On July 20, 2019, Pennsylvania expanded its list of 17 “serious medical conditions” that qualify for medical marijuana usage under the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Act (MMA) to now include anxiety and Tourette Syndrome. Previously, the MMA limited access to designated ailments like cancer, multiple sclerosis, post-traumatic stress disorder and inflammatory bowel disease, and terminal illnesses (defined as a life expectancy of 12 months or less). These conditions resulted in about 110,000 registered medical marijuana users…

On March 18, 2019, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed new legislation (S121) that significantly impacts the scope of certain employment agreements and settlement agreements between employers and employees/former employees. The controversial legislation addresses the following: Ban on waiver of substantive and procedural rights in employment contracts related to discrimination, harassment or retaliation claims The legislation voids any provision in an employment contract that waives “any substantive or procedural right or remedy relating to a…

On February 6, 2019, the Fifth Circuit affirmed summary judgment in favor of an employer on claims that it discriminated against the plaintiff based on her transgender status. In Wittmer v. Phillips 66 Company, the plaintiff sued Phillips 66 Company for sex discrimination under Title VII in the Southern District of Texas, claiming that the company rescinded her offer of employment after learning she was transgender. The District Court granted the company’s motion for summary…

On Monday, May 21, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that agreements between employers and employees providing for individualized arbitration proceedings are enforceable. The decision came in a trio of cases, all raising the issue of whether the Federal Arbitration’s Act’s saving clause, which removes the obligation to enforce an arbitration agreement in certain circumstances, was triggered. The plaintiffs-employees argued that the saving clause applied because agreements requiring individualized arbitration proceedings violated the National Labor…

Ruling has encouraging implications for all employers Earlier today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that auto service advisors—employees at car dealerships who advise customers about repair work—are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) overtime requirements. The ruling reverses unexpected decisions by the Department of Labor and the Ninth Circuit that upended what had been standard practice at auto dealerships. The 5-4 decision in Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro turned on the interpretation of…

On December 17, 2015, the New Jersey Senate passed legislation that would require New Jersey employers of any size to provide employees with paid sick leave. The bill was received by the Assembly on December 21, 2015, and referred to the Assembly Human Services Committee. If passed by the House and signed by the Governor, the bill would take effect 120 days after its enactment. Leave Amount and Accrual The bill requires small employers (10…

On January 14, 2015, the New Jersey Supreme Court (the Court) ruled that when determining whether an individual is an employee or independent contractor under the New Jersey wage laws—specifically, the NJ Wage Payment Law (WPL) and NJ Wage and Hour Law (WHL)—the broad “ABC” test used for making that determination under the NJ unemployment compensation statute shall govern. (The case is titled Hargrove v. Sleepy’s, LLC (Hargrove); a copy of the ruling is available…