New Jersey Employment Lawyers

Whistleblower laws protect employees who disclose to their employer what they reasonably believe are corrupt, predatory, unsafe, or unlawful activities engaged in by a coworker or the employer which has or may cause harm to coworkers, shareholders and/or the public at large. You are also protected from retaliation by your employer if you have testified under oath or reported suspected illegal activity or dangerous work conditions to an outside law enforcement agency such as the police, OSHA, SEC, FDA or your local health department. If you have disclosed or complained to a superior about activities of a coworker or the employer which you reasonably believe violated law, was fraudulent, unethical, or contrary to federal or state public policy, the attorneys at Mashel Law will bring a claim on your behalf under New Jersey’s Whistleblower Law known as the Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA), to recover damages for you including reinstatement, lost wages, punitive damages, reasonable costs, and attorney’s fees.

“The essence of discrimination…is the formulation of opinions about others not on their individual merits, but on their membership in a class with assumed characteristics.” Jansen v. Food Circus Supermarkets, Inc., 110 N.J. 363, 378 (1988). When enacting the New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD,) our New Jersey Legislature declared “that practices of discrimination against any of its inhabitants…are matters of concern to the government of the State, and that such discrimination threatens not only the rights and proper privileges of the inhabitants of the State but menaces the institutions and foundation of a free democratic State.” N.J.S.A.10:5-3. Like CEPA, the NJLAD allows an employee to recover damages including reinstatement, lost wages and benefits, punitive damages, reasonable costs and attorney’s fees.

Discrimination can occur in any phase of employment, including job postings and hiring, compensation, job assignments, advancement, hostile treatment, discipline and termination. Employment discrimination can take many forms including, but not limited to, sexual harassment, and race, gender, age, religion, pregnancy, disability and sexual orientation discrimination. It is important to document the unequal treatment and pattern of prejudiced language or actions. In many cases, workplace discrimination and workplace harassment claims are intertwined. Whatever unlawful situation befalls you, the New Jersey employment lawyers at Mashel Law will pursue all valid discrimination claims against offending employers and their conspiring cohorts and recover all the economic and emotional distress damages suffered by you.

A class action is a powerful tool of litigation allowing employees with small individual wage claims to band together and recover unpaid wages from large powerful employers. Class actions arising out of the employment context typically allege violations of the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law (NJWHL) and its federal counterpart the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and often take the form of employers failing to pay workers regular and overtime wages by misclassifying workers as independent contractors rather than employees or as being exempt from receiving overtime when in fact they are legally entitled to receive overtime pay. Another potential class action claim is where an employee works off-the-clock, i.e., is not compensated for all hours worked. This occurs when the employer has an unwritten policy or practice that causes or leads to off-the-clock work, particularly where that unwritten policy relates to certain performance or financial goals set by the employer

Workplace retaliation occurs when an employer takes adverse action against an employee for disclosing discrimination, harassment, or any other unlawful activity in the workplace. It can also occur when an employer takes an adverse action against an employee in response to an employee participating in an investigation into unlawful activity in the workplace or even taking advantage of certain rights afforded to each employee. Statutes prohibiting workplace retaliation can be found in our CEPA, NJLAD, FMLA and Workers Compensation Laws. Common examples of adverse actions include being subjected to a hostile work environment, demotion, failure to promote, lowering pay, reducing hours, reassignment with significantly different responsibilities, in some cases changing an employee’s schedule, and of course suspension or termination. The lawyers at Mashel Law will fight to vindicate your rights when you have suffered unlawful retaliation at the hands of your employer.

Losing a job is as stressful as it gets. You are anxious about paying your bills and providing for your family. To make matters worse, your application for New Jersey unemployment insurance benefits is likely to be initially denied if your former employer contests your eligibility to receive such benefits. However, the attorneys at Mashel Law are ready to fight for you before the New Jersey Division of Unemployment’s Appeal Tribunal to get you the benefits you deserve. The outcome of this appeal will determine whether you will receive the unemployment benefits you deserve. The attorneys at Mashel Law have the knowledge and experience to obtain for you the unemployment benefits required for you to have the financial ability to take care of your family while you work to get back on your feet.

Before signing an employment related contract whether it be a non-compete, arbitration or severance agreement you should have it reviewed by experienced employment attorneys like those who work at Mashel Law. You should do so because employers often require employees to sign and agree to non-competition agreements as a condition of employment or continued employment. Although not favored in the law, anti-competition restrictions will be enforced by a court if they are found to protect the legitimate interests of the employer, are not unduly burdensome on the employee, and are not injurious to the public. Likewise, forced arbitration agreements require employees to waive their constitutional right to sue in court and have their cases decided by a jury of their peers. Instead, arbitration puts legal claims arising out of the employment relationship through a costly, nontransparent, private legal system which generally favors the employer over the employee. As for severance agreements, the lawyers at Mashel Law are skilled at negotiating enhancements to severance agreement which can include, but not be limited to, a greater monetary payout to you, the employer paying your COBRA health insurance premiums, non-disparagement language favorable to you, a positive or neutral reference, and an agreement not to oppose your application for unemployment insurance benefits

The attorneys at Mashel Law are well experienced in representing victims of automobile, truck, bicycle, bus, and boating accidents, pedestrian accidents, workplace injuries, falls on unsafe premises, construction accidents, crimes that result from poor security, nursing home injuries, and other situations where a person has been injured or has died as a result of someone’s negligence. Likewise, Mashel Law represents victims of negligent medical practice, whether it is missed diagnosis inadequate treatment, botched surgery, unforeseen complications or dangerous drug interactions. We also represent victims whose civil rights have been violated.

Our attorneys at Mashel Law are skilled and well prepared to service your business formation, transactional and litigation needs. Many small businesses do not fully understand the need for a transactional attorney until it is too late, and they are already trapped in a lawsuit. Litigation consumes valuable time and drains financial resources which would be better put towards making money and growing your business. Having a shrewd, knowledgeable, and detail-oriented attorney will undoubtedly help minimize risk and prevent unnecessary headaches for you and your company right from the beginning.

Our New Jersey employment law attorneys listen to your story and—if your case has merit—take prompt steps to place your claim into motion. We work in partnership with our clients to ensure their objectives are met in a transparent and timely manner. We stay in constant communication with our clients and endeavor to confer with them on every decision important to their legal claims.

The lawyers at Mashel Law advocate for you every step of the way. We act together as a team. From the moment you step into our office until the final outcome of your case, we strive to keep you informed and involved. We know discrimination and retaliation is traumatic, financially wrenching, and emotionally draining. Accordingly, our firm is prepared to give you the support you need, and to devote the time and energy necessary to bring your claim to a successful conclusion. Mashel Law represents clients who have been:

• Sexually harassed
• Wrongfully discharged
• Forced to endure a hostile work environment
• Treated differently than others doing comparable work
• Fired or penalized because of whistle-blowing activities
• Fired or penalized for pursuing workers compensation benefits
• Denied rights guaranteed by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act and New Jersey Family Leave Act
• Unpaid Wages
• Wrongfully denied unemployment benefits
• Denied wages and benefits under New Jersey’s Wage and Hour Laws
• Unlawfully misclassified as independent contractors instead of employees
• Denied rights and benefits under New Jersey’s Civil Service Laws
• The victim of unfair labor practices
• Forced out or frozen out of business partnerships and small corporations

If Mashel Law can prove your case, you may be entitled to damages such as back pay, front pay, emotional distress damages, punitive damages, and attorney fees, or remedies such as reinstatement or promotion. If you believe you have been victimized by bias, retaliation, or been denied employee rights provided by law, do not hesitate call us at (732) 536-6161 or simply fill out the online contact form found on this page. We are ready to help you.