Rules Proposed to End NJ Pension Cost Shifting

The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development [DLWD] has proposed Rules that will adopt the recommendations of  NJ State Comptroller. A February 2021 investigative report by the NJ State Comptroller raised critical issues common to other state and national collateral social insurance programs challenged by current fiscal limitations. The deadline for written comments is October 15, 2021.

NJDOL, Treasury Raid Worksite in First Joint-Enforcement Action to Combat Worker Misclassification

A team of more than 60 investigators from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) and the Department of the Treasury, supported by other state agencies, conducted an unannounced investigation of a construction site at 88 Regent Street in Jersey City in response to allegations of worker misclassification. 

OSHA issues updated guidance on protecting unvaccinated and other at-risk workers from the coronavirus

U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today issued updated guidance to help employers protect workers from the coronavirus. The updated guidance reflects developments in science and data, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's updated COVID-19 guidance issued July 27.

NJ Announces Indoor Mask Requirement for Beginning of 2021-2022 School Year

Joined by educators, medical professionals, parents, and school administrators, NJ Governor Phil Murphy today announced that all students, educators, staff, and visitors will be required to wear face masks indoors for the start of the 2021-2022 school year. The Governor signed Executive Order (EO) 251, which will mandate masking in the indoor premises of all public, private, and parochial preschool, elementary, and secondary school buildings, with limited exceptions. The EO is effective on Monday, August 9, 2021. 

Justice Barrett denies an injunction against a vaccine mandate

Yesterday evening US Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett denied a request for a writ of injunction against a vaccine mandate. Students at the University of Indiana [IU] a Fourteenth Amendment challenge to the school’s requirement that all students receive a COVID vaccine.

California appeals court upholds verdict against Monsanto for Roundup exposure

The claims of occupational exposures of landscapers and groundskeepers to herbicides such as Roundup were received further support by a recent decision by the California Court of Appeals. The Court affirmed the verdict of the trial court upholding the finding causal relationship between the product and cancer.

The 2021 Atlantic hurricane season poses an increased threat to workplace safety

A predicted record Atlantic hurricane season will create a perfect storm for increased occupational risks as the Sars-Cov2 Delta variant cases/hospitalizations/deaths are now surging, and climate change’s effects are mounting.