Employment Law Lawyers Serving Clients in New Jersey
The dedicated employment lawyers at O’Connor, Parsons, Lane & Noble handle a wide variety of employment law matters throughout the state of New Jersey, from issues of workplace discrimination and harassment to wage and hour violations.
We know how important it is for employees to be able to work in healthy environments in which they are not subject to discrimination and in which they receive fair payment on time.
There are numerous types of employment law issues that can arise in the course of a person’s career, and every case is different. Regardless of the type of employment law matter that you are currently facing, the experienced New Jersey employment lawyers at our firm can help.
Think of this page as an overview of the workplace problems we handle. If you already know your issue is discrimination, our Newark employer discrimination lawyer page goes deeper into race, age, disability, pregnancy, religious, and LGBTQ+ discrimination. We also have dedicated pages for sexual harassment, unpaid wages and wage theft, and whistleblower retaliation.
What is Employment Law in New Jersey?
Employment law is a very broad area of the law that covers many different issues that might arise in the course of a person’s work, from health and safety violations in the workplace to overtime pay violations to sexual harassment.
The dedicated team of attorneys at O’Connor, Parsons, Lane & Noble regularly assist clients with a wide variety of employment law matters under both state and federal law.
Common Forms of Employment Law Issues in NJ
At O’Connor, Parsons, Lane & Noble, we see many kinds of legal issues and disputes arise in the course of employment, and we serve a wide variety of clients. Examples of the kinds of common employment law issues we handle in New Jersey include but are not limited to:
- Workplace discrimination (including, for example, racial discrimination, sex discrimination, discrimination on the basis of religion, discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation, age-related discrimination, and disability discrimination);
- Sexual harassment at work, including #MeToo lawsuits and litigation;
- Hostile work environment claims;
- Wage and hour violations (including, for example, failure to pay overtime, unlawful paycheck deductions, failure to provide paychecks in a timely manner, failure to give a lunch or rest break to an employee under the age of 18, and failure to pay minimum wage);
- Retaliation for filing a claim;
- Whistleblower activities;
- Drafting and negotiating employment contracts;
- Employment contract disputes;
- Severance agreements;
- Non-compete clauses in employment contracts;
- Wrongful termination;
- Leaves of absence (including, for example, leaves of absence under the FMLA or the ADA);
- Paid sick leave issues;
- Vacation leave disputes;
- Severance package negotiation; and
- Unsafe or unhealthy work conditions (including OSHA violations).
With steadfast resolve, we fight both tooth and nail to protect the rights of employees, ensuring their voices are heard.
$22.6 Million New Jersey Employee Discrimination Verdict
Details of the case: The largest employee discrimination verdict for a single plaintiff in the state of New Jersey, the more than $22.6 million verdict included $15 million for punitive damages awarded by the jury. The case involved a trucking company employee who, because he was gay, suffered intolerable discrimination and extreme abuse in the workplace. He was verbally and physically abused due to his sexual orientation. The plaintiff suffered psychological injuries including severe emotional distress because he was continually subjected to anti-gay slurs and physical abuse. The jury found the company liable under Law Against Discrimination and common-law claims. The verdict drove home that discriminating against an employee because of sexual orientation is against the law. (Attorney Greg Noble handled the case.)
See More Sample Case ResultsFederal and State Laws Protect Workers in New Jersey
Depending upon the specific legal issue you are facing, you may have protections under New Jersey state or federal law. Generally speaking, state laws tend to provide broader protections to employees than do federal laws, yet many federal laws protect employees from wage violations, employment discrimination, and whistleblower protections.
The following are examples of federal laws under which an employment law claim might arise:
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964;
- Pregnancy Discrimination Act;
- Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA);
- Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA);
- Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA);
- Genetic Information and Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA);
- Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA);
- Fair Labor Standards Act;
- Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989; and
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations.
Examples of New Jersey state law under which an employment law claim might arise include but are not limited to:
- New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD);
- New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA), the state’s whistleblower law;
- New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA);
- New Jersey Equal Pay Act (NJEPA);
- New Jersey State Wage and Hour Law;
- New Jersey Earned Sick Leave Law;
- New Jersey State Wage Payment Law; and
- New Jersey Prevailing Wage Act.
The type of employment claim you intend to file will dictate where you need to file your claim. In some cases, you may have a claim under both federal and state law, and an experienced New Jersey employment law attorney can discuss the benefits and limitations of each type of filing with you.
Statute of Limitations for Bringing an Employment Lawsuit
The amount of time an employee has to bring an employment lawsuit depends entirely on the type of legal matter at issue. For example:
- If you bring an employment discrimination claim under federal law, you first must file a charge with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) within 180 days from the date of the discrimination, but in some cases that deadline is extended to 300 days in certain situations where state law overlaps;
- If you bring an employment discrimination claim under the New Jersey LAD, you can file a complaint with the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights within 180 days of the discriminatory act, or skip the agency and file a lawsuit in Superior Court within two years;
- Claims arising under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), such as retaliation against an employee for taking a medical leave, have a two-year statute of limitations, or three years if the violation was willful;;
- Claims arising under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), such as wage and hour violations, have a two-year statute of limitations, or three years if the violation was willful;; and
- Claims under the New Jersey State Wage and Hour Law and the New Jersey Wage Payment Law can generally be brought within six years of the violation, since the 2019 Wage Theft Act extended the deadline from two years; and
- Whistleblower retaliation claims under CEPA generally must be filed within one year.
As you can see, federal law and state law tend to mirror one another in some ways, yet there are distinctions. At the same time, the statutes of limitations can vary greatly between types of employment law matters, from a few months to years. As such, it is extremely important to speak with a lawyer about your case.
What You Can Recover in a New Jersey Employment Case
The remedies depend on the law involved. A successful claim under the LAD or CEPA can include back pay for the wages and benefits you lost, front pay when going back to the job isn’t realistic, and damages for emotional distress and humiliation. Punitive damages are possible in especially egregious cases where upper management took part in the misconduct or was willfully indifferent to it. Both laws also let a winning employee recover attorney’s fees from the employer.
Wage claims work a little differently. Under New Jersey’s wage laws, an employer that underpaid you can owe the unpaid wages plus liquidated damages of up to 200 percent of that amount, and the law presumes retaliation when an employer takes action against a worker within 90 days of a wage complaint.
What to Do If You Think Your Rights Were Violated at Work
A few early steps can make a real difference later:
- Write down what happened, when, who was involved, and who saw it, and keep adding to your notes as things develop.
- Keep copies of emails, texts, performance reviews, pay stubs, and schedules that you’re allowed to keep. Talk to a lawyer before taking any confidential company documents.
- Use your employer’s complaint procedure if there is one, and put your complaint in writing.
- Don’t sign a severance agreement or release until someone has reviewed it. Once it’s signed, it can waive claims you didn’t know you had.
New Jersey also limits what employers can hide in those agreements. Since 2019, a provision in an employment contract or settlement that would conceal the details of a discrimination, harassment, or retaliation claim is generally unenforceable against the employee. That’s worth knowing if staying quiet is being made a condition of a payout.
How Employment Claims Move Forward
Most cases start with a free consultation where we listen to what happened and look at the documents you have. The next step depends on the claim. Some begin with a charge at the EEOC or the Division on Civil Rights, while LAD and CEPA claims can be filed directly in the Superior Court. Many employment cases resolve through negotiation or mediation, but we build each one as though it could be tried before a jury, because that preparation is often what brings an employer to the table with a fair offer.
How Can an Employment Lawyer Help?
The employment lawyers at O’Connor, Parsons, Lane & Noble can help you to seek the financial compensation you deserve. We have a record of success when it comes to handling employment law issues in New Jersey, and we will put our experience to work for you. The following includes information about our successes:
- $22,600,000 verdict for an employee in New Jersey who suffered sexual orientation discrimination at work. The payout included an award of $15 million in punitive damages. In total, this was the largest single-plaintiff employment discrimination verdict in the state of New Jersey for sexual orientation discrimination.
- $2,200,000 verdict for an employee who was wrongfully terminated after refusing to participate in an unethical scheme at his place of employment, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ).
- $1,300,000 verdict for an employee who was terminated in an act of retaliation for reporting on her employer’s unlawful accounting practices.
In terms of client satisfaction, we regularly hear from clients who are pleased with the results of their case. For example, Marie G. said: “I know that your professionalism, knowledge, dedication, and patience is what got us through. You never gave up on me, and I will remember that and be grateful to you for the rest of my life.”