Understanding New Jersey’s Pregnancy and Maternity Leave Laws

We often get questions from our New Jersey clients about the rights of employees who are going out on pregnancy and maternity leave. New Jersey's support for pregnant women includes paid leave benefits under the Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) and Family Leave Insurance (FLI) programs. This issue can be confusing to business owners who have not dealt with the issue in the past due to several overlapping laws and state benefit programs; namely temporary disability benefits and family leave insurance. Adding to the potential confusion for employers, pregnancy and maternity leave involve both disability and family leave issues, and depending on the circumstances, pregnant women may be entitled to both disability and family leave job protection, or just disability related job protection.

The DOL Has Answered Key Questions Concerning the Emergency Paid Sick Leave and Family and Medical Leave Acts

The United States Department of Labor has expanded its Questions and Answers concerning the paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave requirements under the recently enacted Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which becomes effective on April 1, 2020. You can read our prior posts about the new law here and here. The DOL’s Question and Answers provide key information for employers in navigating the requirements to provide emergency paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave.

Employers Need to Post the Emergency Paid Sick Leave and FMLA+ Employee Rights Poster by April 1st

As we previously posted, on March 18, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which requires employers with less than 500 employees to provide paid sick leave and paid child care leave for COVID-19 related reasons.

The United States Department of Labor (DOL) has released the Notice of Employee Rights under the Act, which all employers (under 500 employees) must “post” by April 1, 2020. The Notice is required to placed in a conspicuous space in the employer’s premises. However, recognizing that most workers are currently teleworking, the DOL has stated the the emailing or direct mailing of the Notice to employees, or the posting of the notice on an employee information website, satisfies the posting requirement.

The Coronavirus Pandemic Brings Significant Potential Legal Changes for Businesses

Last week we posted about steps employers could take to prepare for the impact that the coronavirus might have on their business. Many business owners have already felt the impact of the pandemic. State and federal governments are trying to act quickly to try to address the financial impact of the pandemic on businesses and employees. This is being done through proposed legislation, the provision of information, and disaster relief programs.

Preparing Your Business for the Coronavirus

The ongoing outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) raises numerous potential issues for employers. These include legal issues ranging from an employer’s obligation to provide a safe workplace and employee leave rights to practical matters such as whether to restrict business travel and allowing employees to work remotely. As the situation continues to develop, employers should prepare in case COVID-19 impacts their workforces by:

New York Case Law Update - Second Circuit Confirms "Motivating Factor" Standard for FMLA Retaliation Claims

In Woods v. START Treatment & Recovery Centers, Inc., the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that an employee alleging unlawful retaliation under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), must prove that her exercise of FMLA rights was a "motivating factor" in an employer's adverse employment action. The "motivating factor" standard is a lower standard of causation than the "but for" standard typically used in the context of employment claims.

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