Have you lost your valuable job?  Was your employer just in terminating your employment?  It is crucial for employees to have a basic understanding of New Jersey employment laws, so they will know when an employer has illegally or wrongfully violated their rights as an employee – or not.  For instance, if your employer fired you for an unfair reason (gender, race, etc.), you may have the right to file a wrongful discharge lawsuit against your former employer.

Understanding At-Will Employment & Wrongful Dismissal

In New Jersey, most employees work “at will”.  This means an employee may be fired at any time and for any reason (or may quit work), or even for no reason at all, as long as the real reason is not unlawful. There are several important guidelines to the “at will” rule. If a New Jersey employer fires you for discriminatory reasons, in violation of an employment agreement, or for standing up for your rights, you may have a legitimate claim against your employer for wrongful discharge.

There is also constructive dismissal, which is a form of wrongful dismissal. This usually happens when an employer changes an essential and important part of employment terms and conditions, such as wages or salary, and then forces the employee to either accept this change or quit.  Often this makes the employee feel forced out of his or her position. Employees who are constructively discharged should file immediately for unemployment insurance benefits, and explain the circumstances that forced them out of the job.  It is typically up to the Hearing Examiner to determine if the employer was unreasonable.

Discriminatory Firing

NJ law prohibits employers from firing employees because of their race, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, or even genetic information discrimination. These laws also make it illegal for an employer to retaliate against you. If you are fired for complaining of discrimination, taking part in an investigation of a discrimination complaint, testifying in court, or filing a complaint of discrimination, then you have a retaliation complaint.

There are a number of options available to an employee who has been wrongfully terminated:

1. You can negotiate a severance package, with or without the assistance of legal counsel.  In exchange for money paid, the former employee must be willing to release the employer from possible future claims arising from the employment.
2. You can retain legal counsel to contact the employer to seek a resolution, whether it is reinstatement (rare), severance, or some other remedy.
3. Legal counsel may decide the wrongful discharge case is more valuable than any severance pay that is about to be offered.  In that case, your lawyer and the employer’s attorney may negotiate about settling potential litigation claims regarding your discontent.  Again, In exchange for money paid, the former employee must be willing to release the employer from future claims arising from the employment.

It is important to note that there are statutes of limitations on employment claims.  For discrimination and retaliation matters, the statute of limitations is 2 years from the date of adverse employment action (termination, retaliation).

Litigation

The final choice available to employees who have been wrongfully dismissed is to file litigation against their employer. The process of suing an employer can be expensive, time consuming, and stressful to all involved.  The majority of employers will gladly choose to go through mediation or some other form of agreeable dispute resolution to save time and expense, and most plaintiffs’ counsel will do the same.

Conclusion

If you were fired for either your protected class or protected conduct, then your discharge is absolutely “wrongful”, and you have a potential cause of action against your former employer. However, if your dismissal had nothing to do with your protected status, then it is probably lawful and non-actionable – even if it strikes you personally as unfair and arbitrary.

If you require legal information, assistance, advice, or advocacy regarding your employment claims, please call our offices at 1-609-683-7400 or contact us by email. Please also go to our website, which has extensive information on these important topics, at www.hananisaacs.com.  Our experienced employment lawyers for workers will provide you with the guidance and assistance you deserve, from compassionate counsel to tough advocacy.  We will represent you in negotiations, mediation, arbitration, and/or litigation, as required.  In short, we will do “what needs to be done” on your behalf.  Please let us show you what we can do for you.