Employers often include restrictive covenants (RCs) in employment contracts. As the name suggests, these are contractual provisions that restrict employees from taking certain actions, both during and after employment. In order for provisions like these to be enforceable, they must balance the employer’s interests with the employee’s rights. The New…
New Jersey employment statutes protect workers against a variety of acts by employers, but in order for these protections to apply, an employment relationship must exist. Independent contractors generally do not fall within the scope of these laws. Employers therefore sometimes attempt to classify workers as independent contractors when they…
In addition to prohibiting discrimination on the basis of factors like race, sex, and religion, most anti-discrimination statutes also prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who report alleged discrimination, who participate in an investigation of alleged unlawful acts, or who engage in other legally protected activities. In 2016, a jury…
The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD) prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of disability. It also requires employers to make “reasonable accommodations” for employees with disabilities, in order to enable them to perform their job duties. A New Jersey disability discrimination lawsuit originally filed in the Superior Court…
While Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is considered to be the primary federal antidiscrimination law, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967 also provides important protections for workers nationwide. Both the ADEA and New Jersey’s antidiscrimination statute prohibit employers from advertising job openings in…
New Jersey employment lawsuits can take months or years before getting to trial. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) offers other ways for litigants to deal with their disputes. Many employment contracts now include clauses stating that employees agree to submit employment-related disputes to arbitration, a type of ADR that resembles a…
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 is a groundbreaking law that protects the rights of people with disabilities in the workplace and in many public businesses. Employers may not discriminate against employees or job applicants on the basis of a covered disability, and they may be required to…
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires covered employers to provide eligible employees with up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave. It is the only federal statute that provides medical leave nationwide, and it only provides unpaid leave. New Jersey is one of five U.S. states, plus the District…
Race discrimination in employment can take many forms. Sometimes an employer commits an adverse act against an employee that is unambiguously based on that employee’s race, but it is usually that obvious. Employment policies that do not appear to be motivated by any sort of racial animus, can still have…
New Jersey family and medical leave laws provide eligible workers with guaranteed time off from work for the birth of a child. State and federal laws also protect workers from discrimination by their employers because of pregnancy or childbirth. A company that operates a hospital in Middlesex County, New Jersey,…