Author: Blank Rome LLP

ALERT: New Jersey Raising Minimum Wage to $15

Thomas J. Szymanski

As we reported last week in Blank Rome Workplace, New Jersey employers need to get ready for minimum wage increasing to $15 per hour. The bill, which passed on party lines last Thursday, was signed into law today by Governor Murphy. It provides the following timetable to raise the minimum wage:

  • $15 per hour by 2024, for most minimum wage earners;
  • $15 per hour by 2026, for minimum wage earners at seasonal businesses and small businesses;
  • $12.50 per hour by 2024, for agricultural minimum wage earners; and
  • $5.13 per hour by 2022, for tipped earners.

Continue reading “ALERT: New Jersey Raising Minimum Wage to $15”

New Jersey Supreme Court Weighs in on Arbitration Clauses in Consumer Contracts

Michael R. Darbee

On January 10, 2018, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided a case involving the enforceability of mandatory arbitration agreements in consumer contracts. In Kernahan v. Home Warranty Administrator of Florida, the Court held that a mandatory arbitration agreement in a home warranty contract was unenforceable because it lacked mutual assent.

The consumer sued her home warranty administrator and the home warranty administrator moved to dismiss, citing the mandatory arbitration provision in the parties’ contract. The trial court denied that motion and held the arbitration provision was unenforceable. The Appellate Division affirmed the trial court. The New Jersey Supreme Court affirmed the Appellate Division and held that the agreement was too contradictory and confusing to create mutual assent. Continue reading “New Jersey Supreme Court Weighs in on Arbitration Clauses in Consumer Contracts”

Happy Holidays from Blank Rome’s Princeton Office

As the year comes to a close, we want to wish our readers a joyful holiday season and a prosperous new year. We’d also like to take a moment to look back on the banner year our office has had and thank you for being a part of its success.

Our Princeton office rang in 2018 with a transition into its new offices located at 300 Carnegie Center, and has continued to establish itself throughout the year as a litigation leader in the Garden State, receiving the following industry recognitions in honor of our accomplishments:

We are very proud of these successes, and look forward to continuing our dedication to unparalleled legal service for our clients in 2019 and the years to come.

Please enjoy this year’s holiday card, created through the Firm’s collaboration with students from the Duke Ellington School of the Arts.

ALERT: New Jersey Raising Minimum Wage!

Thomas J. Szymanski

New Jersey’s minimum wage will increase by 25 cents, from $8.60 to $8.85 per hour, effective January 1, 2019. For non-exempt employees making the minimum wage, employers will be required to pay an overtime rate of $13.28 for every hour worked over 40 in a work week, to comply with the State’s minimum wage requirements.

Employers should be aware that one of Governor Phil Murphy’s top legislative priorities is to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour. Although the Legislature passed a $15-an-hour minimum wage bill in 2016, which was vetoed by then-Governor Chris Christie, neither Governor Murphy nor the Legislature has communicated a path forward to get another bill on the table.

As wage payment violations carry significant penalties in New Jersey, you should contact a member of Blank Rome’s labor & employment practice group if you have any questions about compliance with New Jersey’s minimum wage increase or any other wage and hour issues.

Update on New Jersey Paid Sick Leave Act

Mark Blondman

In an earlier Blank Rome Workplace post, we provided a preview of the New Jersey Paid Sick Leave Act. The Act goes into effect on October 29, 2018. Last week, the Department of Labor and Workplace Development, the state agency responsible for interpreting the Act, published a “Notice of Employee Rights” under the Act and a copy of that Notice/Poster is available here. The Notice must be posted by employers in conspicuous locations in every worksite in New Jersey and must be distributed to all New Jersey employees by November 29 and at the time of hiring for all new employees hired after October 29.

The Act imposes significant obligations on employers in New Jersey. You can contact a member of Blank Rome’s labor & employment practice group if you have any questions about what needs to be in your policies.

Blank Rome Appellate Litigation Practice Develops Third Circuit Civil Appeals Practice Note Resources for Thomson Reuters Practical Law

Stephen M. Orlofsky and Adrienne C. Rogove

Blank Rome’s Appellate Litigation practice is pleased to announce that the team has collaborated with Thomson Reuters Practical Law to develop practice note resources on civil appeals in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which are available for our clients and readers using the links below. Thomson Reuters’ members are also able to download these resources through our Firm’s published Contributor Page.

We invite you to review our practice note resources, and hope you find them both interesting and informative. Continue reading “Blank Rome Appellate Litigation Practice Develops Third Circuit Civil Appeals Practice Note Resources for Thomson Reuters Practical Law”

Blank Rome Named a 2018 New Jersey Powerhouse by Law360

Blank Rome LLP is pleased to announce that the Firm has been named a 2018 New Jersey Powerhouse by Law360, who recognized Blank Rome and other leading firms in its 2018 Regional Powerhouses list for handling “some of the biggest deals and most high-profile courtroom battles,” offering clients “regional expertise and making a lasting impact on the law at the state and local level.”

Law360 recognized five firms, including Blank Rome, as New Jersey Powerhouses, notably for their accomplishments over the past year in regulatory and litigation fronts, as well as “thriving amid the competition that marks the most densely populated state in the nation.” Law360 particularly highlighted that the current crop of New Jersey Powerhouse firms are all home to former judges or New Jersey Supreme Court justices, to which former U.S. District Court Judge Stephen M. Orlofsky, who serves as Administrative Partner of Blank Rome’s Princeton office, stated, “It’s always nice to have a former judge or justice at the firm who you can consult for a variety of issues.” (NJ Powerhouses Seize Sports Betting, Pot Law Opportunities, Law360, Aug. 27, 2018.) Continue reading “Blank Rome Named a 2018 New Jersey Powerhouse by Law360“

Meet Blank Rome’s 2018 Law360 Rising Stars

Blank Rome Partners Omid Safa and Michael A. Iannucci have been named 2018 Rising Stars by Law360 in recognition of their legal accomplishments in the categories of Insurance and Class Action, respectively. Below are excerpts of their profiles, as published by Law360.  Continue reading “Meet Blank Rome’s 2018 Law360 Rising Stars”

New Jersey Supreme Court Holds That Daubert Factors Apply to Evaluating Expert Testimony in Civil Cases

Lauren E. O’Donnell

On August 1, 2018, the New Jersey Supreme Court held that civil trial courts should look to the factors set forth in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 509 U.S. 579 (1993), in assessing the reliability of expert testimony. The opinion—In re: Accutane Litigation—adopted the Daubert factors, but specifically stopped short of declaring New Jersey a “Daubert jurisdiction.”

In the early 1990s, the New Jersey Supreme Court shifted away from the “general acceptance” standard for testing the reliability of scientific expert testimony in civil cases enunciated in Frye v. United States, 293 F. 1013 (D.C. Cir. 1923). It instead endorsed a methodology-based approach. See Landrigan v. Celotex Corp., 127 N.J. 404, 414 (1992); Rubanick v. Witco Chem. Corp., 125 N.J. 421, 447 (1991). The Court reasoned that parties should be permitted to present novel scientific evidence of causation if the trial court acts as a rigorous gatekeeper when reviewing an expert’s reliability and ultimately finds that the expert’s reasoning and methodology are sound. Two years later, in Daubert, the United States Supreme Court also abandoned the “general acceptance” test in favor of a methodology-based approach that entrusted trial courts with the role of gatekeeper. Thus, beginning in the early 1990s, New Jersey state courts considered similar factors to those in Daubert when evaluating expert testimony. Despite these similarities, the New Jersey Supreme Court never formally adopted Daubert or endorsed the factors identified in Daubert for state trial courts to use when performing the gatekeeper role. Continue reading “New Jersey Supreme Court Holds That Daubert Factors Apply to Evaluating Expert Testimony in Civil Cases”

How Video Game Mods Are Changing the Intellectual Property Game

Jeffrey N. Rosenthal and Ethan M. Simon

A year ago, the word “fortnight” was relegated to relative obscurity—an archaic way of saying two weeks. In July 2017, however, all that changed. After software developer Epic Games released the blockbuster video game Fortnite Battle Royale—a multi-platform, free-to-play game in which players participate in a cartoonish fight for survival in a post-apocalyptic world—the word “Fortnite” can now be heard everywhere.

Unlike other free games, Fortnite does not include ads; rather, to generate revenue it relies solely on in-game purchases from players to customize their avatar’s appearance (called “skins”) with no other qualitative enhancements. Despite its simple premise and novel business model, Fortnite has been an overwhelming success—boasting 45 million players as of February 2018. USA Today recently reported that in May 2018 alone, Fortnite earned over $318 million, with over $837 million in revenue in the last three months. According to Forbes, the game now earns $1 million a day just on mobile devices. Continue reading “How Video Game Mods Are Changing the Intellectual Property Game”