Recently, a federal judge in the District of New Jersey allowed an employee to continue with his disability discrimination case, largely based on testimony that his boss told him he was “too sick” to do his job. The case, Estate of Fajge v. Dick Greenfield Dodge, Inc., was filed on…
In a noteworthy unpublished employment law decision, earlier this month New Jersey’s Appellate Division upheld a jury award to an employee on a retaliation claim where the primary evidence of retaliation was the fact that the employee’s supervisors were unfriendly to him after he complained about discrimination. Anthony Onuoha, who…
Last month, New Jersey’s Appellate Division dismissed an employee’s discrimination lawsuit because the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights (DCR) had already dismissed the employee’s case. That employee, Francis Cornacchiulo, was a senior vice president for Alternative Investment Solutions. Mr. Cornacchiulo has multiple sclerosis. Alternative fired him after he apparently…
This morning, I was quoted in the Bergen Record about a civil rights lawsuit I recently filed against the Borough of Bogota. Police Officer Regina Tasca alleges Bogota, as well as Police Chief John C. Burke, Captain James L. Sepp, Sergeant Robert Piterski, and Patrolman Jerome Fowler discriminated against and…
In a ground-breaking employment law decision, New Jersey’s Appellate Division recently ruled that an employee can sue for a hostile work environment if his employer harasses him based on a mistaken belief that he belongs to a legally-protected group. Specifically, the court allowed an employee to proceed with his claim…
Over the past few weeks, one of our clients has been in the news. Specifically, Bogota New Jersey Police Officer Regina Tasca is currently in the middle of a disciplinary hearing that will determine whether she will lose her job. Her hearing has received significant media attention. Officer Tasca is…
On March 29, 2012, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity issued new regulations regarding the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). Specifically, the regulations relate to the “reasonable factors other than age” defense to disparate-impact claims. A disparate impact claim is when a company has a policy that appears to…
Last week, the United States Equal Employment (EEOC) answered questions about when requiring a high school diploma violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. The EEOC provided this information because it created confusion last November when it issued an informal letter discussing how the ADA applies to standards for job qualifications.…
Yesterday, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a Press Release regarding pregnancy discrimination in the workplace. The EEOC is a federal agency that helps enforce laws prohibiting employment discrimination claims based on race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, and disability, as well as related retaliation…
Yesterday, a unanimous United States Supreme Court ruled that ministerial employees of religious groups cannot bring employment discrimination claims against the religious groups for which they work. It ruled that those claims would violate the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Hosanna-Tabor…