US Department of Labor AI Guidelines

The US Department of Labor has issued a Field Assistance Bulletin on Artificial Intelligence and Automated Systems in the Workplace under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Other Federal Labor Standards. The key points in the Bulletin are as follows: In summary, the Field Assistance Bulletin emphasizes that employers cannot abdicate their responsibilities under federal … Read more

Disparagement? Fuhgeddaboudit!

On May 7, 2024, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that non-disparagement provisions preventing the discussion of discrimination, retaliation or harassment claims are unenforceable. This decision emerged from Christine Savage’s case against the Township of Neptune Police Department. Savage, who had previously settled a lawsuit under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD), later made … Read more

AI and Hiring

As the adoption of artificial intelligence continues to grow, its applications in the hiring process have garnered significant attention. While AI promises increased efficiency and objectivity, it’s crucial to recognize the potential pitfalls and drawbacks that come with relying too heavily on this technology. In this blog post, we’ll look at the disadvantages of using … Read more

AI vs.Human Assistants

AI systems can take on many tasks that human assistants traditionally perform, but they certainly won’t replace human assistants anytime soon. AI excels at automating routine, repetitive tasks like data entry, scheduling, and information lookup. Hence, AI can augment and assist human assistants by handling the more mundane aspects of their jobs. However, human assistants … Read more

COVID Provoked COBRA Changes

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (“COBRA”) gives workers who lose their health benefits and their families the right to choose to continue group health benefits for limited periods of time under certain circumstances such as job loss, reduction in the hours worked, transition between jobs, death and divorce. Qualified individuals may be required to … Read more

Another Trap for Business Owners: Misclassifying Workers

It’s imperative that businesses classify their employees properly for legal (and moral) reasons. Let’s consider the factors that determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor and, if an employee, whether the worker is exempt from pay rate regulations. W-2 Employee or 1099 Independent Contractor Government taxing and labor agencies are both … Read more

Non-Competes: Sword and Shield

Restrictive covenants – agreements not to do certain things – are common in employment agreements. The most common: non-disclosure, non-solicitation, and non-competition. Let’s talk about non-competition agreements or non-competes. Companies often ask employees to sign non-competes. Their basic purpose is to protect the employer when (inevitably?) the employee moves on to other (greener?) pastures, by … Read more