As a worker, you may find yourself in a dispute with a current or previous employer (hereafter “the employer”).  This could be due to wrongful discharge, having outstanding monies due you, or being the victim of unlawful discrimination or retaliation, or for being a “whistleblower”.  In any of these cases, you may need to file a civil suit.

The Five Basic Steps of Employment Litigation

Understanding the basic steps to employment litigation in New Jersey will help you overcome the obstacles, protect yourself, vindicate your rights, and improve your chances of success.

The person who files the action is known as the plaintiff in the case.  Your employer will be known as the defendant.

Civil lawsuits typically follow five key steps:

1. Pleadings: Complaint & Summons
2. Discovery
3. Dispositive motion
4. Trial
5. Appeal

Complaint & Summons

A New Jersey lawsuit commences when an employee (the plaintiff) files a complaint against their employer (the defendant).  At this time the employee also requests that a summons be sent to their employer to notify them that the action has been filed and when they are to appear in court. When your employer receives the summons they will also receive a copy of the complaint. This will notify them that you are taking legal action against them, they will be able to see the reason(s) why and what your proposed solution and expected outcomes are.

Your Employer’s Response

Your New Jersey employer will be given 35 days to respond (file an answer) to the complaint.  If your employer wishes to file a counterclaim for damages or breach of the employment relationship, they must also do so in this time frame.

In their response, they will explain their defense against your claims.  So, before filing your complaint, you want to make certain that you are within the statute of limitations for each claim you make under the laws of the State of New Jersey and that the employer in fact has no reasonable defenses against your claims.

If your employer does not respond timely, the court has the power to enter a judgment by default.  Your employer’s failure to do so will work in your favor and you could win automatically.  You must also be able to prove your losses and/or damages, even if the employer is in default.

Discovery

Discovery is a process that will help your legal team collect and analyze information and proof from your employer and others to support or refute your claims.  However, this process must abide by the federal and New Jersey civil rules of court.  This may also work in reverse, where you will have to answer questions, which typically involve:

1. Depositions:  Each side gets to ask the other questions under oath, either in person or in writing.
2. Written Discovery: Sending written questions to your employer to answer to gather further details (Interrogatories) or asking your employer to admit, acknowledge, or deny truth in some or all of your case statements; or requesting an explanation if they cannot do either (Requests for Admission).
3. Document Discovery: Asking your employer or others for documentation that will help to support or refute your factual or legal claims or the claims of others

There are fees associated with depositions and discovery, the production of documents you may request, including electronic documents.  These costs will be your responsibility, unless the law firm agreed to front the costs and get reimbursed out of a settlement or a jury award.

Dispositive Motions

When discovery is completed, one side or the other (plaintiff or defendant), and sometimes both, will file a motion for summary judgment (MSJ). Essentially, the MSJ is a tool to rule certain issues and claims in or out of a case as a matter of law, without the need for a jury. The process of discovery winnows down claims, eliminates issues that are not contested, and allows the civil law process to move efficiently to closure, either by judicial determination and rulings, or by a jury trial. Plaintiffs and defendants can use the MSJ process to limit issues and gain partial or full victories by getting a judge’s imprimatur, which can act with as much finality as a jury verdict, without a jury being called. A party who loses a MSJ has the right to an appeal (see below), because their day in court was curtailed or eliminated. The Appellate Division then rules on the issues decided as matter of law, and decides whether to affirm or reverse the trial court’s decisions below.

Trial

If you request a trial by jury, often a good idea in employment law cases, a jury will be present to consider the facts when your case is called.  The trial judge will provide preliminary, specific, and closing instructions to the civil jury on the laws that relate to the facts of your lawsuit.  These instructions will help the jury to make legally valid and binding determination of facts, based on the evidence presented by both parties.  Once the jury or judge decides the verdict in your case, their judgment will be put in writing.

If your employer or you may fail to request a jury trial, then a bench trial will take place, with only the trial judge considering the evidence and law.  In a bench trial, the judge will review all the evidence and rule on your case.  If the judge rules in your favor, he or she will also announce what your compensatory damages will be, if any, including both economic and non-economic damages and losses.

Appeal

If you lose at trial, you may file a motion for reconsideration or for a new trial or for other relief, made to the trial judge, requesting a new trial and to have the judgment reversed.  The same applies to your employer, if they are the losing party.

If your employer or you should disagree with the judge’s or jury’s decision or feel there was a legal error at trial that infected the verdict, then either party may file an appeal, and sometimes both sides will appeal on various issues.  Each side must file a notice of appeal within 45 days of the written judgment, or the decision below becomes final and unappealable.

Your appeal will go to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court.  A panel of judges will review the transcript and legal briefs of both sides.  If you file an appeal, you must file a copy of the whole record from your court trial.  Your employer and you will have to file detailed briefs regarding the facts and case law decisions of others’ cases as they relate to your case.

If either party is dissatisfied with the rulings of the Appellate Division, then that party has the right to seek final review by New Jersey’s highest appellate court, the Supreme Court.  It is rare that such review is granted, unless the Appellate Division has a split decision, in which case Supreme Court review is automatic.

Conclusion

If this blog post has demonstrated nothing else, it should be clear that trial of an employment law case is complex, daunting, time consuming, expensive, and not for the inexperienced or faint of heart.

If you or your friends or loved ones are challenged by an employment law matter that may or should be resolved in a court of law, or by means of alternative dispute resolution (negotiations, mediation, arbitration, bench trial, jury trial, and/or an appeal), then get yourselves quickly into the hands of experienced employment law attorneys for workers.  We will review the facts, research the law, and provide you with an opinion as to the viability of your claims and the merits of the various courses of action you may or should take.

Please write or call us today.  You will be glad you did, and we will be happy to serve your legal needs.