New Jersey

New Jersey Crime Categories

As explained in our previous posts, the most serious offenses are categorized as “felonies” and less serious as “misdemeanors.” While this is true in nearly every state, there is an exception (of course) and that exception is New Jersey.

In New Jersey, crimes are not categorized as felonies and misdemeanors but as “indictable crimes,” “disorderly person offenses,” and “petty disorderly person offenses.”

According to New Jersey law, indictable offenses are the equivalent of felonies in other states. Courts classify charges into first, second, third, and fourth-degree charges. A first-degree offense is the most serious of all charges. “Indictable” means that a grand jury has found enough evidence against the defendant to make them face trial.

“Disorderly person offenses” and “petty disorderly person offenses” (sometimes referred to as “DP offenses”) are the equivalent of misdemeanors in other states because they are less serious offenses and are punishable by less than one year in jail.

November 29th, 2021|Compliance Corner|

Employers in New Jersey may face tougher restrictions for employment credit checks

Assembly Bill A2298Â which prohibits employment discrimination against a current or prospective employee based on information in a credit report advanced to a second reading on December 14, 2015. The proposed legislation prohibits an employer from requiring a credit check on a current or prospective employee, unless the employer is required to do so by law, or reasonably believes that an employee has engaged in a specific activity that is financial in nature and constitutes a violation of law. The bill does not prevent an employer from performing a credit inquiry or taking action if credit history is a bona fide occupational qualification of a particular position or certain employment classifications. An earlier version of the legislation passed the Senate in May 2012 in a 22-16 vote but was never voted on in the full Assembly.

December 22nd, 2015|Employment Decisions, Legislation|

New Jersey’s new ban-the-box law goes into effect March 1, 2015

Signed into law last month, The Opportunity to Compete Act will effect March 1, 2015, preventing many private employers in New Jersey from asking job candidates about their criminal history on the initial job application. In “banning the box” for private employers, New Jersey joins the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Rhode Island, and cities of Philadelphia (PA), Newark (NJ), Buffalo (NY), Seattle (WA), San Francisco (CA), Baltimore (MD), and Rochester (NY)) in postponing inquiries about criminal record information until later in the hiring process, and imposing other requirements on the use of such records in employment decisions.

September 19th, 2014|Employment Decisions, Legislation|

Reminder to New Jersey employers to provide required CEPA notice

New Jersey employers with 10 or more employees are reminded of their annual obligation to provide to their employees, in both English and in Spanish, the required notice under the Conscientious Employee Protection Act (the “CEPA”). The notice may be distributed in hard copy or electronic format, but having only a poster or a policy in a handbook does not fulfill an employer’s notice obligation under the CEPA.

Enacted in 1986, this anti-retaliation statute is known as New Jersey’s Whistleblower’s Act. The goal of the CEPA is to encourage whistleblowers to report wrongdoing to their employers without fear of reprisals. Overall, CEPA provides a broader range of protections and remedies than other similar statutes, such as the federal False Claims Act.

December 9th, 2013|Educational Series, Employment Decisions, Legislation|

Proposed New Jersey bills restrict use of criminal records in employment decisions

In February 2013, identical bills aimed at reducing employment discrimination against individuals with criminal histories were introduced in the New Jersey Senate (S2586) and the New Jersey Assembly (A3837). Both bills propose the adoption of the Opportunity to Compete Act (the “Act”) which would impose multiple restrictions and requirements on employers in connection with seeking and using criminal background information about job applicants. If the Act is adopted, New Jersey will join a growing list of states, cities, and localities which have passed similar anti-discrimination legislation.

March 29th, 2013|Employment Decisions, Legislation|