Gibbons Law Alert

Gibbons Law Alert

Tagged: New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD)

Arbitration Clause’s Punitive Damages Waiver Held Unenforceable Under the LAD

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Posted in Alternative Dispute Resolution

On October 23, 2018

In Roman v. Bergen Logistics, LLC, the Appellate Division recently held that a plaintiff was required to arbitrate her claims of sexual harassment and retaliation with her former employer. The court also held, however, that the arbitration agreement’s contractual provision that barred the employee’s access to punitive damages was unenforceable. Background Plaintiff Milagros Roman was hired by the defendant, Bergen Logistics, as a human resources generalist. She signed an arbitration agreement at the outset of her employment. In addition to requiring Roman to arbitrate any and all claims related to her employment, the arbitration agreement compelled her to waive any claim for punitive damages. After her termination, Roman filed a complaint in New Jersey Superior Court alleging that her former supervisor sexually harassed her, created a hostile work environment, and retaliated against her in violation of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD). The defendants moved to dismiss Roman’s complaint and compel her to arbitrate her claims. The Law Division found that Roman knowingly signed the arbitration agreement and that the agreement contained an unambiguous waiver of claims for punitive damages. Accordingly, that court held that Roman was required to submit her claims to arbitration and could not seek punitive damages. Roman timely appealed. The Appellate Division’s Decision The Appellate Division held that the arbitration...

Governor Murphy Signs New Jersey Pay Equity Legislation

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Posted in Discrimination

On April 25, 2018

Yesterday, Governor Murphy signed the Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act. The new law will go into effect July 1, 2018. For a description of the law and how it will affect New Jersey employers, please see our previous blog post. If you have any questions regarding how to comply with New Jersey’s new pay equity law, please feel free to contact any of the attorneys in the Gibbons Employment & Labor Law Department.

New Jersey Senate Labor Committee Amends Bill Prohibiting Use of Nondisclosure Provisions in Employment and Settlement Agreements

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Posted in Discrimination / Employment Agreements

On April 20, 2018

In response to the recent spotlight on sexual abuse and harassment claims in the workplace and the #MeToo movement, the federal government and numerous states, including New Jersey, have focused attention on the use of nondisclosure provisions in settlement agreements involving claims of sexual harassment and assault. As we previously reported, the Tax Cuts and Job Bills Act was passed in December 2017 and includes a provision that bars any settlement or payment related to claims of sexual harassment or sexual abuse from being deducted as a business expense if the payments are subject to a nondisclosure agreement. While the federal tax bill aims to discourage the use of nondisclosure agreements, the proposed New Jersey legislation initially provided an outright ban on such agreements. At the time of its first introduction during the prior legislative session in December 2017, Senator Loretta Weinberg’s proposed bill prohibited New Jersey employers from including “a provision in any employment contract or agreement which has the purpose or effect of concealing the details relating to a claim of discrimination, retaliation, or harassment.” The bill is unique because it is not limited to sexual harassment or abuse claims, but rather would apply to any type of discrimination, retaliation, or harassment claim under New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination. Senator Weinberg’s bill was reintroduced...

New Jersey Legislature Passes Sweeping Pay Equity Legislation

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Posted in Discrimination

On March 27, 2018

Yesterday, the New Jersey Senate and Assembly passed comprehensive pay equity legislation. The legislation passed both houses with significant bi-partisan support and it is expected that Governor Murphy will soon sign the legislation into law. Once in effect, the legislation, which amends the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“the LAD”), will be the most wide-ranging pay equity law in the United States. Significantly, unlike most pay equity laws passed in recent years by other states which target unlawful pay discrimination of women, the New Jersey law will prohibit pay discrimination of employees in any protected class. Specifically, the legislation makes it an unlawful employment practice to discriminate against a member of any protected class by compensating the employee at a lesser rate of pay, benefits, or other forms of compensation than an employee who is not a member of the protected class for “substantially similar work.” The “substantially similar” standard, which diverges from the “equal work” standard of the federal Equal Pay Act, mirrors the California Fair Pay Act. Moreover, the legislation provides that comparisons of wage rates shall be based on wage rates in all of an employer’s operations or facilities regardless of where located. An employer will be permitted to pay a different rate to an employee if it can show that the...

Gov. Murphy’s First Executive Order Prohibits State Government from Asking Applicants about Salary History

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Posted in Discrimination / State Legislation

On January 18, 2018

Governor Phil Murphy has signed an executive order which bars state workers from asking job applicants seeking positions with the state about their previous salaries in his first official act after his swearing-in on January 16, 2018. State entities may now only inquire as to an applicant’s past salary history after the entity has made a conditional offer of employment, which includes an explanation of the compensation package being offered to the applicant. The goal of the executive order is to eliminate wage inequalities that result from female employees who accept lower starting salaries and then remain on a lower compensation track, with pay disparities compounding over time. Significantly, at the signing ceremony, the Governor stated that he would sign a bill that extended these same provisions to private sector employers which the legislative sponsors vowed to move quickly to his desk. In fact, legislation has already been introduced that prohibits an employer from inquiring about the salary history of an applicant. Assembly Bill 1094 was introduced on January 9, 2018 by Assemblywoman Joanne Downey (D-11) and referred to the Assembly Labor Committee. Senate Bill 559 was introduced by Senator Nia Gill (D-34) on January 9, 2018 and referred to the Senate Labor Committee. The legislation, described by legislative sponsors as an effort to promote...

N.J. Supreme Court Invalidates Agreements to Shorten the LAD’s Statute of Limitations

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Posted in Discrimination

On June 20, 2016

On June 15, 2016, the New Jersey Supreme Court, in Rodriguez v. Raymours Furniture Company, Inc., held that an agreement by an employee to bring claims against his employer within six months of the allegedly wrongful employment action was unenforceable insofar as the agreement applied to claims brought under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“the LAD”). In 1993, the Court had held that New Jersey’s general two-year statute of limitations for personal injury actions provides the appropriate limitations period for LAD claims. In Raymours, the Court ruled that the employer’s attempt to reduce this limitations period to six months undermined the LAD’s specific enforcement scheme for the elimination of discrimination and thus, for public policy reasons, could not be judicially sanctioned. In addition, the Court found that the particular agreement at issue, set forth as part of the boilerplate in the employer’s standard employment application form, constituted an unenforceable contract of adhesion.

New Jersey Appellate Division Requires Arbitration Provisions to Include Specific Waiver of Right to Sue in Court

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Posted in Policies and Handbooks

On December 3, 2014

Two recent New Jersey Appellate Division decisions have serious implications for employers utilizing or contemplating arbitration provisions. In both decisions – Kelly v. Beverage Works NY Inc., decided on November 26, 2014, and Dispenziere v. Kushner Cos., decided on November 21, 2014 – the Appellate Division relied on the New Jersey Supreme Court’s September decision in Atalese v. U.S. Legal Services Group, which held that an arbitration provision was unenforceable because it lacked “clear and unambiguous language” that the party signing the agreement is waiving its right to sue in court.

New Jersey Appellate Court Upholds Agreements Shortening the Statute of Limitations for Employment-Related Claims

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Posted in Employment Agreements

On June 25, 2014

On June 19, 2014, in Rodriguez v. Raymours Furniture Company, Inc., the New Jersey Appellate Division upheld the validity of a provision in an employment application form by which the job applicant agreed that, if hired, he or she would bring any employment-related claim within 6 months after the claim arose. Plaintiff alleged he was terminated because of a disability in violation of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“LAD”) and in retaliation for having filed a workers compensation claim. The Appellate Division held that because the plaintiff brought these claims 9 months after his termination they were barred by the 6-month limitations period in the application form even though they were brought well within the 2-year statute of limitations period otherwise applicable to these types of claims.

“School’s Out For Summer”: Legal Issues Impacting Employers Who Engage Summer Interns

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Posted in Wage and Hour

On May 6, 2014

With summer fast-approaching, employers who plan on utilizing summer interns should be aware of two issues that can have serious legal implications. The first applies to employers who engage, or are considering engaging, unpaid interns ─ when is an unpaid intern in fact an “employee” legally entitled to wages? The second issue applies to both paid and unpaid interns ─ do the discrimination laws protect interns from adverse employment actions based on their protected class status? Consideration of the these questions before “intern season” begins can avoid problems down the road and prevent expensive and time-consuming litigation.

NJ Supreme Court Grants Leave to Appeal to Employee After NJ Appellate Division Permits Indictment Arising From Her Theft of Employer Documents to Prove LAD and CEPA Claims

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Posted in Discrimination

On March 26, 2014

The New Jersey Supreme Court recently granted defendant Ivonne Saavedra’s leave to appeal the Appellate Division’s decision in State v. Saavedra, the subject of a previous post, affirming the trial court’s denial of her motion to dismiss an indictment charging her with official misconduct for stealing confidential documents from her employer to support her claims under New Jersey’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act (“CEPA”) and the Law Against Discrimination (“LAD”). The majority in the Appellate Division was not persuaded by Saavedra’s argument that her actions were protected under Quinlan v. Curtiss-Wright Corp., also the subject of a previous post, where the Supreme Court held that an employee who was allegedly terminated for using stolen documents in litigation against her employer could assert a claim of retaliation. A dissenting opinion in the Appellate Division in Saavedra, authored by Judge Simonelli, concluded that the indictment should be dismissed with prejudice. For Judge Simonelli, it was fundamentally unfair to criminally prosecute an employee for taking employer documents while engaged in protected activity pursuant to CEPA or the LAD because the law does not give fair warning that the conduct is illegal. Though Saavedra concerns a public employee/employer, it has important implications for private employers as well. The Gibbons Employment & Labor Law Department will continue to monitor developments in the case...

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