A recent decision by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals makes it more difficult for unpaid interns to successfully bring overtime and minimum wage claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and New York State’s wage and hour law. The FLSA is a federal law that requires employers to…
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently ruled that the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey applied the wrong test to determine whether Sleepy’s LLC misclassified its delivery workers as independent contractors, rather than as employees. The case was decided under the…
Last week, the New Jersey Supreme Court permitted criminal charges to proceed against an employee who took documents from her employer to try to prove her employment discrimination and retaliation claims. Ivonne Saavedra worked as a clerk for the North Bergen Board of Education. In 2009, she filed a lawsuit…
The United States Supreme Court recently ruled that an employer cannot refuse to hire a job candidate because she needs a reasonable accommodation for her religious practice even if the prospective employee did not request an accommodation. The decision was made under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of…
A recent New Jersey Appellate Division ruling provides a good example of how dangerous it can be to compete with your current employer. B&H Securities, Inc. designs, sells and maintains security monitoring systems. In spring 2007, three of its employees, Michael Poisler, Marc Palladino and Duane Pinkney, decided to start…
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who complain to their employer’s about a violation of the FLSA. The FLSA is a federal wage and hour law that, among other things, establishes minimum wage and overtime…
New Jersey’s Appellate Division recently ruled that the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“LAD”) protects employees who are harassed because of the race of their spouses, fiancés, or children. Shi-Juan Lin, who is Chinese, worked for Dane Construction Company. Ms. Lin’s is engaged to a man who is black and…
On April 20, 2015, New York City Mayor Bill DeBlazio signed a new employment law into effect. The new law amends the New York City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”) to permit the New York City Commission on Human Rights to hire individuals who will either apply for or inquire about…
The United States Supreme Court recently ruled that the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act (“PDA”) can require employers to provide reasonable accommodations to women who are pregnant even if they are not disabled. The PDA establishes that pregnancy discrimination in the workplace violates federal law. It also includes a provision that…
Last week, I discussed how to calculate the potential value of a wrongful termination case at a trial. However, most employment law cases settle rather than going to a trial. Accordingly, it also is important to be able to assess the potential settlement value of your case. Risk of Loss…