When “The Easy Way Out” Isn’t So Easy – Beware of Litigation from Non-Tenured Teachers Who Are Non-Renewed
As a practitioner who has spent most of his legal career as a school board attorney serving as general or labor counsel to boards of education, I address a trend that seems to be on the rise – litigation brought for employment discrimination in the wake of a non-tenured teacher being...
First Aid Squad Responders Found to Be Immune from Liability for Injury Allegedly Caused by Negligent Transport of Patient
Plaintiff Rose Bengel was allegedly injured as a result of medical assistance provided by defendant Holiday City at Berkeley First Aid Squad, Inc. (“the Squad”). The Squad had responded to a 9-1-1 call for medical assistance and transported her to the hospital. The issue in Bengel v....
Ban Parents from School Campuses Only as Last Resort
Lauren E. Tedesco, Esq., a shareholder in the firm’s School Law Group, was recently interviewed by Special Ed Connection on the topic of banning parents from school campuses. To view the PDF version of the article, please click here....
Adult Use Cannabis to be Legal on January 1, 2021. What Happens Now?
On November 3, 2020, the voters of New Jersey approved a referendum legalizing adult/recreational cannabis on January 1st. The NJ Legislature passed S21/A21 yesterday which describes the initial regulatory structure for adult use cannabis licenses, state and municipal taxes on legal m...
Jury Trials Again Suspended in New Jersey But May Restart on a Virtual Basis
Not surprisingly, due to the COVID-19 surge of cases, the New Jersey Supreme Court has once again suspended jury trials. They had resumed earlier in the fall on a limited basis as a hybrid with virtual jury selection and socially distanced trials. However, with this second wave of new...
COVID-19 and the Holidays
With the holiday season now upon us, there are growing concerns about how the COVID-19 pandemic could worsen because of the expected social gathering activities associated with the holiday season, and how that could impact New Jersey workplaces. The Centers for Disease Control (“CDC”)...
DACA’s Uncertain Future Following Recent United States Supreme Court Decision
In Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California, 140 S. Ct. 1891, 207 L. Ed. 2d 353 (2020) the United Supreme Court held that the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to rescind Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) violated the Administrati...
Bostock v. Clayton County and the Further Protection it Provides New Jersey Employees
On June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States held that in Bostock v. Clayton Cty., Georgia, 140 S. Ct. 1731, 2017 L. Ed. 2d (2020), an employer who fires an individual employee merely for being gay or transgender violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The majo...
Legislation to Require Workers’ Comp and PIP to Cover Costs of Medical Marijuana to Be Considered by the Assembly
Legislation requiring the employer, workers' compensation and PIP insurers to cover the costs of medical marijuana was passed by the NJ Assembly Appropriations Committee on October 26, 2020 and will be considered by the entire Assembly. Assembly Bill No. 1708, sponsored by Assemblyma...
DOT Contractor Entitled to Tort Claims Act Immunity as Defense in Personal Injury Action
Plaintiff Robert Koehler was injured while driving near an overpass on Route 3 in Rutherford, New Jersey when the boom of a bucket truck, which was in tow, struck the overpass, flew off, hit the roof of Plaintiff’s vehicle and entered the sunroof, causing his injury. The overpass was...
COVID-19 and New Disability Obligations
In this space, I have written a couple articles on the need for employers to be aware of accommodation obligations under federal and state disability laws for those employees who are high risk for either COVID-19 exposure or more serious health problems from COVID-19. I want to focus...
Broad Application of Summary Judgment Standard in Plaintiff’s Favor Tests Limits of Premises Liability Claims
Carol Frie was walking from the parking lot toward the mall when she stepped onto the sidewalk from the parking lot surface. While she did not know what element of the sidewalk caused her fall, she stated that it was “unkempt.” In Frie v. Fairlane Village Mall, 2020 Pa. Super. Unpub....
New Jersey Workers' Compensation Manual
John H. Geaney, Esq. publishes a yearly manual aimed on providing practitioners, adjusters and employers with key information on Workers’ Compensation in the State of New Jersey.