Cherry Hill Employment Lawyer

How many jobs have you had (so far)? According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average person holds 12 jobs over their lifetime.

There are many reasons why someone might leave a job. It could be that you found a better-paying position or that the company you were working for shut down operations. An unfortunate reason for leaving a job could also be that you felt discriminated against or harassed.

In those scenarios, you are right to quit a situation that can be harmful, but that doesn’t mean your employer should be let off the hook for what they did. They could be found liable for breaking labor laws.

That can translate into you receiving compensation for your lost wages and future earnings. In order to make a successful claim against an employer, you will need the help of an experienced Cherry Hill employment lawyer.

The team at Folkman Law has extensive experience dealing with a wide range of workplace issues that could trigger a lawsuit. Whether you’re still at the job, have left, or have been terminated and suspect you have an issue with your employer, we want to hear from you. An employment dispute can be complex.

Reasons New Jersey Employees File Legal Claims Against Their Employers

In our decades of experience handling employment law cases, we’ve found that some of the reasons workers take legal action against their employers are more common than others. Factors that motivate them to do so include:

Missing Payments

Is your issue with your employer related to your pay? The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is a federal law that sets the federal minimum wage and rules for overtime pay. It also covers issues related to recordkeeping and child labor standards. The federal minimum wage is $7.25. However, each state gets to set its own minimum wage. According to the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the current minimum wage in our state is $15.13.

The standard workweek consists of 40 hours. That means if you work more than 40 hours, you can receive overtime. Employees are entitled to be paid at one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for each hour of overtime. Not being paid for overtime is a common claim brought by many workers. Remember that overtime issues might not apply to salaried staff, such as administrative or executive staff.

If you file a claim for willful failure to pay minimum wage or overtime, you and your Cherry Hill employment lawyer might be able to recover twice the amount of unpaid wages you are owed. You would also be entitled to any legal fees.

Workplace Discrimination

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sets workplace discrimination standards. The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) prohibits the same forms of discrimination as federal law but also extends protections to employees on other bases, including:

• Nationality
• Ancestry
• Familial status
• Marital status
• Domestic partnership status
• Sexual orientation
• Gender identity and expression
• Genetic information
• Military service

It is important to note that these laws cover intentional discrimination. That means different treatment, including biased statements, for a person based on the above categories.

Harassment

Harassment in the workplace can take many forms. The EEOC defines harassment in the following way:

“For harassment to violate the law, it must be based on a legally protected characteristic, among other requirements. The protected characteristics covered by the federal laws enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) are: race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, and pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), disability, age (40 or older), and genetic information (including family medical history). Therefore, while some employees may experience unwelcome teasing, mistreatment, or rude behavior in the workplace, such conduct cannot violate the federal EEOC laws unless it occurs because of a protected characteristic.”

In other words, you could feel picked on, but unless the harassment targets one of the referenced categories, it might not rise to the level of an actionable offense. What type of harassment would cross the line? The following can potentially be examples of harassment:

• Saying or writing an ethnic, racial, or sex-based slur
• Forwarding an offensive or derogatory joke email
• Displaying offensive material such as a noose, swastika, or other hate symbols, or offensive cartoons, photographs,
• Sharing pornography or sexually demeaning depictions of people
• Mocking a person’s age, disability, accent, religious garments or displays

What About Sexual Harassment?

Sexual harassment is a specific form of harassment that requires specific actions to be considered for a claim. The primary cause would be a supervisor asking for sexual favors in return for advancement. This type of harassment can also show up as unwanted:

• Sexual advances
• Physical contact

It can also include sexually suggestive comments someone makes in the workplace. If you believe you were fired because you turned down a supervisor’s unwanted sexual advances, you could have a claim against your employer, too.

Wrongful Termination

An employer has the right to fire an employee for a legitimate cause. If the employee shows up late, does not perform their duties, is caught stealing, or is generally disruptive, the employer is within its rights to terminate that employment. It can also fire an employee “at will,” which means it doesn’t need a reason. These termination conditions will most likely be written out in an employee’s contract.

However, there are some situations where your employer could unlawfully have terminated you. Any of the following situations may constitute a wrongful termination:

Breaches of Contracts

No matter what type of job you are hired for, there will be some type of contract. Whether it is an oral or written contract, you will know your terms of employment, such as when you should report to work, what the job entails, and your salary. Your employer is required to honor those contracts. Failing to do so would be considered a breach.

A simple example would be when an employee is hired for a specific amount of time, like six months or a year. If the employer fires the employee before that time is up, it would be a breach. The former St. John’s basketball coach, Mike Anderson, made this claim in his legal dispute with the team. As Rumble In The Garden reported, the coach was suing for $45 million but recently settled for an undisclosed amount.

Firing an Employee for Taking Legally Permitted Time Off

Employees are permitted legal time off. One of the most common reasons would be maternity leave. New Jersey law provides for 12 weeks of unpaid job-protected leave. That type of leave is at no cost to the employer, but if that mother is not allowed to return to her job, it is grounds for a lawsuit suit.

Whistleblower Retaliation

A whistleblower is an employee who reports unsafe work conditions. They could also be witnesses to illegal activities conducted by coworkers or upper management. New Jersey has instituted protections for whistleblowers under the Conscientious Employee Protection Act. That law prohibits an employer from taking any type of retaliatory action against an employee who discloses unlawful acts or situations where the health and safety of the workers are compromised.

If you suspect something needs to be reported at your job, you could speak with a Cherry Hill employment attorney about the best way to make that report and be protected.