You work hard, pay your dues, dedicate yourself to your job. Unfortunately, New Jersey employers don’t always play fairly in return. The good news is that you have rights under the law to protect yourself against illegal employment practices, such as job discrimination, a wage and hour dispute, or a wrongful termination. The Mashel Law Firm exclusively represents employees in disputes with their employers. Since 1999 we have been successfully taking on companies of all sizes to make sure our clients obtain what they are entitled to under New Jersey and federal laws. Money Disputes Employers in New Jersey do  [ Read More ]

Posted November 8, 2012 — By Tom Ahearn, ESR News Editor Legislation legalizing recreational marijuana use that passed in two states on Election Day November 6, 2012 – Colorado Amendment 64 and Washington Initiative 502 – would legalize and regulate production, possession, and distribution of marijuana for persons age 21 and older and could affect drug testing by employers in the workplace, according to the eNewsletter State Drug Testing Laws Monthly. To stay current on state laws concerning drug testing, visit http://www.statedrugtestinglaws.com/. In Colorado, voters approved Amendment 64 that supports the legalization of marijuana on a recreational basis and will  [ Read More ]

The Emplawyerologist focuses on one of the sub-topics, employment-at-will– specifically how employers can avoid creating implied contractsand preserve employment-at-will status. Remember: Employment-at-will allows both employer and employee to end the employment relationship any time for any lawful reason or no reason at all. Every state except Montana presumes employment-at-will. An employee can, however, rebut this presumption by showing, a) clear written statements in a contract, (e.g. a two-year term of employment, or firing for “just cause”; or b) proving existence of an implied contract, which is created by oral or vague written statements and behavior that lead the average person to  [ Read More ]

By Eve Tahmincioglu, Today contributor There’s a simple workplace axiom: You put in your hours and get paid for them. Alas, this doesn’t always happen. There’s been a record spike in wage and hour violation claims by employees thanks to sustained tough economic times, an increase in enforcement by the government, and confusion over — or disregard of — overtime pay provisions. Already this year, there have been a record number of lawsuits filed under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which covers wage and hour provisions, with 7,064 filed so far this year. That’s up from 7,006 filed for all  [ Read More ]

If you’re looking for a job, you may see ads for firms that promise results. Many of these firms may be legitimate and helpful, but others may misrepresent their services, promote out-dated or fictitious job offerings, or charge high fees in advance for services that may not lead to a job. To Do Before you spend money responding to placement firms or completing placement contracts: Reject any company that promises to get you a job. Be skeptical of any employment-service firm that charges first, even if it guarantees refunds. Get a copy of the firm’s contract and read it carefully  [ Read More ]

Effective July 1, 2012, Vermont will be the eighth state to regulate the use of credit-related information for employment purposes. Although similar in many ways to laws already enacted in California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Oregon and Washington, Vermont’s requirements under Act No. 154 exceed those of other state laws as they prohibit even exempt employers from using an applicant or employee’s credit history as the “sole factor” in employment decisions. Additionally, Vermont exempt employers who take adverse action based in part on a credit history must return the report to the individual or destroy it altogether. Neither the Fair  [ Read More ]

Con Ed: It’s not right to risk New Yorkers’ health just to turn up the heat on workers. End the lockout and keep the city cool. In the midst of a crushing heat wave, Con Ed has locked out 8000 workers who should be on the job maintaining the power system so the AC can stay on, just when it’s needed most. Management broke off contract negotiations when workers wouldn’t agree to steep cuts in pensions and healthcare. Con Ed is putting New Yorkers at risk for a blackout, just to slash workers’ benefits. Not cool. Heat waves like this  [ Read More ]

On March 26, 2012 I posted a blog cautioning employers from requesting social media password, most notably, Facebook. That practice may be short-lived as legislation has been introduced in both Houses of the United States Congress making unlawful for employers or schools to require employees, students and/or candidates to provide social media password. Although several states introduced legislation in March and April of 2012, the proposed legislation may impact employers and its employees throughout the country. Bill H.R. 5050 was introduced by House Representative Eliot Engel on April 27, 2012 and is titled Social Networking Online Protection Act (SNOPA). The  [ Read More ]

by Unfair Competition & Trade Secrets Counsel on March 30, 2012 By Jedd Mendelson and I. Michael Kessel A New Jersey district court recently held that an employee handbook provision could not be enforced as a valid confidentiality agreement between a company and a former employee. Metropolitan Foods, Inc. d/b/a Driscoll Foods v. Kelsch [pdf] involved a former employee of Driscoll Foods (Kelsch), who was accused of soliciting orders for his new employer while still working for Driscoll. Driscoll sued Kelsch under a number of causes of action, including breach of contract. This claim was based upon a provision in  [ Read More ]

Why Congress and the States Should Prohibit This Practice Have you ever gone to a job interview and had a prospective employer ask to see letters you’ve written to friends or family members, or your family photo albums? Have prospective employers asked for the key to your apartment so that they can snoop around? The answer to these questions should, of course, be “No.” Yet, as the Associated Press reported last week, employers—both public and private—are increasingly asking job applicants to do the equivalent, by turning over their Facebook user IDs and passwords as part of the interview process. This  [ Read More ]

J.P. Morgan Chase will not have to pay a currency trader £580,000, or $921,000, after the company mistakenly missed a decimal point when printing his contract, a British court ruled. The Swiss-based trader, Kai Herbert, was expecting to earn an annual salary of 24 million rand, or $3.1 million, when he left UBS to join J.P. Morgan in South Africa. However J.P. Morgan said that it had erred and the contract should have been printed at 2.4 million rand. By the time Herbert got the bad news, he had already left UBS. According to Bloomberg, Judge Henry Globe said in  [ Read More ]

This is stunning. regardless of one’s position on this issue, it is amazing to see how much the political winds have shifted on education issues. the fact that a bill like this is introduced in New Jersey by an influential democrat reveals the fundamental adjustments in our political landscape…and evolution of public opinion. five years ago such reform would have been unthinkable. whether you agree with this legislation or not, one thing is clear: this is a big deal. a big deal for teachers, taxpayers and students. let’s see how it plays out. By APP.com TRENTON — The head of  [ Read More ]

By: Nolo Law For All If you are employed at will, your employer does not need good cause to fire you. Job applicants and new employees are often perplexed to read–in a job application, employment contract, or employee handbook–that they will be employed “at will.” They are even more troubled when they find out exactly what this language means: An at-will employee can be fired at any time, for any reason (except for a few illegal reasons, spelled out below). If the employer decides to let you go, that’s the end of your job–and you have very limited legal rights  [ Read More ]

Employment Contracts A contract of employment is a category of contract used in labor law to attribute right and responsibilities between parties to a bargain. On the one end stands an “employee” who is “employed” by an “employer”. It has arisen out of the old master-servant law, used before the 20th century. Put generally, the contract of employment denotes a relationship of economic dependence and social subordination. In the words of the influential labor lawyer Sir Otto Kahn-Freund, “the relation between an employer and an isolated employee or worker is typically a relation between a bearer of power and one  [ Read More ]