Category: Employment policies and procedures

Blank Rome Labor & Employment Alert: New Jersey Employers Must Use New Portal to Report Separations

Daniel J. Sobol, Julia C. Riskowitz, and Sarah M. Kirkpatrick ●

Daniel Sobol headshot photo

New Jersey employers are now required to report all employee separations through the new “Employer Response Portal” recently launched by the New Jersey Department of Labor (“NJDOL”). This new requirement applies to every type of separation—resignations, terminations, retirements, and layoffs—regardless of whether the departing employee files for unemployment benefits. This new requirement is separate from, and in addition to, the existing requirement that employers provide departing employees with Form BC-10.

Background

On November 3, 2022, Governor Phil Murphy signed P.L. 2022, c. 120, which amended New Jersey Unemployment Compensation Law to impose new separation reporting requirements on employers. Under the amended law, employers must “immediately and simultaneously” report each separation electronically, providing the date of separation and other information the NJDOL uses to determine benefits eligibility. Although the law took effect on July 31, 2023, the NJDOL delayed enforcement until it could build a dedicated online reporting system.

With that new system completed, the NJDOL has launched the Employer Response Portal, an online platform designed to streamline the reporting process. Employers are now required to use the portal to report separations within seven days of an employee’s separation date. 

To read the full alert, please visit our website.

From Fixable to Fineable: ICE’s Overhaul of I-9 Violation Classifications

Mark Blondman and Gabrielle I. Weiss ●

For nearly 30 years, employers completing Form I-9s operated under a forgiving framework: make a minor administrative mistake, like a missing date, an omitted title, and you had 10 days to fix it without penalty. That safety net just got a lot smaller. Without a formal announcement or rulemaking process, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) recently posted updated guidance that reclassifies many common administrative errors as “substantive” violations subject to immediate fines. The practical effect is significant: errors that used to be correctable now carry per-violation penalties ranging from $288 to $2,861, and they add up fast.

Here’s what changed, why it matters, and what employers should be doing about it.

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Same ABCs, New Rules: New Jersey Finalizes Updated Regulatory Framework for Worker Classification

Gabrielle I. Weiss ●

On May 5, 2026, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (“NJDOL”) filed its final rule adopting N.J.A.C. 12:11, which provides regulatory guidance on how the state’s longstanding “ABC” test is applied to determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. The final rule, which carries an operative date of October 1, 2026, arrives after a contentious rulemaking process that drew sharp criticism from financial services and insurance to construction and app-based transportation. While the ABC test itself is nothing new in New Jersey—it has been the statutory standard for nearly 90 years—these rules represent the first comprehensive regulatory framework explaining how the NJDOL interprets and applies the test. Critically, the ABC test in New Jersey governs not just unemployment insurance but also the state’s Wage and Hour Law, Wage Payment Law, Earned Sick Leave Law, and Temporary Disability Benefits Law, giving these rules a practical reach far broader than similar regulations in most other states. Employers operating in the state should begin evaluating their independent contractor relationships now to prepare for implementation.

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What Does IBM’s $17 Million FCA Settlement Portend for Government Contractors Wrestling with Compliance?

Jennifer A. Short, Dominique L. Casimir, Brooke T. Iley ●

On Friday, April 10, 2026, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced a $17 million False Claims Act (“FCA”) settlement with International Business Machines (“IBM”), based on the company’s alleged violations of federal anti-discrimination laws. The settlement is the first under the DOJ’s Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, created last May with the objective of investigating and prosecuting “illegal DEI” practices, primarily through an FCA lens. Coupled with a new Executive Order—issued on March 26—that imposes contract prohibitions on “racially discriminatory DEI activities” in federal government contracts and subcontracts, the IBM settlement signals an escalation in the government’s focus on DEI programs and employment policies.

The DOJ Press Release and Settlement Agreement

The Alleged “Covered Conduct” Identifies Specific Problematic Practices. 

DOJ alleged that IBM improperly made employment decisions based on protected characteristics through specific programs and actions, described as the “Covered Conduct” for purposes of the settlement agreement:

  • Compensation Incentives: A “diversity modifier” linking bonus compensation to demographic targets
  • Hiring and Promotion Criteria: Basing interview eligibility or prioritization on race, sex, or national origin
  • Demographic Goals for Business Units: Developing race and gender targets tied to employment decisions
  • Limited-Access Programs: Limiting training, mentoring, and leadership development to employees meeting specific demographic criteria, such as minorities.

To read the full alert, please visit our website.

California’s AB 692 Reins in “Stay or Pay” Provisions in California Employment Agreements

Taylor C. Morosco ●

Taylor C. Morosco's headshot photo

California’s Assembly Bill (“AB”) 692 took effect on January 1, 2026, significantly limiting the use of commonplace “stay-or-pay” clauses in offer letters and agreements, which require employees or prospective employees to repay certain costs if their employment ends.

AB 692 underscores California’s commitment to limit the use of contractual provisions restricting or disincentivizing workforce mobility. Although the new law does not apply retroactively (essentially grandfathering in “stay-or-pay” clauses entered into before January 1, 2026), employers must audit agreements and practices, and plan for compliance to avoid significant potential liability going forward.

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New Jersey Steps Into Fray, Bans Mandatory Employee Meetings

David G. Rodriguez and Derek E. Schultz ●

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law significant amendments to the New Jersey Employer Political Communication Restrictions Act (the “Act”) on September 3, 2025. These amendments, which take effect on December 2, 2025, make New Jersey one of 12 states in the nation to prohibit employers from holding captive audience meetings to discuss unionization with employees.

KEY PROVISIONS

The Act Will Prohibit Employers from Holding Mandatory Meetings on Unionization

Employers and their agents will be prohibited from requiring employees to attend meetings or participate in communications where the purpose is to convey the employer’s opinion about unionization. This restriction will apply to all employers in New Jersey, including those in both the private and public sectors.

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Shining a Light on Pay: Understanding New Jersey’s New Transparency Mandate for Employers

Gabrielle I. Weiss ●

On June 1, 2025, New Jersey’s Pay and Benefit Transparency Act (“the Act”) took effect, ushering in a new era of openness around pay and benefits for job applicants and employees. This law is part of a growing national movement toward pay transparency, but it introduces several unique requirements and has a broad reach. Employers operating in or hiring employees from New Jersey must act quickly to ensure compliance.

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Philadelphia Enacts POWERful New Worker Protection Ordinance

Julia C. Riskowitz

On May 27, 2025, Mayor Cherelle Parker signed the Protect Our Workers, Enforce Rights (“POWER”) Act into law, which expands the Philadelphia Department of Labor’s enforcement options for violations of the City’s expanding roster of worker protection laws. Under this new ordinance, which is now in effect, workers in Philadelphia have expanded protection against labor infractions; and employers face a host of new and enhanced compliance requirements.

Key provisions of the new legislation include:

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DEI Litigation Whiplash: Appellate Court Allows the Government to Move Forward with Challenged DEI-Related Executive Orders

Brooke T. Iley and Dominique L. Casimir ●

Uncertainty for companies when making business decisions is a new norm. Tariffs aren’t going to be the only thing that is on again and off again. The same is happening with directives governing diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) initiatives. In the first two days of President Trump’s second term, he signed two DEI-related executive orders (“EOs”), EO 14151 (Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing) and EO 14173 (Ending Illegal Discrimination And Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity). While they were in effect, these EOs caused widespread concern throughout the public and private sector as entities scrambled to understand the implications for their businesses. Approximately a month later, a federal judge in Maryland issued a preliminary injunction that stopped the government from implementing key provisions of the two EOs. However, the tide turned on Friday, March 14, 2025, when a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit granted the government’s motion to stay the injunction pending appeal. This ruling empowers the government to resume the implementation of EO 14151 and EO 14173.

While the preliminary injunction was in effect, the government was precluded from (1) terminating “equity-related” contracts and grants pursuant to EO 14151, (2) requiring that government contractors and grantees sign a DEI certification pursuant to EO 14173, and (3) bringing any False Claims Act (“FCA”) or other enforcement action premised on the DEI certification. (As we have previously explained, the certification requirement in EO 14173 is intended to deter contractor and grantee DEI-programs by invoking the specter of FCA liability.)

Now that the injunction is stayed, an emboldened government will likely move swiftly to terminate contracts and grants that it views as being “equity-related” and to require contractors and grantees to execute the DEI certification. We have previously recommended general steps that contractors and grantees can take as they navigate a rapidly changing environment in which the president signs new EOs almost daily. Below, we offer recommendations specific to the government’s renewed ability to implement the previously enjoined provisions of the DEI-related EOs.

Read the full client alert on our website.

Court Temporarily Hits the Brakes on EO 14173 Ending Illegal Discrimination: What Employers Should Know

 Anthony B. Haller, Brooke T. Iley, and Theresa A. Topping ●


Big Picture

On February 21, 2025, a federal judge in the District Court of Maryland granted a temporary injunction blocking portions of President Trump’s Executive Orders “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit Based Opportunity” (“14173”) and “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs” (“14151”) (collectively the “EOs”). To learn more about each EO’s directives read Blank Rome’s previous coverage on 14173 here and 14151 here. This is a temporary nationwide ban on certain portions of the EOs.

After pointing out that the Trump Administration has declared “DEI to be henceforth illegal”, the Court found the EOs do not “define any of the operative terms” such as “illegal DEI”, “equity-related”, “promoting DEI”, or “illegal discrimination or preferences”. This vagueness fails to provide companies and organizations with proper notice as to what types of programs are prohibited. Further, the Court found that the EOs likely violate the First Amendment by expressly threatening “the expression of views supportive of equity, diversity and inclusion.” This is a nationwide ban.

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