Jennifer O’Brien has a master’s degree in education and certifications as an elementary school teacher and supervisor. All that education and no common sense. You’ll see what I mean after the jump. It’s what we wordsmiths call a s&!*storm of a clusterf#%k. * * * O’Brien was assigned to teach the…
Articles Posted in New Jersey
Salty about Sandy: 20 Hurricane tweets from your employees
Hurricane Sandy: Day 2 To my east-coasters, I hope this post finds you safe and dry. Me? Hey, thanks for asking. Our Philly home kept power throughout and we otherwise made it through unscathed. Still, Philadelphia remains in a state of emergency. The City is essentially shut down. Most of…
New equal-rights rules for NJ employers take effect next month
I’d better remember to post this now before I get bitten and turn into a zombie and munch on your face.. [Note to self: Less of “The Walking Dead,” more sleep]. On November 19, 2012, this new law will take effect in NJ, which will require employers of 50…
Psst…there’s a hella-good new blog for HR and employment law
Janette Levey Frisch, In-House Counsel at Joule, Inc., has guest-blogged here before (here and here). As you know from her posts here, she is a fantastic employment lawyer. Now you can reap more of the benefits by checking out her brand new employment-law blog: The Emplawyerologist (http://theemplawyerologist.wordpress.com/). Welcome Janette!
CA enacts workplace social media protections; NJ gets closer
Last week, CA became the third state to pass a law that bans employers from requesting online usernames and passwords from employees and job candidates. Maryland was the first state to pass such a law; Illinois was the second. As in the other two states, not only is it illegal…
That moment right before the pain begins: an EEOC subpoena
Back in July, I blogged here about a federal appellate court recently emphasizing just how broad the subpoena power of the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission really is. [Editor’s Note: the technical legal term is “crazazy broad”] Last Friday, as I was hosting the weekly dip-spit distance shot organizing…
Ethics charges for two lawyers over Facebook friending a litigant
It was bound to happen sooner or later… Mary Pat Gallagher of the the NJ Law Journal reports here (subscription required) that two NJ defense lawyers face ethics charges after their paralegal allegedly friended an attorney-represented plaintiff in a personal injury case. Details on the allegations and some takeaways for…
Employer wins lawsuit despite a “pattern of systematic sexual harassment”
In Mann v. Staples, Inc., a female employee received unwelcome comments about her appearance and physique, was kissed and groped, and called a “skank ass bitch.” The New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, described this as a “pattern of systemic sexual harassment” — one in which the alleged harasser appeared…
The 3rd Circuit’s new FLSA joint-employment test…in HAIKU
I just re-read yesterday’s blog drivel. What the hell was that?!? As much as I do love the two great tastes that taste great together, that was an utter FAIL and I vow never to incorporate Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups into a blog post again. Unless, of course: (a) a…
Recipient of nasty racial slurs from an office friend loses bias claim
What if I told you that a female black employee was called “monkey” and “nappy head Raggedy Ann” at work? What if I then told you that the employee subsequently sued in New Jersey state court; quite possibly the most plaintiff-friendly jurisdiction in the U.S. — next to California? And…