As discussed here, earlier this year, the Appellate Division affirmed in part and reversed in part the Law Division’s dismissal of a case that challenged an ordinance of the City of Jersey City that imposed a 1% tax on employers’ payrolls but exempted from the calculation of the tax employees who resided in Jersey City. The Appellate Division remanded the case for further proceedings. However, the panel stayed its ruling for 45 days “to permit the parties to seek further review.” It thus came as no shock that review was then sought. The Supreme Court announced this...

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in four new matters. Two of the cases are civil appeals and two are criminal matters. In East Bay Drywall, LLC v. Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk’s office, is “For purposes of liability for contributions to the state unemployment and temporary disability compensation fund, are the company’s service providers employees or independent contractors under the ABC Test, N.J.S.A. 43:21-19(i)(6)(A) to (C)?” In an opinion reported at 467 N.J....

The Supreme Court issued its first three opinions of the new Term this week. Here are summaries of those rulings: Bozzi v. City of Jersey City, ___ N.J. ___ (2021). This was the first opinion of the Term, and it resulted in a 5-2 split. Justice Fernandez-Vina wrote the majority opinion, which affirmed the rulings of the Law Division and the Appellate Division held that Jersey City had wrongfully denied plaintiff’s Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”) request for the names and addresses of dog owners reflected in Jersey City’s dog license records. Jersey City had relied on...