Jersey City Employment Attorney | Jersey City Business Litigation Attorney

In order to comprehend the complexities of federal law, New Jersey, and municipal law, as well as the intersection of these laws with one another, your business needs counseling from a Jersey City employment attorney or business litigation attorney.  At the Law Offices of David S. Rich, LLC, we ably litigate, on our clients’ behalf, both multifaceted and single-claim commercial and financial disputes.  We vigorously advocate for our clients.  Moreover, we tailor our legal strategies to our clients’ needs.  Learn more about our practice — as well as how we can assist you or your company — below.

Employment Law and Wrongful Termination in New Jersey

New Jersey employment law encompasses a broad variety of disputes and issues arising from employer-worker relationships. Some of the federal, New Jersey, and local laws which businesses commonly are accused of violating are as follows. At the Law Offices of David S. Rich, LLC, we have substantial experience litigating, on behalf of employers and individuals, these claims and many others.

Breach of Employment Contract

When your company contracts with an employee or an independent contractor for specific work, the employee or contractor must abide by the terms and conditions of that agreement. If your business’s employee, or an independent contractor whom your company has retained, violated a contract, or if your company is charged with breach of employment contract, you need to talk to a Jersey City employment attorney.

The Law Offices of David S. Rich, LLC can help with these types of employment contracts:

• Executive employment contracts
• Commission and bonus agreements
• Full-time and part-time employee contracts
• Independent contractor agreements
• Fixed-term and indefinite-term contracts
• Staffing agency agreements
• At-will employment
• Implied contracts and agreements

No matter your employment contract issue, a Jersey City employment attorney can aid you in determining how to effectively and justly handle the situation.

Employment Discrimination

Federal law prohibits both public and private employers with 15 or more employees from discriminating in all terms and conditions of employment on the basis of gender, race, national origin, color and religion.

New Jersey law bars all public and private employers from discriminating against employees because of their:

• race,
• creed,
• color,
• national origin,
• ancestry,
• age,
• marital status,
• civil union status,
• domestic partnership status,
• affectional or sexual orientation,
• genetic information,
• sex,
• gender identity or expression,
• disability or atypical hereditary cellular or blood trait of any individual.

The law also bars employers from discriminating against employees:

• because of the liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States or the nationality of any individual, or
• because of the refusal to submit to a genetic test or make available the results of a genetic test to an employer,
• from refusing to hire or employ or barring or discharging or requiring to retire, unless justified by lawful considerations other than age,
• from employment such individual or from discriminating against such individual in compensation or in terms, conditions or privileges of employment.

If an employee has brought an employment discrimination claim against your company, contact a Jersey City employment attorney as soon as possible.

Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)

Federal law bars discrimination against employees for the purpose of interfering with their attainment of rights under an employee benefit (pension or health and welfare) plan.  Disputes involving self-funded employee benefit plans are governed by state contract laws.

If your company offers benefits to employees and a legal issue arises, contact the Law Offices of David S. Rich, LLC.

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Federal law obligates employers with 50 or more employees to allow workers to take, and to return to their jobs after taking, as many as twelve weeks of unpaid leave in a twelve-month period for the following:

• for the birth or adoption of a child,
• to care for a close family member who has a serious health condition,
• for an employee’s own serious health condition, or
• when a close family member is called to active military service.

If an employee has brought an FMLA claim against your company, contact a Jersey City employment attorney at the Law Offices of David S. Rich, LLC.

Disputes arising out of both ERISA and FMLA often involve confusion about eligibility. It can be difficult for a business to handle these situations with an employee who has faced personal difficulty away from work. A Jersey City employment attorney at the Law Offices of David S. Rich, LLC may be able to help you achieve a reasonable resolution to such claims.

Restrictive Covenants in New Jersey

In order to make sure that the time, effort, and resources they invest in the training and development of new employees will bear fruit, many employers in New Jersey make new employees sign employment agreements which include restrictive covenants.

In New Jersey, there are two common categories of restrictive covenants.  Non-disclosure agreements prohibit employees from disseminating trade secrets or confidential information.  Non-solicitation agreements prohibit employees from seeking business from former customers for a defined period of time and within a specified geographical area.

In New Jersey, restrictive covenants are enforceable to the extent that they are reasonable.  A covenant is reasonable only if it (1) simply protects the legitimate interests of the employer, (2) imposes no undue hardship on the employee, and (3) is not injurious to the public.

If your business seeks to enforce a restrictive covenant against an ex-employee, contact a Jersey City employment attorney at the Law Offices of David S. Rich, LLC.

Retaliatory Discharge

A series of both federal and New Jersey laws prohibit employers from retaliating against or punishing employees for asserting their legal rights or reporting violations to the government.

Wage and Hour Litigation

Federal law mandates that most employees in the United States be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for all hours worked and overtime pay at 1½ times the regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek.

A worker may bring a collective action, on behalf of himself and others who are similarly situated, against an employer for failure to pay the federal minimum wage or overtime pay.

New Jersey law requires all employers to pay most employees at least the New Jersey minimum wage of $8.60 per hour for all hours worked and overtime pay at 1½ times the employee’s “regular hourly wage” for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek.

Contact the Law Offices of David S. Rich, LLC to speak with an experienced Jersey City employment lawyer about making sure that your business complies with overtime pay and other wage and hour laws, or to retain a skilled Jersey City overtime attorney to defend your business in unpaid overtime lawsuits or other wage and hour litigation.

New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Defense

Most workers in New Jersey are eligible for temporary or permanent cash benefits, known as workers’ compensation benefits, when they are injured by an accident arising out of and in the course of their employment.

If the employer or insurance carrier disputes a worker’s claim, no cash benefits are paid until a workers’ compensation law judge decides who is right.

Employers pay for workers’ compensation insurance.

If your company has a higher frequency of workers’ compensation claims or has more serious workplace accidents than other businesses in your industry that are roughly the same size, your company’s workers’ compensation insurance premiums will go up.  Conversely, if your business has a lower frequency of workers’ compensation claims or has less severe workplace accidents than other companies in your industry that are about the same size, your business’s workers’ compensation insurance premiums will decrease.

Workers’ compensation law is counter-intuitive.  If an employee files a workers’ compensation case, it’s in your business’s best interest to retain an experienced Jersey City workers’ compensation defense attorney to defend the case.

Wrongful Termination Claims

Most New Jersey employment law claims involve an adverse employment action, such as wrongful termination. (Other adverse employment actions include refusing to hire, demoting, failing to promote, or reducing the compensation or work hours of an individual, requiring an individual to retire from employment, or otherwise detrimentally changing the terms, conditions or privileges of a person’s employment.)

Should an employee win a wrongful termination action against your business in New Jersey, your business may be liable to the employee for back pay, front pay, compensatory damages, punitive damages, and, at the court’s discretion, reasonable attorney’s fees.

At the Law Offices of David S. Rich, LLC, we zealously defend employers, as well as represent other clients in wrongful termination lawsuits. If your company needs a Jersey City employment attorney to defend it in wrongful termination litigation, contact the Law Offices of David S. Rich, LLC.

Business Litigation

Business litigation in the New Jersey courts and in federal courts situated in New Jersey is both frequent and highly complex. In civil and commercial matters, some of the claims which companies and individuals often bring are as follows.

Litigating the Following Causes of Action

At the Law Offices of David S. Rich, LLC, we have substantial experience litigating, on behalf of companies and individuals, the following causes of action and many others:

• Breach of contract
  • Actions for violation of contracts for the following:
    • the sale of goods,
    • professional services contracts,
    • supplier contracts,
    • independent contractor agreements, and
    • agreements with temporary employment agencies
• Business torts cases
  • Actions for the following:
    • breach of fiduciary duty,
    • breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing,
    • conversion,
    • fraud,
    • interference with contractual relations,
    • interference with prospective economic advantage,
    • negligent misrepresentation, and
    • slander of title and product disparagement
• Bankruptcy and adversary proceedings
• Civil racketeering actions
  • That is, lawsuits brought under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”) and/or under the New Jersey Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“New Jersey RICO”)
• Business dissolution proceedings
• Other corporate litigation
• Consumer fraud actions
  • That is, lawsuits brought under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act
• Equitable claims
  • For example, lawsuits in quantum meruit or for unjust enrichment
• Product liability cases
• Franchisor-franchisee litigation
• Qui tam actions
  • That is, actions in which the plaintiff sues for the state as well as for itself or himself
• Proceedings to enforce money judgments
  • Turnover proceedings, supplemental proceedings to discover assets, sheriff’s execution and sale, wage garnishments, post-judgment receiverships, and claims brought under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, as well as cross-border judgement enforcement
• Commercial and securities arbitration and mediation
  • Arbitration and mediation before, among other arbitral bodies, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”)

To learn more about our commercial litigation practice, speak to a Jersey City business litigation attorney at the Law Offices of David S. Rich, LLC.

We Can Help You Resolve Your Business Disputes

If you or your company is involved in a business dispute, a Jersey City business litigation attorney may be able, on your behalf, to resolve it quickly and efficiently. At the Law Offices of David S. Rich, LLC, we are skilled litigators, but we also understand the value of keeping our clients out of court.

When we defend companies in business litigation, our ultimate goal is to make our clients’ problems go away. We try to this whether through trial or pretrial advocacy, through alternative dispute resolution, or through negotiation. When possible, we undertake to resolve our clients’ disputes privately and confidentially. Where an early resolution is not feasible, the Law Offices of David S. Rich, LLC will skillfully litigate, until settlement or through trial, your company’s case.

At the Law Offices of David S. Rich, LLC, we craft customized litigation strategies to meet your business’s needs.

Call a Jersey City Employment Attorney and Jersey City Business Litigation Attorney Today

When you work with a Jersey City employment attorney or a Jersey City business litigation attorney at the Law Offices of David S. Rich, LLC, you’ll receive both client-centered and tenacious legal representation. We offer comprehensive employment and business litigation services — and we also pride ourselves on our attention to detail. We offer confidential consultations and look forward to meeting with you.