Badges Don't Make Employees

Sanger v. Next Level Business Services — A Cautionary Tale for Gig-Economy Workers

Flames That Forged Justice

 The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and the Birth of American Labor Rights

Undocumented Workers Win Pay Case

Lopez v. Marmic LLC is a landmark New Jersey Supreme Court decision handed down on March 19, 2026, and it sends a clear message to employers: hiring someone without work authorization does not give you a free pass to skip paying them.

Glyphosate: Workers at Risk

The collision of a presidential executive order, a $7.25 billion proposed settlement, and decades of occupational health research has placed glyphosate-based herbicides at the center of one of the most consequential legal and workplace safety debates in American history. For employers, insurers, and the millions of workers who handle these chemicals daily, the stakes have never been higher.

Chemical Glove Selection is Critical

How Proper Hand Protection Impacts Workers' Compensation Benefits

When Workers' Comp Isn't Enough

A Recent Case Highlights the Critical Differences Between Workers' Compensation and Social Security Disability

PTSD Protection for First Responders

NJ Governor Murphy Signs Landmark Legislation Integrating Mental Health Protections with Workers' Compensation System

Are Generic Drugs Equally Safe?

Understanding Quality, Safety, and Cost in Workers' Compensation Cases

White House Asbestos Transparency

ADAO Fights for Transparency on East Wing Demolition Hazards

Essential Workers Face Long COVID

Long COVID: Understanding Vulnerabilities for Workers and Legal Protections

Disability Trends Signal Crucial Shift

The 2024 Social Security Disability Insurance Report Reveals Important Changes for Injured Workers and Their Families 

Teachers Are Essential Workers

New Jersey Supreme Court affirms Workers' Compensation protections for educators who contracted COVID-19.

Special Employee or Not? Court Decides

A New Jersey appellate court recently overturned a legal malpractice ruling by clarifying when police officers on "extra duty" assignments become "special employees" under workers' compensation law. The October 2025 decision in Dutcher v. Stathis provides important guidance for determining employment status.

Amazon's Misclassification Strips Workers' Safety Net

When a back injury should mean temporary disability benefits, but instead means choosing between rent and recovery—that's the hidden cost of worker misclassification. New Jersey's recent lawsuit against Amazon exposes how labeling employees as independent contractors strips away critical workers' compensation protections, leaving injured workers financially vulnerable during their most precarious moments.

PTSD Officer's Disability Claim Denied

In a decision that highlights the complex intersection of severe mental trauma and disability law, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey recently affirmed the denial of Social Security disability benefits to a former police officer suffering from Post Tramatic Stress Disorder [PTSD] after someone put a contract on his life.

Protecting Healthcare Heroes: Pandemic Preparedness

The 2025 Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB) report, The New Face of Pandemic Preparedness, arrives with a sobering message: five years after COVID-19 began, the world remains dangerously unprepared for the next pandemic. But perhaps nowhere is this vulnerability more acute than among healthcare workers and first responders—the very people we depend on when crisis strikes.

Bendix Asbestos: Legacy Lives On

For decades, the former Bendix plant in Teterboro, New Jersey, represented American industrial might—manufacturing brake systems and aerospace components that powered the nation's growth. But beneath that productive facade lurked a silent killer: asbestos. Today, Honeywell's recent divestiture of all legacy Bendix asbestos liabilities to Delticus for approximately $1.68 billion brings renewed attention to a public health crisis that continues to unfold, even as the factory floors have long gone quiet.

NJ Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in Landmark Case

On September 25, 2025, the New Jersey Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that is poised to set significant precedent for workers' compensation law. Giuseppe Amato v. Township of Ocean School District (Docket A-31-24).

The case centers on the dependency claim filed by the widower of a school teacher who tragically died of COVID-19 after returning to in-person instruction as she complied with The Governor's Executive  Order to return work in the classroom. The Supreme Court's review focuses on a highly contentious legal question: the scope of New Jersey's COVID-19 Essential Employee Presumption..

NJ's Minimum Wage Climbs Higher

 Garden State Workers to See $15.92 Hourly Rate in 2026

New Jersey's minimum wage landscape is undergoing another change. Starting January 1, 2026, most employees across the Garden State will see their minimum hourly wage increase to $15.92, marking a $0.43 jump from the current rate. This announcement from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development continues the state's commitment to ensuring workers receive a livable wage.

Asbestos Ban Under Fire

The battle over America's long-awaited ban on asbestos has reached a critical juncture in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, where the 2024 EPA rule faces fierce industry challenges that could determine the fate of worker safety protections nationwide.