By Bruce Atkins | Published January 15, 2024 | Posted in Discrimination | Tagged Tags: NJ LAD, religious exemption, religious tenets | Comments Off on NJ Supreme Court Allows a Religious Organization Exemption to the Law Against Discrimination
NJ Supreme Court Allows a Religious Organization Exemption to the Law Against Discrimination
Across the country, there have been legal clashes between workers and the religious institutions that employ them, with each side seeking to exercise what they believe to be their fundamental rights. Courts often have to step in when churches, religious schools and other faith-based organizations institute conflict with anti-discrimination laws that purportedly protect all employees. Read More
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Owner of Four NJ Dairy Queens Cited for Child Labor Violations
Working at a Dairy Queen or other fast-food establishment is a rite of passage for many teenagers throughout the United States. However, these restaurants are subject to the same laws as other employers, and their owners can face serious penalties if they take advantage of their younger workers. In October 2023, the U.S. Department of Read More
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New Law Offers Protection to New Jersey Service Workers
Numerous service workers know firsthand how it feels to get fired suddenly after months or years of hard work simply because ownership of their employer has changed hands. Even top employees have been terminated without warning simply because the new owner wanted to “bring in their own people.” Now, a new law gives service workers Read More
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How Remote Employees Can Be Subject to Online Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment plagues workplaces across the country, from corporate offices to fast-food restaurants. Perhaps surprisingly, the transition to remote work prompted by the Covid pandemic has not abated the problem. Although lack of physical contact would seem to present fewer opportunities for one person to harass another, workers are often victimized by online sexual harassment. Read More
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NJ Appeals Court Expands Scope of Discrimination Law’s Ministerial Exception
State and federal laws protect employees from discrimination on account of their religion or other protected personal characteristics. However, there is a major exception. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2012 ruled that the First Amendment’s Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses prevent courts from applying anti-discrimination laws to religious organizations hiring or firing ministers. For example, Read More
Read MoreHow New Jersey’s Mini-WARN Act Protects Workers Facing Downsizing
Mass layoffs can hit workers at even the largest companies, whether as the result of economic conditions or mismanagement or both. Downsizing is worse still when it takes workers by surprise, leaving them no time to prepare for finding new employment. Federal and state laws are in place to ease the transition for workers in Read More
Read MoreWhat You Should Know About the New Jersey Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights
Thousands of people are hired in New Jersey every year to work in warehousing, manufacturing, transportation and other fields — many by temp agencies who farm them out on a contract basis. Temp workers historically have been denied protections afforded to permanent employees, making them vulnerable to wage theft, unfair working arrangements and other abuses Read More
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How the Speak Out Act Curtails the Use of NDAs Relating to Sexual Harassment
The MeToo movement has succeeded in exposing, in vivid detail, the ways in which powerful people committed acts of sexual harassment, sometimes for decades, without suffering consequences. The perpetrators of these acts were often the victims’ bosses or others in positions of authority. As such, victims who agreed to monetary settlements instead of taking legal Read More
Read MoreNew Jersey Bill Targets Artificial Intelligence Discrimination in Hiring
The use of artificial intelligence tools in the modern workplace has sparked all sorts of reactions, from people warning that AI will replace white collar workers to people urging workers to think of AI as a job aid they can use to become more productive. But one of the questions for lawmakers right now has Read More
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Proposed FTC Rule Would Ban Most Non-Compete Agreements
Non-compete agreements limit employees’ options after they leave a job. Sometimes the non-compete might have a geographic restriction, stopping an employee from working within a certain radius or in nearby cities or counties. Other times, the contract might prevent an employee from working for specific competitors or in certain lines of business. The intent of Read More
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Neil H. Deutsch has been practicing law for over 35 years and is known as a skilled negotiator in employment and discrimination law. He believes in a bottom-line approach of risk analysis and cost effectiveness for his clients. "Case evaluation is something we take seriously," says Mr. Deutsch who seeks top net dollar for his…
Bruce L. Atkins is the Senior Managing Partner at Deutsch Atkins & Kleinfeldt P.C., a prominent plaintiff employment law firm in the tri-state area. Mr. Atkins believes employees’ rights should be aggressively pursued when they’ve been wrongfully dealt with by their employers. He brings this philosophy to his practice when considering each case and its…
Adam J. Kleinfeldt joined Deutsch Atkins & Kleinfeldt, P.C. in March of 2015. He primarily represents individuals in employment litigation such as discrimination, retaliation and whistle blowing matters. He has extensive experience in all phases of the litigation process. Adam has obtained significant results for his clients, including a $525,000 jury verdict in a sexual…
Debra M. McGarvey joined Deutsch Atkins & Kleinfeldt, P.C. in December 2019. She has extensive experience defending employees and employers in state and federal court in employment litigation matters. She has represented clients on various issues arising out of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD), the New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA), the…
Carly Skarbnik Meredith, Esq. is a Partner at the firm. Carly has focused her career exclusively in the field of employment law. She has a plethora of experience representing both employees and employers with their employment issues, needs, and concerns. She believes representing both employees and employers has made her an extremely well-rounded client advocate.…
