A New Jersey judge recently issued a noteworthy decision in a gender and pregnancy discrimination case, Colicchio v. Merck & Co., Inc. The fact scenario is fairly common. Kerri Colicchio worked for Merck & Co., Inc. for approximately a decade. She alleges the company passed her over for a promotion…
Last month, a federal judge in New Jersey allowed a group of employees to proceed with their class action age discrimination lawsuit even though they do not claim the company hired younger employees to replace them. In Bratek v. TD Bank, NA, four customer service representatives, Edna Bratek, Diane Deluca,…
Last week, the United States Supreme Court overturned a state court’s ruling that a non-compete agreement is invalid because it violates state law. The Supreme Court ruled that since the non-competition agreement included a valid arbitration clause, an arbitrator has to decide whether the non-compete agreement is legally enforceable. The…
New Jersey’s Appellate Division recently recognized it can be unlawful for a company to reduce employees’ overtime hours in response to an overtime lawsuit. Specifically, the case finds that such a policy could violate New Jersey’s whistleblower law, the Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA). Howard Flecker III worked as a…
Late last month, the New Jersey Appellate Division ruled that ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company may have violated New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) when it fired an employee suffering from alcoholism after she failed a breathalyzer test. The LAD prohibits employers from discriminating against employees because they are disabled.…
As a result of Hurricane Sandy, many businesses in New York and New Jersey had to stop their operations for a considerable period of time. Now that many employees are returning back to work, they are asking whether they should be paid for the days when their offices were closed…
In a sluggish economy employers tend to use non-compete agreements more frequently to protect their interests. At the same time employees struggling to find a job in difficult job market are more likely to question and challenge the limitations set by their non-compete agreements. As a result, we frequently receive…
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is entitled to subpoena a broad range of information during its investigations into possible violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The Third Circuit is a federal appellate court that handles cases…
Late last month, New Jersey amended its Equal Pay Act to require larger companies to tell employees they have the right to be free from sex discrimination with respect to their pay. The New Jersey Equal Pay Act prohibits discrimination based on sex regarding salary, benefits, and other compensation. Employees…
When an employee complains about discrimination or harassment at work, his employer generally has an obligation to investigate. It is common for employers to require employees involved in an internal investigation to keep all information about the investigation confidential. In some cases, this is meant to protect the privacy of…