If you’re an hourly worker in New Jersey, you’re no doubt already aware that the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law requires your employer to pay you the legal minimum wage and overtime rates of pay. However, there’s another state law that provides additional wage and hour protections for hourly workers employed on public work… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Employee Rights
Can I Be Fired Because of My Social Media Posts?
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat. Online platforms for communication that didn’t even exist a decade ago now occupy ever-increasing minutes of our lives. If you’re a working person who routinely uses social media, you’re right to wonder: Can my boss terminate me for social media posts I make on my own device, on my own time?… Read more »
Can My Friends Get Me Fired? What About a Case of Mistaken Identity?
Last updated Feb. 22, 2018. I’ve often emphasized that the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (the “LAD”) is a remedial law, aimed at eradicating workplace bias. With that lofty goal in mind, our courts have extended the LAD’s reach to employees who are discriminated or harassed: Due to the protected class of a person with… Read more »
What Classifies as an Adverse Employment Action?
Last updated Oct. 30, 2017. To prevail in a workplace discrimination or whistleblower suit, you must show that your employer took action against you due to unlawful bias and/or retaliation. However, courts don’t consider any and every employer action to be serious enough to support a claim. Rather, the law requires that workers prove they… Read more »
I Filed a Lawsuit Challenging My Termination. Can My Former Employer “Bad-Mouth” Me to Prospective Employers?
Last updated Feb. 22, 2018. Being a plaintiff in an employment law claim is not an enviable position to occupy. First, you’re fired in violation of anti-discrimination, retaliation, and/or whistleblower laws. Then, you’re tasked with finding a reputable attorney and surviving the various stages of litigation. In the meantime, you need to look for another… Read more »
Can My Boss Fire Me for Talking Politics at Work?
Last updated Oct. 15, 2018. In America today, it seems there’s no escaping politics. Whether you’re listening to the radio, watching television, or scrolling through your social media newsfeeds, discussions of politicians and political issues are everywhere you turn. So it makes sense that many people want to keep talking politics at work, sorting out… Read more »
7 Rules for Surviving Your Employment Claim Deposition
Last updated Jan. 30, 2018. Some employment claims are settled with employers without resorting to a lawsuit. The rest are litigated through the judicial system, beginning with an attorney filing a formal complaint in court on behalf of the employee. If the claim proceeds far enough without settling, it is almost a guarantee that the… Read more »
Time Off Work for Religious Observances: What is Reasonable and What is Undue Hardship?
Last updated Oct. 30, 2017. What do observant Orthodox Jews, Seventh-Day-Adventist Christians, and Muslims have in common? (And no, this is not the set-up for a punchline). If they work for a living, then the answer is that — absent special circumstances — they often need to ask their employers for time off to observe… Read more »
I Signed What? What Happens When Your Employment Lawsuit is Subject to an Arbitration Clause
Last updated April 21, 2018. I have been representing employees in discrimination, retaliation, and whistle-blower claims against employers for two decades now. On several occasions, clients who steeled themselves to take the fight to court were astonished to learn that they had no lawsuit because they had unwittingly waived their right to trial. In other… Read more »
5 Things Every Whistleblower Should Do
Last updated April 21, 2018. The New Jersey Conscientious Protection Act (CEPA) protects workers who complain about or report unlawful conduct on the part of their employers from retaliatory actions like firing or demotion. However, no law confers unlimited protection, CEPA included. So-called “whistleblower” employees should still make sure to complain and report to their employers… Read more »
About David Zatuchni
David Zatuchni graduated from Northwestern University School of Law in 1995. Since that time, he has exclusively practiced in the field of employment law. For many years, Mr. Zatuchni defended large corporations in all types of employment discrimination lawsuits and labor law matters.
