Individuals can file a lawsuit alleging discrimination and file a separate claim for Workers’ Compensation.  We frequently have clients who have both a discrimination lawsuit and workers’ compensation claim.  When one of the matters settles, our clients are typically concerned regarding whether the settlement of one lawsuit includes the other lawsuit.

The New Jersey Appellate Division recently ruled in Passaic Beth Israel Hospital v. Perez, that the settlement between the parties resolved only plaintiff's claims of discrimination and wrongful termination and did not encompass the workers' compensation action.  The evidence relating to the settlement agreement's meaning supported the plaintiff's contention that the settlement did not incorporate the compensation action.  However, the settlement agreement did not specifically address the Plaintiff’s workers’ compensation claim.

This opinion should reiterate the need to make settlement agreements specific regarding the claims that are being settled.  Any ambiguity may be construed in a manner that was never discussed or intended by the parties to the agreement.

For more information contact our New Jersey Discrimination Lawyers and read Filing an Employment Lawsuit and Workers' Compensation Claim.

March 10, 2010 - Tom McKinney - Castronovo & McKinney, LLC - NJ Employment Attorneys

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 protects employees and job applicants who are 40 years of age or older from discrimination based on their age with respect to hirings, terminations, promotions, reductions-in-force, compensation, benefits, assignments, and trainings or any other terms or conditions of employment.   The employer must have 20 or more employees in order for the Age Discrimination in Employment Act to apply.  The Age Discrimination in Employment Act also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person who files a claim of age discrimination or agrees to testify or assist with litigation or investigation into a claim brought pursuant to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

For more information contact our New Jersey Discrimination Lawyers.

March 8, 2010 - Castronovo & McKinney, LLC - NJ Employment Attorneys

Do you believe that you have been sexually harassed at work?  Sexual Harassment occurs when someone has made you feel uncomfortable, scared, or threatened by sexual advances, jokes, touching, threats, emails or any other comments of a sexual nature that are not appropriate for the workplace.  If this has occurred, you have most likely been the victim of sexual harassment.  Please  review our blog for additional articles regarding sexual harassment.

March 6, 2010 - Tom McKinney - Castronovo & McKinney - Sexual Harassment Attorneys

Our clients often ask what areas are covered by New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination.  It is illegal in New Jersey to treat employees and people differently based on the following protected characteristics: race, creed, color, national origin, nationality, ancestry, age, sex (including pregnancy), familial status, marital status, domestic partnership status, affectional or sexual orientation, atypical hereditary cellular or blood trait, genetic information, liability for military service, and mental or physical disability, perceived disability, and AIDS and HIV status.

If the discrimination occurs based on a characteristic that is not protected by the Law Against Discrimination, then the discrimination is not illegal.  Employment lawyers like to use the example that you can be fired for being a Yankees fan.  Is this illegal?  No.  It is unfair, but being a Yankee fan is not a protected characteristic under the law.  Therefore, the discrimination against a Yankee fan is not illegal under New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination.

For more information, read NJ Employment Discrimination: Types of Discrimination and Remedies.

March 6, 2010 - Tom McKinney - Castronovo & McKinney - New Jersey Discrimination Attorneys