On behalf of Hanan M. Isaacs, P.C. posted in Employee Rights on Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Many college students and recent graduates will partake in summer internships in the coming months in New Jersey. Internship programs are a great way for students to become introduced to the working world and gain experience. Unfortunately, in recent years there have been numerous lawsuits filed accusing employers of taking advantage of energetic interns who are eager to work.
A number of employers decline to pay their interns due to a federal exclusion under which interns generally do not need to earn wages if the internship is an educational experience. However, if the employer stands to gain as much or more from the experience than the intern, the intern should probably be classified as a paid employee.
On behalf of Hanan M. Isaacs, P.C. posted in Employee Rights on Thursday, June 6, 2013
In order to take a medical leave under the federal Family Medical Leave Act, many employers in New Jersey may require employees to submit a doctor's note or certification from their health care provider. While policies like this are generally legal, there are some limits to the information an employer can demand. For example, in cases of intermittent leave, an employer cannot require a doctor's note for every single absence after the intermittent leave is approved.
An intermittent FMLA leave is requested when an employee does not need to take all 12 weeks of FMLA leave at once, but rather needs time off occasionally due to a medical condition or that of a spouse or child. This part of the FMLA was recently illustrated by a case here in New Jersey.
On behalf of Hanan M. Isaacs, P.C. posted in Employee Rights on Friday, May 31, 2013
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued a memo to employers last year outlining their responsibilities when it comes to employees who are victims of domestic violence. The EEOC warned employers that while discrimination against victims of domestic violence is not expressly outlawed by federal law, employers might violate the Americans with Disabilities Act or Title VII of the Civil Rights Act if they base employment decisions on the fact that a worker may be a victim of domestic violence.
For example, according to the EEOC, if an employer were to fire a female victim of domestic violence in order to avoid the drama she might bring into the workplace, this could possibly be an illegal form of sex discrimination. While anti-discrimination laws and the ADA might provide some employment protections to victims of domestic violence, lawmakers in New Jersey think that victims need more support from their employers and they have recently sent a bill to Gov. Chris Christie to accomplish just that.
On behalf of Hanan M. Isaacs, P.C. posted in Employee Rights on Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Earlier this month in this Princeton Employment Law Blog, we noted that Gov. Chris Christie issued a conditional veto of a bill that would bar employers from requesting access to their employees' social media accounts. The New Jersey Assembly has now taken Christie's recommendations into account and voted Monday to send the bill back to him.
The original bill stated that workers could sue employers who violate the ban by inquiring about their social media accounts. Christie did not like that provision, and he claimed that it may actually be important for some hiring managers to ask job applicants about their social media use.
On behalf of Hanan M. Isaacs, P.C. posted in Employee Rights on Thursday, May 16, 2013
A New Jersey whistle-blower is part of a very significant case that was unsealed this week. A Belle Meade man, and former Ranaxby Laboratories Ltd. executive, filed a whistle-blower complaint against the pharmaceutical manufacturer in 2007. The man accused his former employer of defrauding public health care programs like Medicare and Medicaid. It was revealed this week that the whistle-blower lawsuit and related criminal charges have been settled for about $500 million--with the whistleblower receiving $48.6 million of that.
Under federal law, private citizens can file whistle-blower lawsuits under the False Claims Act in order to accuse a person or business of committing fraud against the U.S. government. If the government chooses to join a case--as it did in the Ranaxby suit--the whistle-blower will generally receive a portion of any settlement that is recovered.
On behalf of Hanan M. Isaacs, P.C. posted in Employee Rights on Thursday, May 9, 2013
In late March we discussed a New Jersey employment law bill that had been sent to Gov. Chris Christie's desk. The bill would have forbidden employers from inquiring about their employees' or job candidates' social media use. Christie has since decided to conditionally veto the bill, taking particular issue with the fact that the law would have allowed aggrieved employees and applicants to sue employers.
Christie said he would prefer for employees or applicants to complain about any violations of such an employment law to New Jersey's labor commissioner rather than pursue lawsuits. Christie is expected to sign the bill if it is amended to become more narrow in scope and limit lawsuits.
On behalf of Hanan M. Isaacs, P.C. posted in Americans With Disabilities Act on Friday, May 3, 2013
On Wednesday, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced that is has secured the largest jury verdict in the agency's history. The $240 million verdict stems from a disability discrimination and abuse case involving a turkey company. While this is an important accomplishment for the EEOC, it is bittersweet as it is a reminder that many people with disabilities are harmed by illegal discrimination in the workplace here in New Jersey and throughout the country.
The EEOC's disability discrimination lawsuit accused Hill County Farms, which was doing business as Henry's Turkey Service, of subjecting 32 men who have intellectual disabilities to not only discrimination but also severe abuse from 2007 to 2009 at a labor camp in Iowa. The EEOC actually believes the company has been mistreating disabled workers at the camp for decades, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, but the case was limited to the company's last two years of operation per federal law.
On behalf of Hanan M. Isaacs, P.C. posted in Employee Rights on Friday, April 26, 2013
New Jersey has joined a number of other states by recently seeking to bar companies from enforcing non-compete agreements. The proposed legislation is meant to make it easier for laid off workers to find employment, which would in turn help the state decrease the number of people receiving unemployment benefits. If this bill were to pass into law, any non-compete agreement between a New Jersey resident and his or her previous employer would be unenforceable if that person qualifies for unemployment benefits.
This bill is not yet very far along, but the idea of limiting the use and enforcement of non-compete contracts has gained a lot of traction in recent months. New Jersey is among at least five states that are considering this type of employment legislation.
On behalf of Hanan M. Isaacs, P.C. posted in Workplace Discrimination on Thursday, April 18, 2013
When we hear about companies that are practicing discrimination in hiring, the victims are often people who are stereotyped because of their religion, race, nationality, sexuality, age or gender. Another group, however, is reportedly facing widespread employment discrimination: the unemployed.
Recent research suggests that those who have been unemployed for an extended period of time are likely to be overlooked by potential employers. In one study performed at Northeastern University, 4,800 fake resumes were sent out in response to 600 job openings. The researcher found that employers tended to respond to resumes that listed no relevant experience rather than to applicants who had solid experience but had been out of work for at least six months.
On behalf of Hanan M. Isaacs, P.C. posted in Workplace Discrimination on Thursday, April 11, 2013
Equal Pay Day, a public awareness day meant to call attention to the gender wage gap, was celebrated earlier this week in New Jersey and throughout the U.S. The date symbolizes how much more women have to work to earn the same amount of money as men. This year, April 9 marked the date by which the average woman in the U.S. caught up with what men earned in the year of 2012.
For almost 50 years, sex-based wage discrimination has been illegal in the U.S., but it has been estimated that today women only make about 77 to 79 cents for every dollar that men earn. Under the Equal Pay Act of 1963, men and women who work for the same employer, performing similar jobs, requiring similar skills and responsibilities, must be paid the same rates--with exceptions for seniority and merit pay scale systems.
