Hanlon Niemann Blog | A Freehold, New Jersey Law Firm

Without comment, the U.S. Supreme Court has decided not to review  a much publicized case in which Long Branch zoned a self described mission church out of a downtown area marked for development as an entertainment district.  The Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Lighthouse Institute for Evangelism, Inc. vs. City of Long Branch held that the City’s action did not violate the Federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000.   The court said that the church was not being treated unfairly or unequally under the Federal law.   The decision provides clear guidance now to municipalities in New Jersey and the rest of the Third Circuit states to support their zoning powers to permit or not to permit places of religious worship within specified zoning districts.  

One of the interesting issues of the case was that the city had argued Lighthouse Institute for Evangelism, Inc. did not even qualify as a church subject to the protections of the Federal Act.   Questions concerning this article should be directed to Bonnie Wright, Esq. at bwright@hnlawfirm.com.

Many employees do not realize that employers in New Jersey may have the right to regulate and prohibit personal lifestyle choices after work and during their private time unless the conduct falls within a clear cut constitutional privacy protection or meets a clear mandate of public policy protecting private lifestyle choices.  Generally, the prohibited conduct relates to extramarital affairs, romantic relationships among co-workers, free speech, smoking bans and other private lifestyle choices.    All employers and employees are cautioned that the scope of the prohibited conduct will be closely reviewed by the Courts in New Jersey.   New Jersey seems to follow (as customary) its own thoughts on permissible versus unpermissible conduct. 

In a leading case, the Court has indicated that while an employer is free to discharge an employee at will, the general rule must yield when an employer Aacts contrary to public policy in accordance with the leading New Jersey case of Pierce vs. Ortho@.  

Questions about what may or may not be permissible versus dischargable private behavior by an employer?  Lauren Bercik, Esq. handles the firm’s employment related issues.  She can be contacted at lbercik@hnlawfirm.com.