Discrimination Law

New Jersey, like most states, is considered an "employment at will" jurisdiction which means that in the absence of a contract, an employee can be terminated for any reason, unless specifically prohibited by law. Two important New Jersey laws that protect employees from wrongful termination are the Law Against Discrimination and the Conscientious Employee Protection Act.

The Law Against Discrimination

The Law Against Discrimination prohibits an employer for discrimination against, harassing, or terminating an employee based upon his race, sex, age, religious beliefs, or if the individual has certain disabilities, but can do the job. These are considered protected classes that are afforded special protections in the workplace with regard to hiring, treatment on the job, and termination.

The Conscientious Employee Protection Act

The Conscientious Employee Protection Act is New Jersey's "whistleblower" law. This law affords certain rights and protections to individuals, who either refuse to participate in, complain about or report conduct at their workplace which they believe is illegal or harmful to co-workers or the public. This law is recourse for those who are punished or terminated for taking such actions.

Employment Contracts

We also provide representation for matters involving employment contracts, severance agreements, non-compete agreements, non-solicitation agreements, and other restrictive covenants.

Recent Case Developments

• An employer has a duty to safeguard the public from the criminal activity of one of its employees. In this case, an employee had taken and downloaded naked pictures of his ten year old stepdaughter on the internet. The company was aware that he was doing so, but did not take immediate action to stop him from continuing. Suit was brought alleging that the employer should be liable for the harm suffered by the ten year old girl as a result of the internet transmissions. The appellate court agreed that the girl's mother could allege such a cause of action against her husband's employer. Jane Doe v. XYZ Corp. 382 NJ Super 122 (App.Div 2005)
  
  
• The N.J. whistle blower statute provides protection for an employee who complains about activities that he or she believes are fraudulent or illegal on the job. But what if the individual complaining is not an employee, but someone who the company has contracted with to perform certain tasks? That person as well may be entitled to bring a claim if the employer exercises enough control over his performance. In this case, a chiropractor was working under contract for Prudential Insurance Company to review certain automobile injury cases. He resisted the directive to meet a quota for approving requests for treatment by physicians, among other issues. His contract was then terminated. The court performed a detailed analysis and came to the conclusion that the company exercised enormous control over his day to day activities, and thus this chiropractor would be considered an employee for the purpose of allowing him to proceed with a whistle blower case against the company. D'Annunzio v. Prudential 383 NJ Super 270 (App.Div 2006)