UPDATE: On February 17, 2023, the high court remanded the matter back to the special master for reconsideration under a new legal standard. Little assistance appears to be coming from the Legislature. There are no fewer than nine bills pending that would allow certain classes of safety-sensitive employees to be prohibited from off-duty cannabis use, or that would remove the WIRE requirement for assessing workplace impairment. None of those bills has moved out of committee. It is inevitable that cases…
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Jim Prusinowski appeared with host Erin Bruche on RVN’s Legal Breakdown, which aired on August 31, September 1 and September 3. They reviewed issues that impact business owners while engaging in day-to-day operations and managing personnel. Jim shared his experience with classifying independent contractors and responding to Department of Labor audits and claims. They reviewed the benefits of including restrictive covenants in employment agreements for sales personnel and high-level employees. Finally, they discussed the importance of monitoring business reputation and…
Learn More
For years, the NJ Department of Labor has been targeting businesses it claims do not properly pay into the unemployment system for individuals engaged as employees. However, the net has become wider and bigger with the recent East Bay decision SCONJ recently issued. Many individuals establish a business with expectations of growing it into a robust operation. However, this can take time. The company when initially formed may have only the owner/operator performing work. Additionally, it may have a single…
Learn More
The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) administers most of our significant federal anti-discrimination laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Among the ADA’s provisions is a prohibition against employers subjecting employees to “medical examinations.” An employer may subject employees to medical examinations only when it is “job related and consistent with business necessity” to do so. Mandatory screening for COVID-19 infection is a “medical examination.” The EEOC had taken a lenient – and quite practical – approach for…
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You have or are considering using independent contractors in your business. As we have previously discussed, there are specific criteria that need to be met in order for the individual to be deemed an independent contractor. First among the factors is the individual needs to be free of control: A Test. This is to say the individual is not subject to control or direction in the performance of the services nor has the employer reserved the right to control the…
Learn More
UPDATE: On February 17, 2023, the high court remanded the matter back to the special master for reconsideration under a new legal standard. Little assistance appears to be coming from the Legislature. There are no fewer than nine bills pending that would allow certain classes of safety-sensitive employees to be prohibited from off-duty cannabis use, or that would remove the WIRE requirement for assessing workplace impairment. None of those bills has moved out of committee. It is inevitable that cases…
Jim Prusinowski appeared with host Erin Bruche on RVN’s Legal Breakdown, which aired on August 31, September 1 and September 3. They reviewed issues that impact business owners while engaging in day-to-day operations and managing personnel. Jim shared his experience with classifying independent contractors and responding to Department of Labor audits and claims. They reviewed the benefits of including restrictive covenants in employment agreements for sales personnel and high-level employees. Finally, they discussed the importance of monitoring business reputation and…
For years, the NJ Department of Labor has been targeting businesses it claims do not properly pay into the unemployment system for individuals engaged as employees. However, the net has become wider and bigger with the recent East Bay decision SCONJ recently issued. Many individuals establish a business with expectations of growing it into a robust operation. However, this can take time. The company when initially formed may have only the owner/operator performing work. Additionally, it may have a single…
The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) administers most of our significant federal anti-discrimination laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Among the ADA’s provisions is a prohibition against employers subjecting employees to “medical examinations.” An employer may subject employees to medical examinations only when it is “job related and consistent with business necessity” to do so. Mandatory screening for COVID-19 infection is a “medical examination.” The EEOC had taken a lenient – and quite practical – approach for…
You have or are considering using independent contractors in your business. As we have previously discussed, there are specific criteria that need to be met in order for the individual to be deemed an independent contractor. First among the factors is the individual needs to be free of control: A Test. This is to say the individual is not subject to control or direction in the performance of the services nor has the employer reserved the right to control the…
