Being pushed out, shorted on pay, or pressed to sign a severance agreement is stressful, especially when your compensation includes bonuses or equity. If you need an employment lawyer in Saddle River, NJ, after discrimination, retaliation, harassment, or a wrongful termination, start by knowing which New Jersey protections apply to you.
For more than 35 years, Cowen & Jacobs has represented employees from its Hackensack office. Our clients include professionals here and next door in Upper Saddle River, and we help them protect their income, benefits, and professional standing when an employer breaks the law.
Many workplace violations aren’t obvious at first, like a severance agreement that waives your claims or a pay change that shortchanges you. A lawyer can tell you whether New Jersey law was broken and help you avoid decisions that weaken a future claim.
Where you work matters too. Most Saddle River residents work elsewhere, at corporate offices in Franklin Lakes, along the Route 17 corridor in Paramus, or in Manhattan, and each setting can bring different agreements and laws.
"They made me feel empowered in a situation where I felt powerless. I always knew they had my back."
Many cases involve more than one of these claims, so we evaluate the full picture before advising you.
New Jersey is an at-will state, which means an employer can end your job for no reason. It cannot end it for an illegal one. These laws do most of the work in employee cases:
The NJLAD and CEPA also let a winning employee recover attorney fees from the employer. That makes strong claims realistic to pursue even when the lost pay alone would not justify a lawsuit.
Many Saddle River residents hold senior roles where one dispute can put salary, bonus, equity, and reputation at risk at once. Those cases are usually decided at the negotiating table, long before trial. You need a lawyer who knows how the employer, and the neutral in the room, will value your claim.
Often, yes. Courts look mainly at where you physically do the work. Working from home here for a Manhattan company can bring you under New Jersey law, while daily in-office work in the city usually points to New York law.
Yes. Federal discrimination law generally applies only to employers with 15 or more employees, but the NJLAD covers employers of any size. That includes a small professional office in town or a family-run shop inHo-Ho-Kus.
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 mandatory severance when a relocation, closing, or mass layoff costs 50 or more jobs. The payment is one week per year of service, plus four weeks if the employer gave less than 90 days’ notice.
Only if your non-compete is enforceable. New Jersey courts enforce 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.
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Admitted to practice in New Jersey in 1981, Barbara E. Cowen began her career clerking in the Law Division of Bergen County Superior Court. More than four decades in Bergen County’s courts give the firm a working knowledge of local procedures and timelines. She serves on a Bergen County Ethics Committee and is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association.
Admitted in New Jersey in 1984, Sara Jacobs handles the firm’s employment cases, from discrimination and wrongful termination to severance and compensation negotiations for Saddle River professionals. She spent fourteen years as an arbitrator at the Superior Court in Bergen County and has arbitrated employment disputes independently, so she knows how neutrals weigh evidence and value claims. She also co-chaired the Bergen County ADR Committee and holds an LL.M. from NYU School of Law.
Employers write these agreements to protect themselves, and the clock starts the day you receive one. A free consultation will show you what your claim may be worth and what signing would give up. Call (201) 525-0025 or schedule your free consultation 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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