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Recent Blog Posts
The Role of the Administrative Process in Employment Litigation
Many people come to us eager for their day in court against an employer who treated them unjustly or refused to address on-the-job harassment. They are surprised, however, when we tell them that they first must file an administrative complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The federal laws that prohibit employment discrimination make… Read More »
What Is ENDA, and Where Is It Now?
Federal law shields a wide array of groups from employment discrimination, but members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community have received no such protection. In the flurry of news that has been coming out of Congress over the past several months, a landmark piece of legislation has attracted little attention until recently…. Read More »
Noncompete Agreements Can Be Challenged in New Jersey
It’s understandable that companies want to keep trade secrets out of the hands of their competitors, which is why many employers require employees to sign noncompete contracts. Employers fear that when an engineer, salesperson, executive or marketer leaves the company to work for a competitor, the new employer will benefit from the new employee’s knowledge… Read More »
Did Your Employer Misrepresent Your Job or Compensation?
Stagnant wages and shifting business models are leading many employees to look for opportunities to improve their working conditions and increase their compensation. They sometimes find, however, that their new employer misrepresented what the job entails or what the compensation package includes. A movement toward truth in hiring is afoot, based in part on lawsuits… Read More »
Legal Solutions for New Jersey Enterprises When Things Go Wrong
The development of new businesses is a cornerstone of the American economy. Entrepreneurs find few things as thrilling as watching their ventures succeed and grow, which allows them to reward early investors and managers. And New Jersey is fostering new businesses quite successfully, according to a recent study. The researchers measured the creation of small… Read More »
Is Disability Discrimination Affecting Your Job in New Jersey?
Even though Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, subtle forms of discrimination against the disabled persist. Some employers continue to discriminate against people with physical, mental or emotional disabilities in hiring, pay, promotion and termination decisions. This camouflaged discrimination occurs, for example, when an employer imposes physical requirements that actually are irrelevant… Read More »
Job Terminations in New Jersey Are Sometimes Unlawful
Employment in New Jersey is “at will,” which means that employees work at the will of the employer, and the employer can fire an employee at any time for any reason — or for no reason. This is a pro-business policy that has been in place since the 19th century in most states. There are… Read More »
When Do Salaried Workers Deserve Overtime Pay in New Jersey?
The National Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 established the federal rules on overtime pay along with the 40-hour workweek. Under the rules, employees in certain types of positions are entitled to overtime pay of 1.5 times their regular pay rate. The rules generally apply to hourly rather than salaried employees. The rules get a… Read More »
When You Are Misclassified as Exempt, You Lose Overtime Pay
In New Jersey, some employees are entitled to overtime pay and others are exempt. Those exempt from overtime include executive, administrative, computer technology and professional employees and outside sales representatives. Nonexempt employees who must be paid time-and-a-half overtime include hourly workers, typically in manufacturing and service positions. There are some exceptions to these rules, particularly… Read More »
Negotiate a Better Severance Package with Proactive Thinking
Severance packages for terminated employees recently have become a topic of debate in the New Jersey Legislature. Two bills are pending that would penalize higher-paid workers who receive severance packages by denying them state unemployment benefits. Neither bill has passed either chamber of the legislature. Regardless of what happens in Trenton, employees (and ex-employees) should… Read More »