Blog

March 27, 2014

Working Families United for New Jersey is partnering with members of the state legislature in a campaign to make NJ the second state in the U.S. to enact a law giving paid sick leave to all workers. Currently, Newark and Jersey City have passed similar protections for its workers, but the hope is to get the rest of the state on board. For many workers in different occupations, coming down with a sickness at the wrong time can be devastating to their finances. A few days off work, unpaid, may have a significant effect on areas…

March 18, 2014

In response to a brutal attack of a correctional officer by an inmate at New Jersey State Prison, state lawmakers have introduced a bill which would give corrections officers full salary during their recovery period. A corrections officer named Eligia Then was assaulted on Feb. 6 by an inmate. She suffered bruises to her neck from being choked, while also sustaining bruises on her right eye, her nose, cuts on her eyebrows and cheeks, as well as head injuries. Currently, New Jersey officers must use sick leave and personal days in the five days after sustaining an…

March 13, 2014

The window for disgruntled consumers to seek recourse may get smaller, if a certain newly proposed New Jersey bill is passed. Sponsored by Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson), A1254 would tighten the window for consumers to file malpractice suits against attorneys, architects, accountants and other licensed professionals. Under current laws, NJ consumers have a six-year statute of limitations to file a professional malpractice claim. The new bill would cut that time down to two years, and would also affect some health care professionals, as well as contractors and sub-contractors. Advocates of the proposed measure, namely the New…

March 6, 2014

Late in January, NJ Gov. Chris Christie (R) signed a bill which extends and strengthens protection for pregnant workers from discrimination. It also requires that employers make adequate accommodations to allow their pregnant employees to continue to work. Some of these accommodations include allowing more bathroom breaks, allowing the pregnant woman to carry a bottle of water, allowing some rest breaks, rearranging the schedule and a restructuring of job duties to prevent her from heavy lifting. The law covers women who have recently given birth, as well as pregnant women, and applies to employers, landlords, lenders and others.

February 20, 2014

  Now that 20 U.S. states have legalized medical marijuana and two have legalized it for recreational use, it’s clear that national marijuana reform is continually gaining steam. That being said, lawmakers may want to be wary before jumping on the legalization train. According to a recent study, legalized recreational marijuana may lead to increased drugged driving, which could lead to more accidents and deaths. A report released by Columbia University and published in the American Journal of Epidemiology concluded that legal weed was detected in the bodies of dead drivers in 2010, three times more often than…

February 14, 2014

New Jersey lawmakers have taken a step in cracking down on distracted drivers. The main focus is on commuter vans and buses, otherwise known as jitneys. Angelie’s Law was passed in late January, mandating a litany of new requirements and rules for the jitney companies to follow. The law was introduced in honor of North Bergen’s Angelie Paredes, an eight month old girl who was killed in August, when the driver of a commuter van lost control and hit a street light. The light fell on Angelie’s stroller, killing her. The driver was allegedly using a cell phone, and…

February 6, 2014

A recent study concluded by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that wage gap between men and women in New Jersey actually got wider in 2012, for a second straight year. The study also showed that that New Jersey’s wage gap is larger than the national average. Full-time female workers earned 79.4 percent of the weekly pay of their male peers, basically meaning that women earn less than 80 cents for every one dollar a man makes. The national average was slightly higher, with women bringing in 80.9 percent of what their male counterparts made. The initial…

January 30, 2014

A recent ruling by a NJ family court judge has deemed that leaving your kids unattended in a car, even for a short period of time, may count as child abuse or neglect. In a case which dates back to 2009, a New Jersey woman left her sleeping 19 month old tot in a running car for 10 minutes, while she shopped for party supplies at the Middlesex Mall. When she returned, police had already surrounded the car, and the mother was arrested. The judge in the case ruled that leaving a child unattended in a…

January 30, 2014

A controversial bill which recently advanced through the NJ Assembly may give people with criminal backgrounds a real second chance. Assembly bill A3837 would delay companies with at least 15 employees from conducting background checks on potential employees – until such time as the individual has been offered a job. If passed, this would allow a reformed criminal to interview based on skills and merits, without the gray cloud of a criminal background hanging over their heads. We’ve all seen the question on job applications. If you have a criminal background, checking “yes in the box and rehashing the…

January 17, 2014

In less than four months, many New York City workers will be granted up to five paid sick-days every year, because of the passing of the Earned Sick Time Act. By April 1, the bill requires that almost all non-government employers with 20 or more employees, have to provide any employee (with more than 80 hours worked in one calendar year) with one hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked. Companies with 15-19 employees, will have till Oct. 1 2015 to comply. Under the new act, employees may be granted sick leave for physical and/or mental illness…