Overview
Tom Reilly, Counsel and a member of Porzio's Litigation Practice Group, concentrates his practice in the areas of employment and labor counseling and litigation, appellate practice, and education law.
Throughout his years of practice, Tom has provided employment counseling to public and private sector clients alike. In the private sector, Tom has argued in New Jersey’s courts on behalf of Fortune 500 companies, handled complex civil litigation arising under New Jersey’s antitrust laws, argued and won cases before the New Jersey Appellate Division, and counseled clients on a variety of complex statutory issues. In the public sector, Tom has represented clients in a number of high stakes matters, including binding arbitration before the Public Employment Relations Commission, matters before the Office of Administrative Law, and cases heard by the Commissioner of Education. He also has brought his appellate experience to bear, briefing dozens of cases for public sector clients before both the Appellate Division and the New Jersey Supreme Court, including cases concerning complex labor and tax disputes, interpretation of New Jersey’s public sector employment statutes, and important matters of public policy.
Tom’s experience both in the courtroom and in the day-to-day affairs of clients has provided him with extensive practical knowledge and experience concerning a number of statutory schemes that affect both private and public employers alike, including the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, the Americans With Disabilities Act, the New Jersey Earned Sick Leave Law, and many others. Tom also possesses extensive knowledge of New Jersey education laws and statutes, earned through years of both counseling and extensive briefing on some of New Jersey’s most complex legal matters.
Prior to joining Porzio, Tom served as a Law Clerk to the Honorable Jaynee LaVecchia, Associate Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court, where Tom gained critical insight into appellate practice and procedure, as well as a prime overview of New Jersey’s most important and complex legal issues.
Memberships
- New Jersey State Bar Association - Member
- Friends of South Amboy - Member
News
- Porzio, Bromberg & Newman Successfully Represents New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police in Supreme Court Appeal of ‘Daniel's Law' Ruling, 6/23/2025
- Porzio, Bromberg & Newman Successfully Represents New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police in Paterson Supersession Case, 12/19/2024
- Porzio, Bromberg & Newman Successfully Represents Borough of Sea Bright in School Regionalization Case, 12/09/2024
- Porzio, Bromberg & Newman Announces 2024 Promotions Class, 7/01/2024
- Porzio, Bromberg & Newman Successfully Represents New Jersey Chiefs of Police in Appeal of "Daniel's Law" Ruling, 4/29/2024
- Porzio, Bromberg & Newman Successfully Represents New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police as Lead Amicus Against Constitutional Challenge to "Daniel's Law", 9/22/2023
Articles
- A New Need For "Uniform" Policies: NLRB Reverses Course, Provides Greater Protection To Employees Who Display Political Slogans On Work Uniforms, 3/29/2024
- New Year, New Rules: NLRB Reverses Course (Again) on Joint-Employer Standard, Employers Should Beware, 1/30/2024
- Porzio's 2023 Employment Law Year in Review, 12/29/2023
- Adams v. Yang: Appellate Division Clarifies Principles of Judicial Estoppel as Applied to Settling Joint Tortfeasor, 12/21/2023
- Appellate Division Affirms FAA Limits on Judicial Review, 11/14/2023
- Whistleblowing Past The Graveyard: Making Sense of Two Recent, and Seemingly Contradictory, Appellate Division CEPA Cases, 10/31/2023
- New Jersey Supreme Court Affirms Jury's Role in Borrowed-Employee Disputes, 9/15/2023
- NJDOL's New And Powerful Enforcement Mechanism Marks More Aggressive Approach To Enforcing New Jersey's Labor Laws, 8/10/2023
- New York and New Jersey Introduce Bills to Regulate Artificial Intelligence in the Hiring Process, January 2023
- Porzio's 2022 Employment Law Year in Review, 12/28/2022
- Cybersecurity Risks: New Developments Regarding Employer Liability For Work-Related Identity Theft, November 2022
- Nondisclosure vs. Non-disparagement: The Current Loophole In Employer-Employee Settlement Agreements Arising Under The Law Against Discrimination, July 2022
- Where There's Smoke, 'You're Fired'? How The Sale of Personal Use Cannabis In New Jersey Ignites Tensions With Employers' Drug-Free Workplaces, 5/31/2022
- Lapsley v. Township of Sparta: Clarification of the "Premises Rule" In Workers' Compensation Claims, 4/25/2022
- Porzio's Employment Law Year in Review, 1/10/2022
- In "Case" You Missed It: 27-35 Jackson Ave., LLC v. Samsung Fire & Marine Inc. Co., 1/03/2022
- Federal And State Governments Expand Vaccine And Testing Mandates For Employees, 9/27/2021
- In "Case" You Missed It: Giallombardo v. Kyriak: A Clarification Of The Punitive Damages Standard, 9/01/2021
- What Employers Need To Know About Mandatory Vaccine Policies And What To Do With Employees Who Refuse To Be Vaccinated, 5/27/2021
- In "Case" You Missed It: Delaney v. Dickey, 1/14/2021
- DOL Releases New Back-to-School FFCRA Guidance, 9/11/2020
- Old Rules, "New Normal", 5/12/2020
- Leave Entitlements Arising from COVID-19, 3/20/2020
- Appellate Division Confirms that "Magic Words" Are Not Necessary For Law Against Discrimination Claims, 11/20/2019
- Why New Jersey's Reverse Age Discrimination Standard Creates Difficulties for Both Employers and Employees, 10/10/2019
- New Jersey Employers May Not Inquire About Salary History, 8/19/2019
- Employers Guide to New Jersey Equal Pay Act, 7/01/2019
- Governor Murphy Signs Bill Expanding Family Leave Benefits, 3/19/2019
- Have You Really Agreed to Arbitrate?, December 2018
- Having a Policy is Good Policy, 9/27/2018
Speaking Engagements
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"Employment of Adults Under Guardianships: Legal Issues and Practical Tips," 42nd Annual Autism Conference, 10/25/2024
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"WPBN Legal Update," 16th Annual Porzio Employment Law Forum, 10/01/2024
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"Discipline & Termination While on Leave: End of (Vacation) Days," Presenter, Porzio Employment Law Forum, Morristown, NJ, 10/04/2023
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"Recruitment and Retention: Lawful Methods and Potential Pitfalls Employers Should Know," Porzio Employment Law Forum, 11/02/2022
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"Examining the Importance of Leave Laws in the Final Months of FFCRA and Beyond," Porzio Employment Law Forum, 10/20/2020
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"The Old School and the New - Considerations for School Re-Opening," Porzio Webinar, 7/07/2020
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"Ethical Issues Attorneys Face in Representing Cannabis Businesses," NBI's Marijuana Business Law in NJ, Princeton, NJ, 12/05/2019
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"Ethical Issues Attorneys Face in Representing Cannabis Businesses," NBI's Marijuana Business Law in NJ, Newark, NJ, 12/04/2019
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"Roundtable Discussion: The Opioid Crisis and Its Impact on the Workplace," Porzio Employment Law Forum, 10/03/2019
Relevant Experience
Relevant Industry and Governmental Experience
- Seton Hall University School of Law - Professor, Appellate Advocacy (Fall 2024)
Opinions, Decisions and Cases
- Kratovil v. City of New Brunswick, __ N.J. __ (No. A-6-24) (June 17, 2025)
- American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey v. County Prosecutors Association of New Jersey, 257 N.J. 87 (2024)
- State v. Olenowski, 255 N.J. 529 (2023)
- Conforti v. County of Ocean, 255 N.J. 142 (2023)
- Mack-Cali Realty Corp. v. State, et al., 250 N.J. 550 (2022)
- In re Attorney General Law Enforcement Directive Nos. 2020-5 and 2020-6, 246 N.J. 462 (2021)
- In re Ridgefield Park Bd. of Educ., 244 N.J. 1, (2020)
- Kratovil v. City of New Brunswick, No. A-216-23 (App. Div. Apr. 26, 2024)
- Lipsky v. N.J. Ass’n of Health Plans, Inc., 474 N.J. Super. 447 (App. Div. 2023)
- State v. Ruthnaswamy, No. A-000219-19 (App. Div. Dec. 2, 2019)
- Board of Education of Ridgefield Park v. Board of Education of Little Ferry, Agency Dkt. No. 165-8/20 (Commissioner of Education, April 22, 2021)