Blog

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…

January 9, 2014

Four-year-old Jadiel Velesquez was awarded $165 million in a personal injury suit against the Division of Youth and Family Services. The jury verdict, delivered on Dec. 13, represents the largest personal injury award in New Jersey’s history, and the nation’s largest against a child protective agency. A jury found that, due to the abusive behavior of the boy’s father, Joshua Velesquez, when Jadiel was an infant, the boy is now blind and in need of 24-hour supervision and care for the rest of his life. Joshua Velesquez is serving six years in jail for aggravated assault. Jadiel’s mother…

January 9, 2014

Nearly 15,000 Americans are facing a potential nightmare: a recall on a medical device placed in their hearts. The Guidewire, manufactured by Medtronic (one of the largest device makers in the world), was voluntarily recalled by the medical device manufacturer, after several patients reported complications. The FDA has categorized it as a Class I recall. The FDA defines a Class I recall as, “a situation in which there is a reasonable probability that the use of or exposure to a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.” To date, only four adverse instances have been…

December 27, 2013

 For New Jersey residents who have the bad habit of jumping behind the wheel after having a few drinks, there may be some changes to the state’s DUI enforcements coming soon. On December 16, a state assembly panel advanced a bill which would require anyone convicted of drinking and driving to install an ignition interlock device in their cars. The device requires a driver to take a breath test before the car will start. If the device detects alcohol, it prevents the car from starting. Currently, New Jersey’s interlocking ignition device law applies to repeat…