Being forced out, shorted on pay, or handed a severance agreement with a deadline attached puts your income and your professional standing at risk at the same time. If you need an employment lawyer in Fort Lee, NJ, after discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or a wrongful termination, the first step is learning which New Jersey protections apply to you and how long you have to use them.
For more than 35 years, our employment lawyers in Hackensack have represented New Jersey employees from an office a short drive from the borough. Our clients include people working locally and the many Fort Lee residents who commute across the bridge, where the question of which state’s law governs can change what a claim is worth.
Most workplace violations do not announce themselves. Any of the following can be lawful or unlawful depending on facts you had no reason to write down at the time:
Where you work matters too. Fort Lee employees staff the hospitals and medical offices in Englewood and Teaneck, the corporate campuses just north in Englewood Cliffs, and the businesses along the Hudson waterfront, while others commute to employers headquartered in Manhattan. Each setting brings different agreements, different statutes, and different deadlines.
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Many of these cases involve more than one claim at once, so we look at the full picture before advising you on any of them.
Most people call within days of something going wrong, often while a signing deadline is already running. Here is how a case from this side of the county moves.
New Jersey is an at-will state, so an employer can end your job for no reason. It cannot end it for an illegal one. Its protections also run broader than federal law and, in several respects, broader than New York’s. These laws do most of the work in employee cases:
NJLAD and CEPA also let a winning employee recover attorney fees from the employer. That makes a strong claim realistic to pursue even when the lost pay alone would not justify the cost of a lawsuit.
Cases here are rarely simple. The paycheck may come from New York, the agreement may push the dispute out of court, and the employer may be a national chain or a business with six employees and no HR. What decides the outcome is whether someone can value your claim accurately and prove it long before a trial date.
Often, yes. Courts look mainly at where you physically perform the work. Working from home here for a Manhattan company can bring you under New Jersey law, while commuting in to a New York office every day usually points to New York law.
Yes. Federal discrimination law generally reaches only employers with 15 or more employees, but the NJLAD covers employers of any size. A family-run shop in the borough or a small office in Cliffside Park is still covered.
If the agreement releases age claims, federal law generally gives you at least 21 days to consider it, or 45 days in a group layoff. You then have 7 days to revoke after signing.
Possibly. New Jersey’s WARN Act requires employers with 100 or more employees to pay severance when a closing, relocation, or mass layoff costs 50 or more jobs. The payment is one week of pay per year of service, plus four weeks if the employer gave less than 90 days’ notice.
Only if the non-compete is enforceable. New Jersey courts uphold these agreements only when they protect a legitimate business interest and are reasonable in time, geography, and scope. The governing-law clause can also decide which state’s rules apply to the fight.
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Barbara E. Cowen has practiced in New Jersey since 1981 and began as a law clerk in the Law Division of Bergen County Superior Court, the same court where the firm’s contested employment matters are filed today. Four decades there give the firm a working feel for local procedure and timelines. She earned her J.D. cum laude from Pace University School of Law and serves on a Bergen County Ethics Committee.
Sara Jacobs leads the firm’s employment practice and has been admitted in New Jersey and the federal District of New Jersey since 1984. She spent fourteen years arbitrating at Bergen County Superior Court and has served as an independent arbitrator in employment disputes, so she can tell you early how a neutral will value your claim. She co-chaired the Bergen County ADR Committee, taught at New York Law School, and holds an LL.M. from NYU School of Law.
Handed a Severance Packet or a Termination Letter? Talk to Us First
Employers draft these agreements to protect themselves, and the clock starts the day one lands in your hands. A free consultation shows you what your claim may be worth and what signing would give up. Most employee cases are handled on contingency, so there is no legal fee unless we recover for you. Call (201) 525-0025 or schedule your free case review online.
We are here for you and ready to help you resolve your legal issue. For a consultation discussing your case, call Cowen & Jacobs today.
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