To prevail in a retaliation lawsuit you have to prove your employer took an adverse action (such as demoting or firing you) because you engaged in a legally-protected activity. For example, if your employer fired you after you complained you were not being properly paid for working overtime you would…
A case decided earlier this month addresses a question that periodically comes up in employment law cases: Will your former employer be able to obtain your personnel file from your current employer if you file an employment discrimination or retaliation lawsuit? During an employment lawsuit, the employer and employee engage…
Last week, New Jersey’s Appellate Division revisited the question of whether an employee who blows the whistle about an activity related to his job duties can be protected by New Jersey’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA). This time, the court concluded the employee can proceed with his claim even though…
As I discussed in a previous article, in 2010 New Jersey passed a law Prohibiting Companies From Saying Unemployed Job Candidates Need Not Apply. With limited exceptions, this relatively new anti-discrimination law prohibits employers from advertising that job applicants must have a current job to be eligible to be hired,…
Yesterday, Governor Christie signed a law that prohibits pregnancy discrimination in New Jersey. The Act, which is an amendment to the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“LAD”), adds pregnancy to the list of legally protected categories. Importantly, it defines “pregnancy” broadly to include not only pregnancy itself but also childbirth,…
Age discrimination occurs frequently but often is subtle. You may be certain you were fired because of your age, but not have any direct proof or “smoking gun” evidence. Fortunately, that does not necessarily mean you cannot prove your claim. Employees who want to prove they were fired because of…
Last week, New Jersey’s Appellate Division refused to dismiss a criminal indictment against an employee who took documents from her employer in an attempt to support her employment discrimination claims. While it is a criminal case, it undoubtedly has implications for employment lawyers and individuals with employment law claims. Ivonne…
Earlier this month, a federal judge in New Jersey ruled that Bryan Maher can proceed with numerous employment law claims against his former employer, Abbott Laboratories. Mr. Maher began working for Abbott in June 2008 as a Senior Distribution Specialist. In 2009, his sales numbers declined. By June the company…
Last month, in Gomez v. Town of West New York, the United States District Judge William Martini denied a motion to dismiss a civil rights lawsuit against the Town of West New York, New Jersey. Alain Gomez worked for West New York as its Urban Enterprise Zone Coordinator. According to…
A constructive discharge occurs when an employer makes an employee’s working conditions so intolerable that she is forced to resign. This type of forced resignation is legally actionable if it caused by an illegal factor, such as unlawful discrimination or retaliation. Last week, New Jersey’s Appellate Division explained that when…