New Jersey Employment Lawyer Blog

Late last month, a Federal Judge in the Southern District of New York ruled that a job candidate can continue with his age discrimination claim against a prospective employer based on a discriminatory hiring decision made by independent contractors who had the apparent authority to make hiring decisions on the employer's behalf. Apparent authority is when a company's actions lead someone else to incorrectly believe that he or she is an employee or agent of the company. This decision follows an earlier decision by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in the same case, which recognized that Employers Can Be Held Liable for Discriminatory Hiring Decisions Made By Independent Contractors.

The case, Halpert v. Manhattan Apartments, Inc., involves Michael Halpert, who was applying for a position as a "shower" for Manhattan Apartments, Inc. He was interviewed by Robert Brooks, a salesperson who worked for Manhattan Apartments as an independent contractor. Mr. Brooks did not have the authority to hire employees on behalf of Manhattan Apartments.

During Mr. Halpert's job interview, Mr. Brooks indicated that Mr. Halpert was "too old" for the job. Several days later, Manhattan Apartments' receptionist said the company was not hiring Mr. Halpert because "we were looking for someone younger." Mr. Brooks then repeated that Mr. Halpert was not qualified for the job because of his age.

Mr. Halpert sued Manhattan Apartments, claiming it failed to hire him because of his age in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). After the Second Circuit ruled that an employer could potentially be held liable for the actions of an independent contractor, Manhattan Apartments filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that Mr. Halpert was not its employee or agent, and there was not enough evidence to prove Mr. Brooks had the apparent authority to hire employees on its behalf.

However, the District Court disagreed. It found there was enough evidence for a jury to conclude that Manhattan Apartments had the apparent authority to hire Mr. Halpert. This evidence includes the fact that Manhattan Apartments allowed Mr. Brooks to use its offices, to answer his phones by saying "Manhattan Apartments, Inc.," and to use business card that identify himself as a "Licensed Assc. Broker" for "Manhattan Apartments Inc." It also included the fact that Manhattan Apartments' receptionist explained the decision not to hire Mr. Halpert by saying that "we were looking for someone younger." It therefore denied Manhattan Apartments' motion for summary judgment to potentially give Mr. Brooks an opportunity to prove his case at a trial.

Continue reading "Job Candidate Can Pursue Age Discrimination Claim Based on Decision by Independent Contractor" »

Earlier this year, Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed into law an amendment to the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL). The amendment clarifies when employers in New York City are required to provide reasonable accommodations for the religious observances and practices of their employees and prospective employees.

Employers must provide reasonable accommodations unless they cause the employer an undue hardship. The amendment to the NYCHRL indicates that some of the factors to consider when determining if an accommodation causes an undue hardship include:

1. The nature and cost of the accommodation;
2. The financial resources of the facility;
3. The number of employees working at the facility;
4. The effect providing the accommodation would have the facility's expenses and resources;
5. The overall financial resources of the employer;
6. The number of employees working for the employer;
7. The number, type, and location of the employer's facilities;
8. The composition and functions of the employer's workforce; and
9. How geographically spread out or close together the employer's facilities are.

The amendment also makes it that the employer has the burden to prove an accommodation would impose an undue hardship on it. However, it makes it clear an employer is not required to provide a reasonable accommodation for an employee's religious practice or belief if the employee would be unable to perform the essential functions of his or her job even with the accommodation.

New York State, New Jersey, and federal law already require employers to provide reasonable accommodations for employees' religious belief. However, this law is significant because New York City law has been interpreted very broadly. For example, as discussed in a previous article, New York's Appellate Division has ruled, in the context of reasonable accommodations for a disability, that an Extended Medical Leave Can Be Reasonable Accommodation Under New York Law.

Continue reading "New York City Clarifies Right to Reasonable Accommodations for Religious Beliefs" »

The New Jersey Appellate Division recently ruled, in an employment law case in which the same law firm represented two clients, and only one of those clients won at trial, it was improper to reduce the attorney's fee award by 50%. Many employment laws, including New Jersey's Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA) and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD), allow an employee who wins his case to recover his reasonable attorney's fees and costs. Ordinarily, when an attorney achieves excellent results for his client, he should be awarded all of his attorney's fees. Otherwise, the judge can reduce the fee based on the time that he finds was unnecessary or unreasonable.

The case, Donelson v. DuPont, involved two employees. Joseph Donelson brought a whistleblower claim under CEPA and an age discrimination claim under the LAD. However, he lost his case at trial. The other employee, John Seddon, brought a whistleblower claim under CEPA. Seddon won at trial, and the jury awarded him $724,000 in economic damages, plus $500,000 in punitive damages. As I discussed in June, in an earlier decision stemming from Donelson, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that New Jersey Employees Can Recover Lost Wages if Forced to Resign Because Retaliation Caused Psychiatric Disorder. But the Court sent the case back to the Appellate Division to decide whether the trial court had properly reduced Seddon's attorney's fees.

Since Seddon and Donelson were represented by the same lawyer, and their cases were factually related, it was difficult to determine how much of the total time the lawyers spent on the case was necessary to Seddon's case, and how much was only necessary for Donelson's case. As a result, the trial judge decided to cut Seddon's attorney's fee award in half.

The Appellate Division ruled that, when the trial judge calculated Seddon's attorney's fees, it was proper to consider the fact that Donelson lost his LAD case. However, it found it was improper to reduce Seddon's attorney's fee by 50 percent because Donelson would have been a witness in Seddon's case even if he was not a party to the lawsuit, and his attorney would have had to spend much of the same time either way. Accordingly, the Appellate Division sent the case back to the trial court to reassess the appropriate attorney's fee.

Continue reading "New Jersey Appellate Court Rejects 50% Reduction to Attorney's Fees Award in Whistleblower Lawsuit" »