor Committee is holding a hearing on Monday. A862 does much more than protect employees against wage theft, which is, of course, already illegal. As amended, this bill would impose massive penalties on businesses who make well-intentioned errors on contentious questions, like the independent contractor/employee distinction, and would provide a backdoor for getting all the worst aspects of the pending “paid sick leave” legislation enacted.
Anti-Arbitration Bill Passes Assembly 50-22-1
On October 20, the New Jersey Assembly voted 50-22-1 in [...]
The Fall Legislative Session Is Heating Up
The New Jersey Legislature is back in session after its traditional summer break, and things are off to a running start. NJCJI has already testified on a few bills, and we are continuing to make the case that New Jersey should enact some common sense legal reforms.
Focusing on TCCWNA Reform
You know your state has a litigation problem when even onlookers across the pond in London are calling you out. Things have gotten pretty bad for businesses in New Jersey since plaintiffs’ attorneys began flooding the courts with Truth-in-Consumer Contract, Warranty and Notice Act (TCCWNA) lawsuits over the terms of service agreements on business websites.
NJCJI Opposes the “Wage Theft” Bill
The New Jersey Civil Justice Institute strongly opposes the so-called [...]
Are Liability Concerns Keeping Schools from Feeding the Needy?
Last week the New Jersey Assembly voted unanimously in favor of A3056, which would amend the Food Bank Good Samaritan Act to waive liability for school districts that donate excess food to the needy. This is both wonderful and a little bit crazy.
Senate to Vote on Paid Sick Leave
The New Jersey Senate has scheduled a vote on S799, which would require all businesses in the state to offer their employees paid sick leave, for this coming Monday, May 9. Under this bill, employers will have to prove in a court of law that they had a legitimate business need to change the schedule of an employee who calls in “sick” every Monday after the Giants have a home football game. Even if a jury agrees that such a schedule change is warranted, the employer will have spent thousands of dollars proving its innocence, costs that will undoubtedly be passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices.
Citing Liability Concerns Raised by NJCJI, Gov. Christie Conditionally Vetoes Equal Pay Bill
Gov. Chris Christie took up his veto pen on Monday and conditionally vetoed an equal pay bill that would have made New Jersey a significant outlier and opened employers in our state up to unprecedented liability. In his five-page veto message, Christie objected to several provisions of the bill that NJCJI had flagged as problematic.