Maxine Neuhauser, a Member of the Firm in the Labor and Employment and Health Care and Life Sciences practices, in the firm’s Newark office, was quoted by Law360, in “5 Dos and Don’ts for Employers After NJ’s Ethicon Ruling.” (Read full version – subscription required.)

Following is an excerpt:

One striking element of the Lippman case has been the weaknesses that seem to surround Ethicon's stated reason for firing its former vice president of medical affairs and chief medical officer, according to Maxine Neuhauser, a member of Epstein Becker Green.

For example, it doesn't appear that J&J had any policy prohibiting the kind of consensual romantic relationship at issue, Neuhauser said. Former Ethicon Chairwoman Sherilyn S. McCoy couldn't recall any such policy as part of her deposition testimony on why Lippman was terminated, according to the New Jersey Supreme Court's opinion.

“It is difficult to rely on unwritten policies,” Neuhauser said. “If managers are prohibited from having undisclosed romantic relationships with individuals in their chain of command, put it in writing.”

Jump to Page

Privacy Preference Center

When you visit any website, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. This information might be about you, your preferences or your device and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to. The information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalized web experience. Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings. However, blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.

Performance Cookies

These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.