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What I've Been Reading This Week


My interest always piques with some of the articles that talk about Ban the Box measures.  This week provided one of the more interesting discussions of the ban the box legislation in New Jersey and Governor Chris Christie's subsequent veto of a bill that wold have protected unemployed workers in the state.  As always, below are a few articles that caught my eye this week.


New Jersey Governor Vetoes Unemployment Discrimination Bill

Ban the Box measures have been sweeping the country lately, with New Jersey being one of the most recent states to pan this type of measure.  In fact, Governor Chris Christie had just signed into law the Opportunity to Compete Act (New Jersey's Ban the Box legislation) that prohibits employers from inquiring about job candidates' criminal histories early in the hiring process.  In a surprising twist, Governor Christie vetoed a bill the same week he signed the Opportunity to Compete Act which would have prohibited discrimination against the unemployed.  The reason given for the veto is that the bill would have apparently done nothing to improve the lives of unemployed New Jerseyans and would instead have driven up the cost of doing business in the state.  Interesting, to say the least.


Be Aware That Even "Small" Delays in Pay Can Be FLSA Violations

This article by Doug Hass is a good reminder to employers to be aware that even small delays in pay, say a day or two, can result in FLSA violations.  The article carefully points out that under the FLSA, a delayed payday to an employee is akin to not having been paid at all...how does that sound employers?!  As well, Doug points out that an employer who cries "no harm, no foul" cannot escape liability for delayed paydays to their employees.  So the next time an employer tells you your payday will be pushed back a few days because of cash flow issues, know that there is a potential FLSA issue at play.


An Employee Leaves a Casino & Takes the Names of a Few Higher Rollers...Now What?

The Baltimore Sun has an interesting article about a casino employee who left one casino for another, and in doing so, took the name of approximately 19 elite players with her.  Unsurprisingly, her former employer took her to court and claimed that she could not take the names of the players with her.  You might be sitting there saying, "Why didn't the casino have a non-compete in place?"  Well, they did...sort of.  When the employee was approached about signing a non-compete, after she had already been working at the casino, she refused and quit.  This is an interesting story, but serves as a reminder to employers to require that employees sign non-competes before starting employment, to avoid situations like this.

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