On June 5, 2019, Nevada became the first state to make it unlawful for employers to reject job applicants who test positive for cannabis. ...more
Last week, the Illinois legislature passed a landmark bill authorizing recreational marijuana. Shortly thereafter, Governor J.B. Pritzker tweeted that he looks forward to signing the bill into law. ...more
On June 3, 2019, the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) issued a much-anticipated Notice of Request for Applications (Notice) and announced that it is seeking new applicants to operate up to 108 new medical marijuana...more
On May 13, 2019, the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) announced amendments to the state’s medical marijuana rules aimed at expanding access to the program, which implements New Jersey’s Compassionate Use Medical...more
On April 9, 2019, the New York City Council approved a bill which will prohibit employers from testing prospective employees for marijuana in a pre-employment drug test....more
On March 27, 2019, the New Jersey Appellate Division reversed the lower court’s dismissal of a complaint that alleged discrimination based on an employee’s use of medical marijuana. ...more
Over a year after its initial introduction, and after enough time to draw speculation (and perhaps some dust) on Governor Murphy’s desk, the Governor has signed Bill S121 into law. ...more
On Tuesday, February 19, 2019, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law Assembly Bill 3975 which expands the reach of several leave laws in the Garden State. Although the majority of the changes pertain to the state’s...more
On Monday, February 4, 2019, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law a bill that gradually raises the minimum wage to $15 over the next five years....more
In January 2018, the District Court for the District of Colorado rejected a cannabis company's argument that it was not subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) because it was engaged in an industry "entirely forbidden"...more
On November 26, 2018, the New Jersey legislature advanced three cannabis-related bills out of committee; the measures now go to the floor of each chamber, and votes could occur as early as December 17, 2018....more
In August of 2017, the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut made news when it ruled that federal law does not preempt a state law that expressly prohibits employers from firing or refusing to hire someone who...more
As the number of states authorizing use of cannabis increases for both medical and adult (i.e., recreational) purposes, the ambiguities and issues for employers continue to grow. Regardless of expansion at the state level,...more
As a gubernatorial candidate, Phil Murphy ran on a platform of legalizing marijuana in New Jersey. In just seven months since taking office, now-Governor Murphy has taken a number of actions that resulted in the ballooning of...more
Earlier this year, several New Jersey Senators introduced Bill S121 aimed at prohibiting provisions in employment contracts or settlement agreements which have "the purpose or effect of concealing the details relating to a...more
In December 2017, we blogged about New Jersey Senate bill SB3518, which set forth sweeping restrictions that would limit the enforceability of non-compete agreements. Last week, the New Jersey Assembly Labor Committee...more
On May 3, 2018, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed an Executive Order establishing the Task Force on Employee Misclassification (the "Task Force"). New Jersey already applies the more onerous "ABC test" for...more
The changes in New Jersey following the election of Governor Phil Murphy continue. On May 2, 2018, Governor Murphy signed the New Jersey Paid Sick Leave Act (the "Act"), making New Jersey the tenth state to guarantee...more
On April 24, 2018, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed the Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act that was passed by the legislature several weeks ago and is aimed at lessening the wage gap in the Garden State. The Equal Pay Act is...more
The #MeToo movement has empowered women and men to speak out about their personal experiences with sexual harassment in and around their professional environment. This can present itself in either a formal complaint to the...more
On November 27, 2017, Pennsylvania became the next state to join the national trend to limit the use of restrictive covenants when a bill was introduced in the Pennsylvania House that would ban non-competition covenants in...more
In keeping with the national trend limiting the use of restrictive covenants, in November 2017, the New Jersey Senate introduced SB3518, a bill setting forth sweeping restrictions that would limit the enforceability of...more
The United States District Court of the District of Connecticut became the first federal court to issue a ruling that federal law does not preempt a state law that expressly prohibits employers from firing or refusing to hire...more
Employers have been buffeted over the last several years by significant changes in labor and employment laws at the federal, state and local levels, and 2015 was no exception. As the year draws to a close, here is a recap of...more
New Jersey employers’ mandatory arbitration policies are likely to be found unenforceable when contained in an employee handbook, the New Jersey Appellate Division recently ruled. In C.M. v. Maiden Re Insurance Services, LLC,...more