Employment Law News in New Jersey

New Jersey has several laws in place to set standards for the wages and payments of employees in the state. First and foremost, the minimum wage is set at $8.60 per hour, and the constitution of New Jersey requires its annual review so it can be adjusted for the cost of living each year. Workers who are tipped can be paid any hourly wage as long as their tips and hourly rate add up to at least the minimum wage. When it comes to overtime pay, different factors of your employment will determine if you should be paid specifically for hours you worked outside of your normal workday. There are two important categories defined by New Jersey law: exempt and non-exempt employees. Some employees are exempt from overtime pay laws. These are only for employees who meet the requirements set by … [Read more...]

An appeals court has ruled to allow a former teacher to continue her lawsuit against a New Jersey Catholic school for firing her because she became pregnant while unmarried. Court records show Victoria Crisitello was fired from St. Theresa School in Kenilworth in 2014 after telling the principal she was pregnant. Crisitello later filed a lawsuit claiming she was discriminated against due to her pregnancy and her marital status. A court previously granted the school's motion to dismiss the lawsuit in November 2016, saying the state Law Against Discrimination includes a "broad exemption for religious institutions." … [Read more...]

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...]

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...]