Employment Law Violations
Every single employee in New Jersey and the rest of the country is protected by various laws at the local, state, and federal levels. Employees have rights that protect them from discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, retaliation and many other workplace problems. It’s important for you to know what your rights are as an employee so that you can fight to protect them should your employer violate any law at any level.
Health and Safety
Every employee is entitled to a safe workplace that is free from various types of hazards that can cause illness, injury, and death. Under the laws governing a healthy and safe workplace, employers must provide their employees with all of the following:
- Warnings about hazards known and unknown
- Posters in visible areas that explain the rights of the employee
- Provide protective equipment for the employees
Any hazard you come across should be reported to a supervisor immediately. If you are not happy with the level of safety at your workplace, a supervisor should be notified. Once notified, the employer is required to make the necessary changes to remedy the hazard or issue present. Should you not be satisfied with the response by your employer, you have every right to file a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Protection from Wrongful Termination
Wrongful termination, also referred to in certain areas as unjust firing, is another area where employees are protected by various laws. Employees who are protected from wrongful termination include all of the following:
- Pregnant workers
- Disabled workers
- Workers who form a union
- Whistleblowers
- Employees who make their sexual preference known
- Employee who make their religious beliefs known
New Jersey operates on a condition of at-will employment, meaning both the employer and the employee can end the relationship with little to no notice at all. At the same time, employers are required to have good cause when firing an employee, such as incompetence, violating policies enforced by the company, excessive absence from work and repeated poor performance evaluations.
Laws Against Discrimination
There are laws on the books that protect employees from being discriminated against for various reasons. Employers are not allowed to deny a candidate employment or remove an employee from their job for any of the following reasons:
- Race
- Ethnicity
- Sex or sexual preference
- Pregnancy
- Age
- Disability
Employers are also not allowed to promote or demote, reduce salary or deny raises, assign work duties or conduct any other type of business decision regarding the employee based on any of the above categories.
The Minimum Wage
There is a federal law in place that mandates the minimum wage that must be paid to employees across the country. There are also state laws that dictate the minimum wage in individual states. New Jersey has its own minimum wage law, which was recently updated to increase the wage to $15 per hour in the coming years. Employers must follow the federal and state laws that govern minimum wage or else risk having a complaint filed by an employee. For example, an employer is not permitted to pay an hourly rate lower than what is set in the federal law or the state law of New Jersey.
Contact a Cherry Hill Employment Law Attorney to Discuss Your New Jersey Case
The experienced employment law attorneys at Begelman & Orlow, P.C. represent clients in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Call 866-627-7052 or fill out our online contact form today to schedule a consultation if you were discriminated against or wrongfully terminated. Our main office is located at 411 Route 70 East in Cherry Hill, and we also have an office in Conshohocken.
The articles on this blog are for informative purposes only and are no substitute for legal advice or an attorney-client relationship. If you are seeking legal advice, please contact our law firm directly.