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Deals & Cases
29 Apr 2026

Appellate Court Affirms Dismissal of Putative Wage Class Action Against New Jersey Healthcare Facilities

"Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani represented a group of New Jersey healthcare facilities and secured an Appellate Division affirmance of the dismissal with prejudice of a putative wage class action alleging unlawful meal-break pay deductions. The court held the claims were governed by the collective bargaining agreement’s grievance and arbitration procedures and thus not subject to Superior Court litigation."

Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani represented a group of healthcare facilities across New Jersey in an appellate proceeding that resulted in a definitive victory for those employers. The matter involved a putative wage class action brought by a certified nursing assistant who alleged violations of the New Jersey Wage Payment Law based on thirty-minute pay deductions for unpaid meal breaks that she claimed employees frequently could not take due to workload and staffing demands. The complaint sought relief on behalf of a proposed statewide class of hundreds of similarly situated employees. GRSM’s South Jersey team moved to dismiss under New Jersey Court Rule 4:6-2(e), arguing the claims were governed by a collective bargaining agreement that expressly addressed wages, hours, scheduling, lunch periods, and contained mandatory grievance and arbitration procedures. The trial court granted the motion and dismissed the complaint with prejudice. On appeal, the New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed the dismissal in full. The court agreed the plaintiff’s claims fell squarely within the CBA’s grievance and arbitration provisions and that the contractual grievance process, rather than Superior Court litigation, was the proper forum. The court emphasized that allowing the suit to proceed despite a controlling CBA would undermine the collective bargaining process and contravene public policy favoring arbitration and internal resolution of labor disputes. The Appellate Division further held dismissal with prejudice was appropriate because the complaint could not be amended to avoid the CBA’s grievance procedure. Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani represented the healthcare facilities with a team composed by: Melissa J. Brown (Partner, South Jersey) and Jonathan R. Stuckel (Partner, South Jersey).
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