The Employment Law Counselor

On August 8, 2023, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOL) implemented the Workplace Accountability in Labor List (the WALL) — a public list, accessible through the DOL website, that includes the names of employers found to be in violation of New Jersey State wage, benefit and tax laws and have outstanding liabilities to the DOL. Such liabilities might include unpaid wages or unemployment insurance contributions to the State.

Employers may appear on the WALL following a final order or judgment issued by the DOL. The DOL will issue its final order or ... Continue Reading

On June 12, a federal jury in Camden, New Jersey returned a verdict in favor of Shannon Phillips, a white Starbucks Regional Director who claimed that she was terminated from her management level position on the basis of her race. Phillips claimed that after media coverage of the arrests of two black customers who were sitting in a Philadelphia Starbucks store, she was directed to suspend a white District Manager with no connection to the Philadelphia store, based on alleged discriminatory conduct. Phillips claimed that she informed Starbucks supervisors that the race-based ... Continue Reading

New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination (LAD) prohibits employers from unlawfully discriminating against employees based on, among other things, their race, color, national origin, nationality, ancestry, disability, national origin, sex and age. The LAD is also quite broad in its application in comparison to federal protections against discrimination (e.g., the LAD applies to all employers while Title VII of the Civil Rights Act is only applicable to employers with 15 or more employees). On October 5, 2021, Governor Murphy signed legislation providing increased protections for employees 70 years old or older.Continue Reading