Employment Law News in New Jersey

Tesla Employee Files Lawsuit Claiming Retaliation After Speaking Up About Working Conditions A high-profile example of alleged workplace retaliation is that of a former Tesla employee. Carlos Ramirez was Tesla’s director of environmental health, safety, and sustainability until he was fired in June 2017. He has now filed a lawsuit claiming he was fired in retaliation for speaking up about unsafe working conditions at Tesla and underreported accidents. He says he objected to illegal activity at the company, as well, which he thinks was also part of the reason for his termination. Furthermore, Ramirez says he faced harassment based on his race and national origin as a Mexican-American and the company did nothing about it. Tesla says it was the other way around—they say he harassed his … [Read more...]

With the advent of the #MeToo movement and the international attention it has garnered, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that sexual harassment in the workplace is alarmingly prevalent. But what has received less attention, is how many victims of this heinous behavior have been subjected to retaliatory treatment for speaking out. The narrative concentrates primarily on the formerly silent victims – those who have been afraid to speak out for fear of not being believed, ostracization, and career suicide. What has received less coverage is those who did speak out and were almost immediately silenced by those in power. Sexual Harassment Stats Statistics from a wide range of polls demonstrate the pervasiveness of sexual harassment across every industry. A CNBC All-America Survey revealed … [Read more...]

Common types of wrongful termination and discrimination in New Jersey. Do you believe that you were wrongfully terminated in New Jersey? One of the most common claims that an employment law firm receives are for wrongful termination claims. Terminations, suspensions or adverse employment actions are unfair and wrongful to you. The question is whether your termination was illegal. In order for the adverse employment action to be illegal, and not just wrongful, we will need to demonstrate that the adverse employment action was taken against you based on a protected characteristic or in retaliation for you complaining about discrimination, harassment or illegal acts in the workplace. You may have blown the whistle on your employer and have been terminated. These are the types of things that … [Read more...]

The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) outlaws workplace discrimination on basis of many things, including “marital status.”  On Friday, the New Jersey Appellate Division ruled that a male employee married to a female coworker who then was separated and in the processing of her could not be fired because his boss was worried about the impact of an “ugly divorce” on the office.  The court found that the defendant “terminated plaintiff because of stereotypes about divorcing persons – among other things, they are antagonistic, uncooperative with each other, and incapable of being civil or professional in each other’s company in the workplace….[Defendant] responded not to any actual proved conduct.”  This ruling breaks new ground because it considered a case where the employee was “in … [Read more...]

The Fair Labor Standards Act was first voted into law in 1938, requiring a 40-cent minimum wage, a 40-hour maximum work week, and abolished child labor for individuals under the age of 16. While many amendments have been made at the federal level to increase the minimum wage or exempt certain groups from its standards, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act still prevails over the American work force and her employers. In addition to the federal act, all states have additional labor standards laws that protect workers from abuse, poor working conditions, and too many hours. How Much is Minimum Wage? The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 per hour. Each state can enact laws to increase or reduce that rate as they see fit. New Jersey just approved a ballot vote last year to … [Read more...]

A recent case in a New Jersey District Court was dismissed based on one clause in an employee handbook. This clause, known as a “Woolley Clause,” basically stated that the employee handbook is in no way, shape, or form, an employment contract, and that any employee is retained on an “at-will” basis. That Woolley Clause protects the employer by having all employees agree to abide by the rules set forth in the employee handbook as it stands at the time of their signing, and that they also agree to any changes that may be made in the future. For this particular case in New Jersey, that meant that the employee, Sandra Rossi, could not be held by her employer, Raymour & Flanigan, to any forced arbitration rules based on this clause. When Sandra Rossi brought discrimination and … [Read more...]

Overtime pay is mandated under both NJ state laws and the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). If your job is not exempt from overtime, you should be paid time-and-a-half for any hours worked over the 40 hours per week standard. However, not all employers are forthcoming and prompt with overtime pay. If you have logged overtime hours, but have not received your due overtime pay, there are a few options to consider in order to get the money you deserve. Request Your Overtime Pay In Writing Submit a written request to your employer, outlining your hours worked, calculating your regular pay plus your overtime pay. Include copies of any pay stubs to show the difference in the wages you received versus the pay you have earned. Be sure to date your written request and include dates and … [Read more...]

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act has been passed in the Senate, but still awaits approval from the House of Representatives.  This bill, known as ENDA, secures non-discrimination employment rights for the LGBT population, who were not previously protected under other laws.  This means that no one may be fired or discriminated against in the workplace for their sexual orientation or gender identification. In New Jersey, employees have been protected by the Law Against Discrimination (LAD) for years.  New Jersey State’s law already protects against discrimination for sexual orientation as well as a multitude of other classes like gender discrimination (protecting women from sexual harassment, etc.), racial discrimination, and age discrimination.  With this new law on the horizon at … [Read more...]

The verdict is in as a jury has answered the often-debated issue of whether or not the use of the N-word is acceptable. The short answer is no. At least not in the workplace. Many New Jersey residents first heard about this issue from the much-publicized Johnson vs. Carmona and STRIVE case earlier this month. Brandi Johnson brought a four-minute long recorded tirade of her boss, Rob Carmona, to court to play for the jury. Carmona, manager and founder of the STRIVE employment training program, was found guilty of workplace discrimination and operating a hostile work environment. In the recording, Carmona loudly berated Johnson and repeatedly used the N-word toward her, bringing what had previously been a social discussion into a legal battle on the federal stage. Carmona’s lawyers … [Read more...]