Author: Christine A. Stearns
The New Jersey Legislature worked quickly to send Governor Murphy a package of bills to address various issues related to the coronavirus outbreak. Governor Phil Murphy has already signed legislation (A3860 and A3862) to expand access to telehealth services and to allow professional and occupational licensing boards to expedite licensure of out-of-state professionals. Assembly Bill 3860 relaxes the existing telehealth requirement and allows practitioners to provide and bill for telemedicine. Specifically, for the duration of the coronavirus public health emergency, any New Jersey licensed healthcare practitioner will be authorized to provide and bill for all medically appropriate services using telemedicine and telehealth. A practitioner who is not licensed in New Jersey may provide healthcare services under the bill using telemedicine and telehealth, provided that: (1) the practitioner is licensed in another state; (2) the services provided by that practitioner are consistent with the practitioner’s authorized scope of practice; (3) the services provided are limited to services related to screening for, diagnosing, or treating COVID-19, unless the practitioner has a preexisting provider-patient relationship; and (4) if the encounter does not relate to COVID-19, the practitioner must advise that the practitioner is not authorized to provide services and recommends that the patient initiate a new telehealth encounter with a healthcare practitioner licensed in New Jersey. The bill...
A package of bills that reform the New Jersey Business Corporation Act (“NJBCA”) were signed into law on January 16, 2018. We previously wrote about this legislation which was modeled upon provisions of the “Delaware Business Corporation Law” and was recommended for enactment by the “New Jersey Corporate and Business Law Study Commission.” These revisions generally benefit corporate boards of directors and modernize provisions of the NJBCA. Inspections of Corporate Books and Records (P.L. 2017, c.364) Assembly Bill 2975 (Diegnan/Pinkin) modifies the NJBCA to allow corporations to impose reasonable limitations or conditions on the use or distribution of requested corporate books and records. While the law does not define such “limitations and conditions,” the legislative statement provides an example of conditioning the receipt of requested materials on the demanding shareholder agreeing to customary confidentiality obligations. The measure preserves the ultimate authority of a court to decide and order relief in actions brought by shareholders for inspection of materials. Derivative Proceedings and Shareholder Class Actions (P.L. 2017, c.362) Assembly Bill 2970 (Diegnan/Pinkin) gives corporations greater flexibility to vary the applicability or effect of commencing and maintaining a derivative proceeding and shareholder class action. This new law deviates from the prior standards and requires that the NJBCA’s provisions shall apply to a corporation unless that corporation chooses to vary the...
Governor Phil Murphy has signed an executive order which bars state workers from asking job applicants seeking positions with the state about their previous salaries in his first official act after his swearing-in on January 16, 2018. State entities may now only inquire as to an applicant’s past salary history after the entity has made a conditional offer of employment, which includes an explanation of the compensation package being offered to the applicant. The goal of the executive order is to eliminate wage inequalities that result from female employees who accept lower starting salaries and then remain on a lower compensation track, with pay disparities compounding over time. Significantly, at the signing ceremony, the Governor stated that he would sign a bill that extended these same provisions to private sector employers which the legislative sponsors vowed to move quickly to his desk. In fact, legislation has already been introduced that prohibits an employer from inquiring about the salary history of an applicant. Assembly Bill 1094 was introduced on January 9, 2018 by Assemblywoman Joanne Downey (D-11) and referred to the Assembly Labor Committee. Senate Bill 559 was introduced by Senator Nia Gill (D-34) on January 9, 2018 and referred to the Senate Labor Committee. The legislation, described by legislative sponsors as an effort to promote...
The New Jersey Legislature is poised to take up another thorny issue for employers, salary history. Described by legislative sponsors as an effort to promote pay equity, the legislation would amend the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination to bar employers from asking job applicants about their salary history, or relying on it to determine salary at any stage in the hiring process. Two separate pieces of legislation have been introduced that prohibit an employer from inquiring about the salary history of an applicant. Assembly Bill 4119 was introduced on September 15, 2016 and referred to the Assembly Labor Committee. Senate Bill 2536 was introduced on September 15, 2016 and referred to the Senate Labor Committee.
