Employment Law - New Jersey

Salaried Employees Rights

jcsuperstar — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:57:19 GMT

I work in a very seasonal work enviroment. I typically work 54-70 hours per week between the months of May-September and in the "off" months I usually work 40 hours per week. Becasue of the state of our economy our owners have decided to cut this to 32 hours and give me a 20% pay cut. Is this legal? I never filled out a contract but was verbally told what my job description would be and what it would entail.

wrongful termination

bigcee7862 — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:59:24 GMT

if i feel i was wrongfully terminated from my job for trying to start a union how long do i have to file a lawsuit.....its going on 7 months can i still do something

Maternity Leave

Mezza — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:13:51 GMT

I am working in NJ and have been working for my current employer for under a year. I knew I was pregnant when I applied for the job and then started work with them but did not disclose this information at the time. Did I have a legal obligation to tell them I was pregnant when I was hired?

I understand I am not covered under FMLA as I have been working there under a year. But what maternity leave does my employer have to give me, if any?

It is a small organization employing less than 50 people.

Coach Fired Over A Law

attorneyjw — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 21:11:00 GMT

Do you think there is a case with the below facts. A coach was hired by a state college in NJ in 2006. He was recently told that he would not be brought back as the assistant coach at Stockton because his wife was the head volleyball coach because of a state law passed in 2006 that the school ignored. The law was designed to prevent corruption not to prevent from someone assisting as a coach part time. Case or no case.

Fired while Contracted based on hearsay

Carlaj — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:27:44 GMT

I recieved a glowing written evaluation 9-18 from work and was told by head administration 9-29 that I was great at my job.

not even 2 days later, I was called by the head supervisor on the telephone and said she had to "part ways" with my contract because of an email she recieved second hand regarding me from my immediate supervisor.

Needless to say I was shocked because I was never asked about an email just told by head administration that they saw it and thought I should go.

In the email it stated what the employee (immediate supervisor) "heard" about me and I was making it impossible for her to do her job. The next thing I know the Head administrator fired me over the phone. My contract was set to end December 2009

Any recourse?

Falsely Accused By Co-Worker - Harassement?

jtunis — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:12:47 GMT

A co-worker falsey accused me of something even though HR cleared me of all wrong doing. The co-worker sent an email to my home address that concluded as pasted below. Does the wording constitute harassement:

"The right thing to do would have been to step up and explain to them what your involvment was. Seems that you were not inclined to do so. Do you take some perverse pleasure from damaging an innocent party?That's both sad and pathetic."

Adverse working conditions in New Jersey

SeanLieberman — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:35:52 GMT

A female relative claims that she is being subjected to adverse working conditions that are affecting her health. This has been going on for about two years.

Specifically, although she is being paid for receptiaonist and light administrative functions, she has been repeatedly required to take on the routine work of others, including her own manager and other managers. She receives overtime, but is constantly subjected to criticism from her manager for not being able to do what are,in effect, two jobs without breaking a sweat.

The treatment she is receiving, which she says can be corroborated by others in her department, is causing serious psychological and physical stress that is affecting her health.She needs either the job or unemployment and COBRA benefits, so resigning does not seem like a practical option.

Since New Jersey is an at-will state, what other options can you suggest?

Employer cancels Cobra Insurance coverage, can he do that?

DR66SS396 — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:25:17 GMT

I got laid off 4 months ago. My employer sold the business and now said he canceling all the employees insurance coverage thru Cobra (approx 30 employees).

The corporate health insurance policy was not in the companies name that was sold, but the parent companies name that is still in business and has been for over 30 years.

My question is, can the legally do this?

They didn't go out of business so this should apply to Cobra's loop hole for businesses that go out of business.

What do you think?

My Belongings and final pay check

miszlala — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:11:15 GMT

Hi i was just discharged from my job unexpectedly , via email. I replied back i will be in the coming Friday to pick up my belongings and last check. They emailed me not to waist my time items were sent out along with check. to me that was a stupid move, because if for some reason things are missing or not delivered , aren't they responsible? and is this legal? without my permission?

Can you file Unemployment in NJ if you were discharged??

miszlala — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 19:35:14 GMT

Can i file unemployment for being discharged from a job?, because u had to call out due to a child care issue ? would i be able to apply im actively seeking work and want to go back to school. but i just dont know the rules as far a being let go for that situation.

non-compete employee rights

whatahassel — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 04:21:50 GMT

can an employer in nj force existing "at-will" employees to sign a non-compete agreement, after a decade of uninterrupted employment? agreement includes 1-year and 10-mile radius limitations. If agreement is deemed reasonable, what are employee rights concerning "independent consideration."? ... it considered employer retaliation to be fired for not signing such an agreement and, if so/not, why? Also, is it legal practice for such an employer to deduct pre-tax product-usage service charges from employee earnings?

Withholding final paycheck from terminated employee

Jo M — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 20:54:59 GMT

Legally, can you withhold a terminated employees final paycheck because company property he/she returned was damaged? Example:

returned company laptop and several keys on keypad were missing.

Punished for customer attacking me

nnejmd — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:16:53 GMT

I have been working for an upscale grocery store in the deli dept.for more than 8 years now. I am always friendly, never had a complaint. The other day I was helping out a customer, and when I was finished, I began to take a tray of food out of the case, and then I heard a snotty voice of another customer demanding that I take her right away. She was treating me like a slave, and not like a human being. I got snippy with her and said to her that I will call her number when I call it. She didn't like the fact that she had to wait so she told me she was going to complain. I then got very snippy with her after she told me she was going to complain about me not taking her right away. I said "just go ahead and complian, I don't care, it doesn't bother me" then she threatened me and told me I better watch my back or else. I took that as a threat, there are some crazy people in this world and she was a lot bigger than me as well. After she complained about me, I was called into the office and sent home. I said, why am I being sent home? And they told me because I threatened her. I said..."are you kidding me? I was snippy with her, but I never threatened her, she threatened me!" They sent me home anyway and believed the customer over me. I have been there for more than 8 years and I have a great track record with the company. This is the first time that this has happened and I feel I should have been protected against her. The next day, they put me on written warning because I mouthed off the customer. Now if this happens again, I will be fired. I told them, "what are you going to do to protect me?" They said they will do nothing because "as a customer, she pays our salary" I said "this is just not right, I was verbally attacked by this lady and threatened, and for the 8 years I have been here, you are not going to do anything, and now I am being punished?" It's just not right, now every day I come to work, I have to worry about this woman coming in again and I was told I have to smile to her or I will lose my job. I feel I am being treated unfairly. If anyone has any advice, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks so much.

Husband just fired...need some info

mommy2madison — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 04:34:30 GMT

Hi all...thank you in advance for all of your legal advice.

I will give you some background...my husband worked on an apartment complex and he received a hourly wage and in addition, we received an apartment as part of the package. He has worked for the company for 9 years. 2 years ago he was promoted to property manager. They relocated us to the property that he was to manage. Things were going great....all apts rented. Letters from happy tenants etc. On Sept. 24th of last year, we were woken up by neighbors at 4:30 am. When we came outside, the whole outside decking and the grass area beyond that was on fire. We got our kids out of the house, wearing nothing but pajamas. Unfortunatly, the whole building wound up going up in flames. We lost everything that night that we owned. That morning, the VP of the company (who was also my husbands direct boss) showed up and spoke with fire chief and fire marshall. 4 apartment were destroyed and the tenants were relocated immediatly. We were told by the VP to go stay with family. We had no choice, with no where to go. We stayed at families house for 2 months. In the interim, the money that is deducted from his paycheck for the apartment was still being taken out. We have paystubs to back this up. In addition, the fire chief (who is friends of our family) confided that that the VP tried to pin the fire on us the morning of. All reports point to an accidental fire that started outside, possibly by a cigarette in the mulch surrounding the building. After 2 months of constantly asking about our relocation, they finally got back to us...my husband was demoted and sent back to the previous property that he worked at prior to his promotion. We believe this demotion had a ton to do with the fire. In addition, when he was sent back to the do the old position, they lowered his wages to BELOW what he was making before he left. We have suffered great financial crisis in this time.

Fast forward to this past week. Husband was in his garage working on some projects with the garage door closed after hours...about 9pm. Property Manager (his boss) comes home from the bar(it is common knowledge that he is a drunk), pulls up to the garage and starts banging on the door and yelling and cursing at my husband to open the door. Husband asks him what he wants and he can tell that he is beyond drunk and doesn't want a confrontation. Tells him he will speak to him in the morning. Boss leaves and then my husband heads back to our apartment.....runs into boss on the way there. Boss is yelling and cursing and cannot stand up straight. Tells my husband he is fired and to hand over his keys. Husband again tells him he will speak to him in the morning. Next morning he goes into work as usual and his immediate supervisor comes to him and tells him he is indeed fired. They have sent us a notice that we need to vacate the apartment in 10 days. Company policy is that we must move out in the event of termination, although we are positive that it is 30 days, not 10. We have no employee handbook on hand to back this up though because it was in our apartment when we had the fire.

They never sat him down officially to tell him why he was let go..he has not signed anything. The whole situation is strange. What are our chances of pursuing a successful lawsuit?

Sorry this is so long....this company has been abusive since day one...there is a much larger story to their unprofessional but this is the main picture and could use some input.

Thanks!

Job Change or Elimination

AQSmith22 — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 02:31:33 GMT

On Monday my employer gave me a new job description. My former job was human resources oriented, primarily consisting of phone/email conversations with customers and staff.

My new job still has a desk in the office, but will consist of packing and shipping boxes of books, using my car to deliver these boxes to various company sites (so they can save on shipping costs), and handling the transport of these boxes. I'm a small female, around 5'3, 110 pounds. I don't have back problems right now, but I'm terrified of getting them. There will be no training in lifting or anything, and I don't want to lift heavy boxes. I asked my boss if I could ask him for assistance with that part of the job, and he said I could just make many trips with the books instead of making one trip with them all in one box.

Last summer, I was temporarily given this boxes job. I was unhappy and not great at it, as I'd been hired to be a staffing person with no expectation of a responsibility change. My manager listened to my concerns at that time and moved me back to staffing.

Since then, I've fallen on the bad side of the company and was told to look for another job. I've received bad performance reviews, which I've contested. One of my complaints was that I'd never received a formal job description, and I was being held accountable for responsibilities that were never communicated to me. I know it sounds like I'm just a complainer, but please trust me; the company has truly been unfair for me and his singled me out.

Anyway, one employee left and the position is not being rehired. This caused a "restructuring" and now I have a formal job description, fresh from HR, for this new job. I really don't want this job. I have a feeling they want me to quit out of frustration so they don't have to bother firing me. However, for financial reasons I would rather be laid off and receive unemployment. (Best case, I would have liked to keep my former job of staffing and kept working). Technically though, they haven't eliminated my staffing position in the restructuring; they just gave it to someone else. My question is, does the employer legally have to fire me (with unemployment) if I don't accept this new position of shipping boxes? I suppose I technically have the skill to ship boxes, but it's not the same position as the one I signed on with two years ago when I took a job at this company. There are other parts to the job besides shipping boxes, but the job as a whole is definitely radically different than my previous job of staffing.

Basically, my question is: if I don't accept this new job, does it mean I "quit" my position? Or, would I be "laid off" or whatever other term might apply? I'm not up on the law, so that's why I'm here.

I haven't signed the formal job description yet; I said I needed a few days to look at it and possibly make comments.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Employer paid everyone except me

parispersia — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 06:15:11 GMT

My employer became upset with me because I have not responded to his advances (sexual). As a result, I was due to be paid on the 3rd of August. I work from home while the other 5 employees work in the office. They received their checks/pay on August 4th. I called August 5th spoke with the boss, asked when I should be receiving my check and was told there was some issue with the accountant, etc. I also asked if anyone else had received their paychecks and was told by my boss, no. He wasn't aware that I knew everyone else had been paid. I am due to be paid again on the 15th of this month...I filed a wage claim with the state. Are there fines for his not paying me? Do I have any recourse for the bills I have been unable to pay as a result of not being paid? I sent him an email requesting status of my pay to which he did not respond. He has done everything possible to get me to quit so he won't have to pay me unemployment. I am leaving, I need to make sure he doesn't do this to any other employees. He is a branch manager for a larger bank...we do mortgages. The larger bank is not aware of this situation and I have not heard from Dept of Wage & Labor yet...

NJ Whistleblower Attorney

Barb2009 — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:39:38 GMT

Hello. Does anyone have any recommendations for a NJ Attorney who specializes in Whistleblower / CEPA cases in Gloucester County?

It seems that those who truly specialize in that field are mostly in North Jersey; not out of the question but we would prefer someone closer as long as they have the proper experience.

Case involves a NJ State law enforcement employee (actually two) being retaliated against after reporting numerous violations. Sorry, can't be too specific here or that will be a new charge.

One is a 27 year employee, charge free for 20 years, has four commendations, provided extended security for 9/11 airport security, and received exceptional reviews, has now been served disciplinary (clearly staged), moved from shift, moved from work location, never been interviewed on his complaints, etc., etc., etc.

Thanks for any and all assistance.

Family Leave & Guardianship

plt — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:35:07 GMT

I'm the legal guardian of my 91 yr. old grandmother with severe Alzheimer's. I'm her primary caregiver & we live together. I need to take time off from work (approx 4 weeks) to care for her. Am I entitled for Family Leave or Family Leave Insurance? My employer doesn't know & said to take a personal leave of absence. I already tried calling the state, and was told they don't know. Thanks! plt

Former Employee Privacy

Jo M — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 20:09:34 GMT

Is there a law in NJ that prevents former employers from giving out home addresses of former employees? If subpeoned to provide such information, must employer comply?

Decrease in Salary due to economy

dee2009 — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:25:30 GMT

The entire company received an email stating that due to the economy, there will be a mandatory salary reduction across the board starting the 1st of next month. depending on the position, reductions will be 5%, 7% or 10% or the yearly salary, all due to "currect economic challenges."

This is on top of everything else this company has done, increased our out of pocket health insurance rates and deductions out of paychecks have increased for it "due to the economy." Reduced lunch hours from 1 hour, to 45 minutes, which was never paid by the company anyway, because we work a 9 hour day, which now works out to 8.25 hours per day instead of 8. Yearly pay increases were between 0% to 4% yearly, which I know is not mandatory for a company to increase your salary, however, now is being taken away and more.

Can they legally reduce our salaries like this just out of the blue?

I'm so upset over this, I can't sleep. Reducing my salary will put a bigger strain on my home finances, it's just unbearable as it is, now it will be worse.

If anyone has any input, please post. I would greatly appreciate it.

Fired for Family Leave?

Emily321 — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 01:11:30 GMT

Can you be fired or forced to quit seems like enviroment is becoming terrible due to retailation because you mentioned or suggested using the Family Leave Act intermitanly for a sick childs doctors appoinments relating to a specific serious illness they have been diagnosed with? Example appoinments may be once every 2 weeks but only have 2 personal days left. Not sure if you can be fired for this. Is it legal to try to force someone into quitting by making environment uneasy and uncomfortable.

Dotted Line Reporting Relationships

jtunis — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 04:03:28 GMT

I report to my boss and two three SVP via a dotted line.

One called me an exceptional performer and gave me the advice "keep doing what your doing."

Another basically told me im a poor performer.

The other is in the middle, but concluded by saying "im meeting expectations."

My direct boss is threatening to put me on an action plan. Can one be put on an action plan it two dotted line supervisors are saying that I meet expectations and one says im exceptional. I have that in writing and these three are all equal.

If this ends up with a termination, can do I have a case, based on being called exceptional?

Action Plans?

jtunis — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:35:53 GMT

What's a corrective action plan? How long to they generally last? What happens if you don't pass? Is there away to legally defend them? What's it mean to be written up? A manager hinted about drafting a write up to be submitted to HR, but said it's not an action plan. Please advise.

is this legal???

mdsoll1973 — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:12:16 GMT

I worked in a bar in south jersey, when my daughter was born in october i took a few days off. when i got back to work i was told they were taking away some of my shifts. now 7 months later I just got a phone call that "because it is slow they want to put a girl on instead, obviously I am a man, to work the shifts I had left, namely the owners daughter! Is this violation of the paternity act as well as sexual discrimination???? Do I have a lawsuit??

Thanks,

Mike

Former employer is appealing my unemployment benefits

durnadupa — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 04:00:20 GMT

Background information first...

In late November '08 I was fired from my job as a bartender because the newly hired manager claimed I was stealing. She became convinced that I would charge people for drinks and then pocket the money. When I confronted the establishment's general manager and explained that I had never stolen money as I had never charged the customers to begin with (they were regular customers and I was giving them their customary free round of drinks) she promised to talk to the manager who made the original claim.

The manager who had fired me then changed her story to one in which I didn't charge someone else for two drinks. I met with the general manager once again and even showed her the receipt for those two drinks in question. The manager who had fired me then changed the story to one in which I charged the woman for drinks, but for cheaper ones, and then pocketed the extra $2. Reality is that the lady ordered a cheaper vodka which isn't what she normally drank.

At this point it was obvious that me and this manager could no longer work together, and it seemed that she was trying to get rid of me. The general manager and I discussed things, and it was decided that I would be laid off to scheduling conflicts and my record would be expunged of "stealing".

Upon filing for unemployment, during the course of the phone interview the interviewer stated that the reason I was discharged was for "misappropriating company funds" and "falsifying company records". The person who had signed this paperwork was neither the manager who fired me nor the general manager, it was the accountant/HR person. After some phone calls, the general manager explained the situation to the interviewer and my benefits were allowed.

Now here comes the new problem.

In March of 2009, after collected unemployment for nearly 4 months I recieve a notice that my former employer is appealing my unemployment. The same accountant/HR person signed this paper work once again. When I called the general manager and asked why they were deciding to appeal, she claimed that she never saw any papers and that it must be the accountant. When I called him and asked, he at first claimed that he was not responsible but when questioning him he began to claim that I "cannot collect unemployment because I stole" and that he won't allow me to collect it.

I was, however, under the impression that my record was cleared of this charge (which it rightly should be because I NEVER stole). My appeal is approaching and the topics to discuss are "discharge for misconduct" and also "timeliness of appeal".

First, I would like to know if their 4 month late decision to appeal will negatively effect their case in this situation? Do I explain the entire story during the appeal? What, if any legal recourse do I have?

I worked there for three years without a single warning or negative situation until that point, and it is annoying that now any further jobs I apply for I have to explain this entire situation. Do I have any legal recourse when it comes to this? Is this a character defamation type of case? There is no proof of anything, considering I never did anything, and I also never signed any release papers saying why I was let go.

A speedy reply would be great.

Thanks.