On Thursday, June 18, the Assembly Labor Committee was scheduled to hold a hearing on A2298, which would prohibit employers from discriminating on the basis of credit history. After hearing from opponents, including NJCJI, the committee decided to hold the bill for further consideration.
On Tuesday, June 23rd, the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee is holding a hearing on a bill that would raise taxes on companies and individuals that have been ordered to pay punitive damages. This legislation would significantly increase the cost of doing business in New Jersey compared to other states at a time when we should be looking for ways to increase our economic competitiveness. In addition, taxation via litigation discourages the state from seeking to improve New Jersey’s horrific legal climate since doing so would decrease tax revenue.
According to the most recent report from the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis, New Jersey has one of the slowest economies in the United States. Despite doling out millions in tax credits and attempting to stimulate the economy with government spending, New Jersey continues to fall behind its peers.
On Monday, June 8, the New Jersey Senate Labor Committee voted 4-1 to combine and move forward a pair of bills that, like so many others in the employment law context, open New Jersey employers up to liability for something that is regulatory in nature.
The United States Supreme Court has announced that it will not hear the NJCJI-supported appeal of U.S. Legal Services Group, L.P. v. Patricia Atalese. The Court’s decision means the New Jersey Supreme Court’s anti-arbitration ruling in Atalese stands. It also means that the arbitration case pending before the New Jersey Supreme Court is more important than ever.
A selection of the need-to-know civil justice news for the week of May 30-June 5.
The New Jersey Supreme Court will hold oral arguments on [...]
When you donate to a federal political campaign one of the items you have to report to the Federal Elections Commission is your occupation. This data is then made available to the public. This week two visualizations of the data, from Verdant Labs and the Washington Post, went viral. According to the Washington Post’s tool, self-identified trial lawyers gave 15 times as often to Democrats.
The deadline to file a claim for economic loss resulting from the 2010 Gulf Oil Spill is next Monday - June 8th. The Fort Myers, FL, News-Press made a point to note in its story on the impending deadline that “[b]usinesses in Southwest Florida that haven't filed a claim could be eligible for economic loss compensation, even though the oil rig explosion and resulting spill never marred area beaches.”
On September 18, NJCJI will play host to “one of the most influential thinkers in legal academia,” NYU Prof. Richard Epstein. Epstein is known for his research and writings on a broad range of constitutional, economic, historical, and philosophical subjects, and he literally wrote the textbook on torts.
