A recent New Jersey Appellate Division ruling provides a good example of how dangerous it can be to compete with your current employer. B&H Securities, Inc. designs, sells and maintains security monitoring systems. In spring 2007, three of its employees, Michael Poisler, Marc Palladino and Duane Pinkney, decided to start…
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who complain to their employer’s about a violation of the FLSA. The FLSA is a federal wage and hour law that, among other things, establishes minimum wage and overtime…
New Jersey’s Appellate Division recently ruled that the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“LAD”) protects employees who are harassed because of the race of their spouses, fiancés, or children. Shi-Juan Lin, who is Chinese, worked for Dane Construction Company. Ms. Lin’s is engaged to a man who is black and…
On April 20, 2015, New York City Mayor Bill DeBlazio signed a new employment law into effect. The new law amends the New York City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”) to permit the New York City Commission on Human Rights to hire individuals who will either apply for or inquire about…
The United States Supreme Court recently ruled that the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act (“PDA”) can require employers to provide reasonable accommodations to women who are pregnant even if they are not disabled. The PDA establishes that pregnancy discrimination in the workplace violates federal law. It also includes a provision that…
Last week, I discussed how to calculate the potential value of a wrongful termination case at a trial. However, most employment law cases settle rather than going to a trial. Accordingly, it also is important to be able to assess the potential settlement value of your case. Risk of Loss…
There is no one way to predict the precise value of an employment law case before a trial. Among other things, juries do not necessarily use any particular formula, and verdicts often represent compromises. However, it is possible to estimate what you might receive if you win your case at…
New regulations issued by the United States Department of Labor (DOL) make it clear that the Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA) protects spouses in same sex marriages. The FMLA is a federal law which, among other things, guarantees covered employees can take up to 12 weeks per year off…
A recent employment law case recognizes that in certain circumstances, an employer does not violate federal law if it requires former employees to sign away their legal claims against it as a condition to rehiring them as independent contractors. In 1999, Allstate Insurance Company decided to treat all of its…
In a recent employment law case, Davis v. Husain, the New Jersey Supreme Court held that a judge may not engage in any communication with a member of the jury outside of the presence of the lawyers involved in the case (known as ex parte communications), including discussions after the…