Earlier this month, New Jersey’s Appellate Division ruled that it is improper to present a jury with evidence regarding “after-acquired evidence” until after it has determined that an employer violated New Jersey’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA). CEPA is New Jersey’s whistleblower law. After-acquired evidence is when a company learns…
If you have been the victim of unlawful discrimination or harassment, you might be able to sue your employer for under New York law even if you never worked in New York. At least according to one New York appellate court, employees can bring discrimination claims under New York’s anti-discrimination…
Earlier this month, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) published suggested best practices for companies to minimize the chance of violating the rights of employees who are also caregivers. Those suggested practices supplement the guidelines the EEOC issued in 2007 regarding when it is unlawful for an employer…
Q. What is the Conscientious Employee Protection Act? A. The Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA) is New Jersey’s whistleblower law. It is one of the broadest anti-retaliation laws in the country. It provides broad protection to employees who report illegal and unethical workplace activities. Its primary purposes are to encourage…
In the United States, the vast majority of employees are employees at-will, meaning they can be fired for almost any reason, as long as the decision is not the result of unlawful discrimination, retaliation, a breach of an employment contract, or some other form of wrongful discharge. However, certain employees…
When an employee wins a wrongful termination lawsuit, the judge or jury is supposed to award economic and emotional distress damages that compensate the employee for his or her losses. In particular, damages for past and future lost wages and benefits are supposed to compensate the employee for the economic…
A new amendment to an important employment law was included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a law which you might know better as President Obama’s most recent Economic Stimulus package. Under that law, the United States government will pay 65% of an employee’s health insurance premiums for up…
Imagine a company’s Vice President offered you a great new job. Better yet, he or she offered you a guaranteed written one year employment contract that provides a generous salary and benefits. You signed the contract and started the job, only to be told by someone in the human resources…
On January 26, 2009, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) prohibits retaliation against employees who speak out about harassment while answering questions as part of a company’s internal harassment investigation. The case, Crawford v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville…
Earlier today, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. The Act reverses the United States Supreme Court’s 2007 decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 550 U.S. 618 (2007) which requires an employee to bring a federal claim of pay discrimination in violation of…