A new bill has been introduced to the New Jersey legislature that would invalidate any contract not to compete, not to disclose and/or not to solicit between employers and former employees if it is determined that the employee is eligible for unemployment benefits. The bill [A-3970] if passed, would not…
ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Good Morning America and probably even your own Facebook page, have been flooded with varying opinions on the Miami bullying/harassment scandal. This blog entry is written by our New Jersey Employment Lawyers to analyze the facts, as reported, to determine whether a hostile work environment existed that…
In 2010, the New Jersey legislature amended New Jersey Unemployment Benefits law to include a new basis for disqualification of benefits called “severe misconduct”. Prior to the change in law, a claimant could be denied from receiving unemployment benefits if he or she was terminated for “misconduct” or “gross misconduct.”…
The New Jersey Appellate Division recently reversed a trial court’s decision dismissing an employee’s claims for sexual orientation discrimination under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. In remanding the case for trial, the Appellate Division found that the school employer’s motivation for forcing the employee teacher to resign is a…
Rutgers University terminated its basketball coach in the wake of ESPN’s broadcast of a videotape showing him physically and verbally abusing players during practice. Public opinion seems nearly unanimous that Mike Rice’s conduct warranted his termination, but the question remains did he create an unlawful hostile work environment under New…
The New Jersey Appellate Division decided that a company’s mandatory program and policy implemented only against employees suffering from alcoholism is a violation of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. In A.D.P. v. ExxonMobil Research Company, ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company (Exxon) forced employees identified as recovering alcoholics to sign…
HBO Real Sports aired a story last night about Houston Rockets rookie Royce White and his ongoing battle for the Houston Rockets to provide him his requested reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act. White suffers from mental health disabilities, including Generalized Anxiety Disorder and has not been able…
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed a District Court’s grant of summary judgment in an action alleging TIN Inc. (“TIN”) violated the Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) by interfering with an employee’s right to take leave and retaliating against that employee. The Seventh Circuit reversed…
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit clarified the interpretation of the term “reassignment” under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by concluding that an employer’s best-qualified policy to fill vacant positions would not automatically establish undue hardship to avoid the granting of a reasonable accommodation request.…
In 2010, Governor Christie and the New Jersey state legislature revised New Jersey Unemployment Compensation Law to include a new “severe misconduct” standard to disqualify certain employees from receiving unemployment benefits. Because of the ambiguity of the statutory revisions to the revised law, New Jersey unemployment lawyers, claims examiners, employers…