There are numerous federal and state laws that protect “whistleblowers” who report unfair or illegal practices of their employers, of which New Jersey’s CEPA law is just one. CEPA provides that employers may not retaliate against workers who disclose (or threaten to disclose) practices of the employer that they believe are violations of the law. CEPA also protects employees who refuse to participate in unlawful or fraudulent activities or those that may harm the health, safety or welfare of the public. Employees must be careful in asserting their rights under CEPA, as certain steps are necessary to ensure protection under the law. If your employer asks you to do an act you feel is illegal or against public policy, it is important to contact an attorney as soon as possible.
Posts Tagged ‘Hanlon Niemann’
New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act
Tuesday, April 29th, 2008The Civil Rights Act of 1964
Tuesday, April 29th, 2008Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees and job applicants against discrimination on the basis of sex (including pregnancy), race, color, national origin or religion. Title VII also prohibits employment decisions based on stereotypes and assumptions about abilities, traits, or the performance of individuals on the basis of prohibited characteristics. Title VII covers employers with 15 or more employees, including state and local governments. To learn more about the types of discrimination prohibited by Title VII, visit the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission here.
Fair Labor Standards Act
Tuesday, April 29th, 2008The FLSA requires that employers pay employees a certain minimum wage and pay certain “non-exempt” employees overtime at the rate of one-and-one-half-times their regular rate of pay. Employers regularly violate this rule by classifying employees who should be non-exempt as exempt to avoid paying them overtime wages. Other employers violate the FLSA when they offer employees “comp time” instead of paying the required overtime. To learn more about employee rights and employer obligations under the FLSA, visit the Department of Labor’s page on the topic here. Also keep in mind that many states have minimum wages laws higher than the federal minimum. For instance, while the federal minimum wage is currently $5.15 per hour, New Jersey and New York require employers to pay $7.15 per hour. If you are not being paid the minimum wage or work more than 40 hours per week without receiving overtime pay, you should contact an attorney to discuss your rights. Click here to contact me.
Americans With Disabilities Act
Tuesday, April 29th, 2008The ADA prohibits private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies and labor unions from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. The ADA covers employers with 15 or more employees. To learn more about what constitutes a disability and what accommodations employers are required to provide to workers with disabilities, check out the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s ADA page here. To get an idea of the full scope of ADA protections beyond the employment context, visit the ADA information page here.
Employee Rights Law
Tuesday, April 29th, 2008There are numerous federal, state and local laws and regulations that protect employees from unfair and discriminatory practices in the workplace. Some of them are listed in this section. Please note that there are many other laws and state common law doctrines that may be relevant to your situation. To discuss your individual situation and the claims you might have, please contact me.
Family Medical Leave Act
Tuesday, April 29th, 2008Most Employers with 50 or more employees must provide eligible employees with 12 weeks of unpaid leave during a 12-month period for one or more of the following reasons:
- For the birth and care of a newborn child of the employee;
- When an employee adopts a child;
- To care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition; or
- When an employee suffers from a serious health condition, rendering that employee unable to work.
Employers cannot terminate or retaliate against employees for taking Family Medical Leave. Employees must be reinstated to their previous position or an equivalent position upon returning from Family Medical Leave. There are some circumstances when an employee can take intermittent Family Medical Leave, which means taking leave in blocks of time or working less during the normal work week.
The Family Medical Leave Act is a complicated law. If you believe that your rights under this Act may have been violated, you should contact an experienced employment lawyer.
Additionally, some state laws provide much broader protection for employees regarding similar types of requested leave.
Whistleblower Protection
Tuesday, April 29th, 2008Many different federal laws protect employees who complain, testify, or otherwise assist in having proceedings initiated for violations occurring in the workplace. Some of these laws include, the:
- Occupational Safety & Health Act
- Sarbanes-Oxley Act
- Surface Transportation Assistance Act
- Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act
- International Safety Container Act of 1974
- Energy Reorganization Act of 1974
- Clean Air Act
- Safe Drinking Water Act
- Federal Water Pollution Control Act
- Toxic Substances Control Act
- Solid Waste Disposal Act
- Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act
- Pipeline Safety Improvement Act
Many states have enacted laws that provide additional protection to employees, such as New Jersey’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA). If you believe that you may have been unlawfully terminated, it is essential that you contact an attorney immediately (if you are considering legal action). This is because many of the federal laws that protect you require the initiation of legal/administrative proceedings within 30 days to 180 days, depending on the statute at issue.
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)
Tuesday, April 29th, 2008The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) is a federal law that sets minimum standards for most voluntarily established pension plans, health plans, and employment-related compensation within private industry.
You may have a claim for a violation of ERISA if:
- You were wrongfully denied health benefits that are/were offered through your employer;
- You were retaliated against for questioning or testifying about employment related compensation or benefits;
- You were terminated by your employer to prevent you from obtaining specific employment benefits (i.e. vesting pension);
- You were not provided severance in accordance with a well-defined severance plan/policy of your employer;
- A misrepresentation was made by your employer about your employment benefits; or,
- You were wrongfully denied requested information related to your employment benefits.
The types of claims discussed above are not intended to be an exclusive list of possible claims under ERISA, but rather, representative of some common claims. ERISA is a complicated area of federal law that provides very specific remedies depending on the type of violation alleged. An employee or former employee must also, in many cases, exhaust certain administrative remedies before bringing such a claim.
Disability Discrimination
Tuesday, April 29th, 2008Under federal law, a “disability” is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against disabled individuals in employment as well as in public services, public accommodations and in public transportation.
The employment provisions of the ADA prohibit employers from discriminating against qualified employees with disabilities in all aspects of employment including application procedures, hiring, advancement, compensation, training and discharge.
Employers are required to provide reasonable accommodations for a qualified individual with a disability if requested. The employer must engage in an interactive process with the employee to help determine what reasonable accommodation is feasible for the employee.
Employers may not ask job applicants about the existence, nature, or severity of a disability. Applicants may be asked about their ability to perform specific job functions. A job offer may be conditioned on the results of a medical examination, but only if the examination is required for all entering employees in similar jobs. Medical examinations of employees must be job related and consistent with the employer’s business needs.
Every case that involves the ADA is fact specific. The ADA only protects certain individuals with certain medical conditions. State laws also protect individuals with disabilities, and in some states (including New Jersey), much more protection is available than provided by the ADA.
If you have been denied a reasonable accommodation, treated adversely because of your disability or because your employer believes you are disabled, you should consult an experienced employment attorney. By consulting an experienced employment attorney, you will learn whether you may be protected and what type of remedies are available.
Religious Discrimination
Tuesday, April 29th, 2008Employers may not be familiar with their obligations concerning an employee’s religion or religious practices. Under federal anti-discrimination laws, religion does not mean only mainstream or organized religions. Rather, an employee need only have a religious belief, common or uncommon in the community, that is sincerely held.
There are essentially two kinds of religious discrimination recognized by federal law.
(1) Failure to make a reasonable accommodation:
Once an employee notifies his or her employer that a bona fide religious belief conflicts with a job requirement, the employer must make reasonable efforts to accommodate the employee. An employer’s failure to enter into an interactive process with the employee and/or failure to reasonably accommodate an employee may violate federal or state law. Most common accommodations sought by employees are certain days off or time off during the day (often for prayer breaks), not to have to shave, and to be permitted to wear religious garments.
(2) Religious harassment/disparate treatment:
It is generally illegal for employers and/or coworkers to discriminate, harass, or in any way alter the terms and conditions of an employee’s employment (including termination) because of an employee’s religious beliefs. Employees also cannot be forced to participate in religious activities.
It is also unlawful to retaliate against an individual for opposing employment practices that discriminate based on religion or for filing a discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any way in an investigation, proceeding, or litigation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.