Many indviduals are improperly classified as an employee or independent contractor.  If you are paid on a Form 1099 as an independent contractor, you might still be an employee – even if you’ve worked that way for years.  That’s because the law looks beyond labels and examines the reality of the work relationship.  In our practice, we see many employers deny workers overtime, health benefits, and 401(k) plans by paying them on a 1099 – even though these “independent contractors” are really controlled employees.  In the eyes of a law, even an “independent” contractor is an employee if he or she is controlled or integrated into the workplace.

When you spend most of your time or earn most of your money from one company while that company retains some control over how you perform your work, then you are an employee entitled to the privileges and protections that other employees receive: overtime, health benefits, retirement plans, and freedom from discrimination or retaliation due to whistle-blowing.  Contact us if you believe your employer is wrongfully classifying you as a contractor.  You may have a claim under the Wage and Hour Law, the Law Against Discrimination, the Conscientious Employee Protection Act, or other law.

For more information, read Employee vs. Independent Contractor: Employer Misclassification.

March 3, 2010  Paul Castronovo - Castronovo & McKinney, LLC - Unpaid Overtime Attorneys

 

If you are offered a severance agreement, you may be entitled to the payment of unused accrued vacation days in addition to the amount you are being offered in severance pay.  New Jersey does not have a law requiring the payment of unused vacation time.  However, a terminated employee may still be entitled to the payment of vacation days that have been accrued based on the policies or practices of a company.  Most companies have policies which set forth the schedule for accruing paid vacation days.  Accordingly, a terminated employee may be entitled to the payment of any unused accrued vacation days.

For more information, read Vacation and Severance Pay if Fired in New Jersey.

Please contact us if you have any questions regarding the benefits you are entitled to and to discuss your rights.

March 2, 2010 - Tom McKinney - Castronovo & McKinney - Severance Attorneys

Sexual harassment commonly occurs in private and there are no direct witnesses of the sexual harassment. When the sexual harassment takes place in public, co-workers may view the harassing conduct to be consensual or welcomed. Our clients who are victims of sexual harassment often believe that they cannot prove that the sexual harassment occurred because there are no eyewitnesses and it is a case of "he said, she said."  We do not need an eyewitness in order to prove before a court of law that you were sexually harassed.  We can prove that you were sexually harassed through circumstantial evidence.  Circumstantial evidence is indirect evidence used to establish or deny liability and is the most common form of evidence used in court.

We have found that the likelihood of success in a sexual harassment lawsuit is based on the credibility of the victim and the alleged harasser. This credibility is  bolstered by providing circumstantial evidence by witnesses that the victim's demeanor changed after an incident of sexual harassment or that a witness was told about the sexual harassment by the victim shortly after it occurred.  A contemporaneous complaint is also persuasive circumstantial evidence that the sexual harassment occurred.  Evidence can also be obtained from a social worker, psychologist, co-worker, friend or family member that the victim confided in regarding the sexual harassment.

If you have been sexually harassed, please contact us to discuss your case and we can help you evaluate the evidence and the likelihood of success of your case.

For more information, read Evidence in a Sexual Harassment Case.

February 28, 2010 - Tom McKinney - Castronovo & McKinney - Sexual Harassment Attorneys

 

What's in your personnel file dictates your raise, whether you keep your job, and maybe even whether your employer will give you a job reference in the future.  You must be entitled to see it, right?  Believe it or not, you have no right to see or to obtain a copy of the personnel file that your employer keeps on you.  New Jersey and many other states say that your personnel file is your employer's property and you have no right to that property.  There's one exception, though.  If you sue your employer (for harassment, discrimination, whistle-blowing, or another claim), you are then allowed to get a copy of your file.  The law says that you can see it in litigation because it is relevant to a legal claim against your employer.

For more information, read Can I Access My Personnel File At Work.

February 27, 2010  Paul Castronovo - Castronovo & McKinney, LLC - NJ Employment Attorneys