Employees' COVID-19-related complaints in New Jersey: What we are seeing

The pandemic brought pandemonium to many New Jersey workplaces. With the second-largest outbreak in the country (behind only New York) and being the most densely populated state, New Jersey was hit particularly hard by the pandemic, giving rise to a number of employee lawsuits. Unlike New York City courts, the New Jersey courts never restricted filings of new complaints, so there has been a steady stream of COVID-19-related lawsuits. Almost all of them are filed under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD) and/or the Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA) regardless of the underlying allegations. The reason of course is because both statutes provide very generous damages in terms of the potential for uncapped compensatory damage awards, as well as punitive damages and attorneys’ fees. We surveyed state and federal filings in New Jersey related to COVID-19 and found three distinct themes to the underlying allegations.

Leave requests

In the midst of unprecedented uncertainty for employees and employers alike, New Jersey and the federal government passed laws allocating increased protections to New Jersey employees. Namely, the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and amendments to the New Jersey Earned Sick Leave Law (ESLL) and the New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA), as well as federal enhancements to unemployment insurance, made leave issues a minefield of potential pitfalls for New Jersey employers.