The 2014-15 Supreme Court term brought major decisions on diverse employment law issues—employer liability for sexual harassment, how to determine whether a worker is an “employee” for purposes of wage and hour laws, the extent of protection afforded watchdog employees under the Conscientious Employee Protection Act, and the negotiability of furlough decisions by municipal employers.
Who Is an Employee?
In Hargrove v. Sleepy’s, 220 N.J. 289 (2015), the court addressed a certified question from the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit touching on one of the hottest issues in current employment law—when is a worker who has been designated an “independent contractor” really an “employee”? Specifically, the federal appellate court asked the state Supreme Court to decide: “Under New Jersey law, which test should a court apply to determine a plaintiff’s employment status for purposes of the New Jersey Wage Payment Law, N.J.S.A. 34:11-4.1, et seq., and the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law, N.J.S.A. 34:11-56a, et. seq.?” The court concluded that the “ABC” test derived under the New Jersey Unemployment Compensation Act—providing the broadest definition of employee—should apply under the Wage Payment Law and the Wage and Hour Law as well.
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