McOmber McOmber & Luber

Business & Employment Lawyers Red Bank & Marlton New Jersey

(732) 842-6500

[email protected]

If you walk through an apartment building, you will probably see Amazon delivery boxes outside many of the apartment units, or else piled up behind the reception desk, where a receptionist has signed for them. Amazon deliveries are a ubiquitous aspect of life in the United States, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only increased the number of Amazon trucks on the street and Amazon boxes outside people’s doors. Amazon accounts for one out of every three warehouse jobs nationwide, but nearly one out of every two warehouse injuries, and between 2020 and 2021, the number of injuries at Amazon warehouses increased by 54%. Extreme temperatures are a major hazard not only for Amazon warehouse workers but also for delivery drivers. Given that temperatures are rising more quickly than ever and the Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA) is making slow progress on issuing safety guidelines for working in excessive heat, more injuries are likely. If you need help reporting safety violations at your workplace to OSHA, contact a New Jersey employment lawyer. 

Three Tragic Incidents at Three New Jersey Amazon Facilities 

This summer, three Amazon workers died in workplace accidents in New Jersey: 

  • On July 13, employees at the Amazon warehouse in Carteret called 911 about a coworker who had fallen unconscious. First responders brought the warehouse worker to the hospital, where he died. The incident happened on Amazon Prime Day, one of the company’s busiest days, and the warehouse where the worker fell ill did not have air conditioning. 
  • On July 24, an ambulance transported an employee at the Robbinsville warehouse to a nearby hospital, where he died three days later. No other details are publicly available about the circumstances of his death. 
  • On August 4, an employee from the Monroe Township delivery station was hospitalized after an incident at work. He died four days later. 

The only thing more disturbing than the fact that these workers died of injuries they sustained at work is the lack of transparency about the accidents. A spokesperson for Amazon said that the man who died on July 13 suffered from a pre-existing medical condition and that the work accident was not the sole factor contributing to his death. Meanwhile, Amazon workers, many of them refusing to allow the press to publish their names for fear of retaliation, have expressed concern about the lack of protection for workers. Warehouse workers are expected to keep to a tight schedule that does not allow for frequent breaks, even when the temperatures reach the triple digits. Neither Amazon delivery trucks nor the company’s warehouses have air conditioning, and the number of fans they have is insufficient. OSHA has launched an investigation to see how unsafe working conditions contributed to the fatalities at the New Jersey Amazon facilities. 

Contact a New Jersey Employment Lawyer About Workplace Safety Violations 

An employment lawyer can help you report safety violations to OSHA or other relevant parties. Contact McOmber McOmber & Luber in Red Bank, Marlton, and Newark, New Jersey to discuss your case. 

It is hard to tell exactly how prevalent sexual harassment is in the workplace, but the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) estimates that the number of employees who experience sexual harassment at work is about four times as many as the number of people who file sexual harassment complaints with the EEOC. Fear of retaliation is only one of the many reasons that employees hesitate to report sexual harassment and other kinds of employment discrimination to the EEOC or their employer’s human resources departments.

Filing discrimination complaints is a protected activity, but employers still find plenty of ways to intimidate employees or otherwise make it difficult to report discrimination promptly.  Following the procedures required to remain eligible to file a lawsuit can be overwhelming even in situations that are not as inherently stressful as fighting back against workplace sexual harassment, but a New Jersey sexual harassment retaliation lawyer can help you with every step of the process.

When HR is Uncooperative

The logical place to start when trying to fight back against sexual harassment at work is to report it to human resources; even if you do not expect HR to find a quick solution to the problem, you at least have documentation that you spoke up about the harassment. Unfortunately, HR is not always helpful. The HR representative may promise to take action but then do nothing and give you evasive answers when you try to follow up. Even worse, they may try to discourage you from complaining. You should document all the unsatisfactory responses you get from HR and discuss them with an employment lawyer.

When Retaliation Seems Inevitable

One situation where many sexual harassment incidents go unreported is when the harassment is coming from a high-ranking person in the organization or someone in a direct supervisory position over the complainant. In situations like these, the victim has reason to fear retaliation, and HR might even side with the supervisor instead of with the employee who complains about him or her.

When Sexual Harassment is Ubiquitous in the Work Environment

In some workplaces, sexual harassment is the rule rather than the exception. Some employers have faced class action lawsuits from groups of women who described the workplace as a “frat house” environment. Just because certain behaviors are normal in the sense of being widespread, it does not necessarily mean that they are acceptable. You still have the right to complain about sexual harassment even if you are not the only target of it in your workplace; sometimes, when one person speaks up about sexual harassment, other coworkers will feel emboldened to do so, too.

Contact a New Jersey Employment Lawyer About Workplace Sexual Harassment

An employment lawyer can help you report sexual harassment even if it seems like your coworker and the human resources department, would prefer to ignore it. Contact McOmber McOmber & Luber in Red Bank, Marlton, Newark New Jersey, to discuss your case.

Even before the Great Resignation, many workers acknowledged that doing the jobs on which they depended for money caused them to do things that weighed heavily on their conscience.  From Dickens to Dilbert, writers have described the plight of the worker as having to witness awful things in order to prevent even worse things from happening. No one likes to be the one to tell financially struggling customers that it is not possible to waive that late fee; it is even worse when you see how much money your supervisors make. Unfair business practices are just the beginning. Some workplaces are cesspools of dishonesty, blame-shifting, bullying, and even outright criminal behavior. According to the law, though, your boss does not have the right to cheat people, abuse them, or put them in danger, and you have the right to speak out against it, whether the victims are employees, consumers, or the general public. To find out more about exercising your right to report workplace misconduct, contact a Red Bank whistleblowing and retaliation lawyer.

What is a Whistleblower?

A whistleblower is someone who exposes or speaks out against misconduct at the company or institution where the whistleblower is employed. These are just a few examples of types of misconduct that have been at the center of whistleblower cases:

  • Financial crimes such as fraud, money laundering, or embezzlement
  • Violation of safety regulations
  • Deceitful business practices
  • Widespread racial or gender discrimination
  • Knowingly providing unsafe products to the public
  • Failing to pay workers fairly

Whistleblowers can fight misconduct in a variety of ways.  It can be as simple as refusing to participate in certain objectionable work tasks or complaining to supervisors or as elaborate as filing a formal complaint with a regulatory body or notifying law enforcement. In either case, whistleblowers often get pushback from their employers.

What is Retaliation?

Retaliation is when an employer takes an adverse action against an employee who has engaged in a protected activity. Whistleblower actions are protected activities, and so are filing workers compensation claims and requesting family leave, among others. Adverse actions include termination of employment, unfairly negative performance reviews, involuntary transfers, and creating a hostile work environment. Employer retaliation is against the law.

The Law Protects Whistleblowers Against Retaliation

New Jersey law offers many protections for employees who engage in whistleblower actions. At the state level, the Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA) covers many whistleblower actions under the category of protected activities. Other laws that address employer retaliation against employees who complain about discrimination and other forms of misconduct include federal laws such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, among others.

Contact an Employment Lawyer About Your Whistleblower Retaliation Case

A whistleblower retaliation lawyer can make the process of reporting misconduct less stressful and can help you recover compensation if you lost your job after filing a whistleblower claim.  Contact McOmber McOmber & Luber in Red Bank, New Jersey to discuss your case.

 

Most years, the temperatures exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit for at least a few days in August, and not just in the Sun Belt; the New York metropolitan area, including the New Jersey suburbs, has been feeling the heat intensely. Despite this, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the federal agency that makes and enforces regulations related to workplace safety, does not have official rules about workplace exposure to extreme heat; it is in the process of drafting those rules, but it will probably be at least two more years before they are published.  Meanwhile, as everyone who can afford to do so stays indoors in the air conditioning and waits for delivery drivers to bring them everything they need, the delivery drivers are suffering from the heat. UPS workers who are routinely exposed to triple-digit temperatures for extended periods during the workday are demanding better protections. Complaining about unsafe conditions in your workplace is a protected activity; if you are worried that your employer might retaliate against you if you complain about extreme heat or other dangerous conditions at your job, contact an employment lawyer.

The Dangers of Heat-Related Illness on the Job

Anyone can suffer from heat-related illness when exposed to high temperatures for a long time.  Symptoms of heat exhaustion include headache, dizziness, feelings of weakness and skin tingling, and nausea; in extreme cases, it can also cause vomiting, loss of consciousness, or even death. Certain medications increase the risk of heat-related illness. If you spend time outdoors when it is extremely hot, the best way to stay safe is to take frequent breaks to go somewhere cooler, such as a shady area or well-ventilated room, and to drink a lot of water or electrolyte replacement drinks, such as Gatorade or Powerade.

Earlier this summer, a UPS delivery driver died of heat exhaustion during his shift in California, when the temperature was 110 degrees. As reported, many other drivers have become ill in similar situations.

UPS Workers Protest Unmanageable Work Schedules and Lack of Heat Protection

UPS delivery trucks and warehouses do not have air conditioning, and the workers can no longer tolerate the heat. They have asked UPS to supply fans and ice machines, but these requests are seldom fulfilled. UPS says that it is impractical to air condition the trucks since drivers must make frequent stops to open the doors and turn off the engine whenever they make a delivery.  The advice to take frequent breaks rings false because the intense time pressure that UPS places on delivery drivers is well known. UPS workers are in a better position than some, however, because they at least have a union to advocate for them.

Contact a New Jersey Employment Lawyer About Unsafe Working Conditions

Excessive heat is a serious safety hazard in the workplace, and an employment lawyer can help you report it without fear of retaliation. Contact McOmber McOmber & Luber in New Jersey to discuss your case.

Fraudulent, unfair, dangerous, exploitative, and downright illegal behavior can go on at public institutions and private companies for long periods of time before anyone does anything to stop it. When the public finds out, they often wonder why no one said anything sooner. Greed is too simple an explanation because hundreds, if not thousands, of employees stay silent about the misconduct while only a few people truly get rich off of it. More often, the motivation to stay silent is fear. Employees fear that if they speak out against the misconduct, they will lose their jobs or worse; we have all heard the saying “snitches get stitches.” Federal and state laws offer protections to employees who stand up to workplace misconduct by refusing to participate in it or by reporting it to regulatory bodies. To find out more about how the law protects you from whistleblower retaliation, contact a New Jersey whistleblowing and retaliation lawyer.

The Conscientious Employee Protection Act

In employment law, protected activities are actions that employees are free to do without fear of their employers punishing them for them, such as by firing them, refusing them a promotion, or harassing them at work. Examples of protected activities include filing a workers’ compensation claim and requesting disability accommodations, among others. A New Jersey law called the Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA) defines a wide variety of whistleblower actions as protected activities. It aims to protect anything employees do to stop fraudulent and illegal actions by their employers, as well as actions that endanger the public.  These are some examples of activities protected under CEPA:

  • Refusing to participate in the employer’s objectionable actions
  • Reporting the misconduct to a work supervisor or regulatory body
  • Participating in an official investigation into the employer’s conduct

CEPA also offers specific protections for healthcare workers who observe conduct in their workplaces that violates standards of patient care.

Other Protections for New Jersey Workers Who Report Misconduct

CEPA is not the only law that protects workers who report employer misconduct, including but not limited to workplace safety violations and discrimination. Depending on the nature of the misconduct, you might be protected under any of the following laws:

  • New Jersey Family Leave Act
  • New Jersey Wage and Hour Law
  • New Jersey Law Against Discrimination

The New Jersey Supreme Court decision Pierce v. Ortho Pharmaceutical Corp also outlines protections against retaliation for whistleblower employees. Regardless of which law they invoke, workplace whistleblowers have the right to file a claim against an employer who retaliated against them for a whistleblower action. They can seek reinstatement of their jobs, compensation for lost income, and other remedies.

Contact a Lawyer About Whistleblower Retaliation Cases

Do not let your employer intimidate you from exercising your legal rights. A whistleblower retaliation lawyer can help guide you through the process of reporting misconduct that you witness at your workplace and dealing with the fallout. Contact McOmber McOmber & Luber to discuss your case.

Self-made superstars hold a certain mystique in our society.  You probably know the story of how your favorite musician or sports star went from rags to riches; for example, Bob Marley and Stevie Nicks were both parts of the cleaning staff of hotels to make ends meet before their music careers took off. When you visit a restaurant in the New York City suburbs, there is a good chance that your server has aspirations of singing on Broadway. In professional baseball, an entire category of players has had the worst of both worlds until recently; minor league players were required to undergo many hours of training per year, in exchange for little or no pay. MLB has recently settled a class action lawsuit with a group of minor league players demanding fair pay. If your employer does not abide by laws about fair pay, contact a New Jersey employment lawyer.

MLB Settles Federal Class Action Lawsuit for $185 Million

In February 2014, a group of minor league baseball players filed a federal class action lawsuit against Major League Baseball. The class of plaintiffs includes three groups of minor league players; the first participated in spring training in Florida in 2009, the second participated in spring training in California in 2010, and the third participated in spring training in Arizona in 2011. They alleged that pursuant to MLB policy, they received little or no pay during mandatory training sessions. In May 2022, MLB agreed to pay a class action settlement of $185 million to make up for the pay it owes to the players. Approximately $120 million of the settlement money will be paid to players, and the rest will cover attorneys’ fees.

By not paying players during training, MLB violated several employment laws. Pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers must pay employees during training. The training wage must be greater than or equal to the state minimum wage. Likewise, employers must pay employees for overtime for every hour in excess of the 40th hour that the employee works during a seven-day period; the overtime pay must be 1.5 times the employee’s usual rate of pay. During the time that minor league players spend in spring training, extended spring training, and instructional leagues, there are many weeks when they work more than 40 hours. Seasonal employees, by contrast, are not entitled to overtime pay. Examples of seasonal employment include Halloween costume stores that are only open in October and festivals that last a few days and employing workers for several weeks of preparation for the event. The lawyers for the plaintiffs successfully argued that minor league players are year-round employees instead of seasonal employees.

Contact an Employment Lawyer About Your Wage and Overtime Case

A wage and overtime lawyer can help you get fair pay whether you are an aspiring superstar or just working a 9-to-5. Contact McOmber McOmber & Luber, to discuss your case.

In employment discrimination cases, an employee must prove that the employer treated the employee unfairly and that the reason for this unfair treatment was a protected characteristic of the employee, such as the employee’s race, age, religion, gender, or disability. If the employer fired the employee, refused the employee a promotion, or wrote a negative performance review unsupported by evidence, it is easy to document this; in cases like these, the only challenge is to prove that the employer’s motivation was based on race, gender, or other protected characteristic. Harassment, also known as a hostile work environment, is an adverse action that falls under the category of employment discrimination.  When it comes to gender-based harassment, most employers and employees know more about the stereotypes they see in the media than about what the laws actually say. To find out more about sexual harassment in the workplace and how to prevent it, contact a  hostile work environment sexual harassment lawyer.

Why Should Employers Care About Sexual Harassment?

The most important reason to care about sexual harassment is that everyone has the right to be treated with respect at work. Besides, it is in the best financial interests of employers to have a workplace where no harassment takes place. Employees who are being harassed and bullied at work are less productive, and workplaces, where harassment is rampant, have high turnover. It takes a lot of time and effort to keep recruiting and training new employees because the previous ones quit.

Finally, sexual harassment lawsuits are expensive, even if they settle without going to trial. Employers can buy employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) or directors and officers (D&O) insurance to protect them from lawsuit-related financial losses. It is less expensive, though, to stop sexual harassment before it starts.

Preventing Sexual Harassment

Employers can prevent the worst consequences of sexual harassment by making it easy for employees to report incidents of harassment, whether the employee doing the reporting was a target of the harassment or a bystander. For example, set up an anonymous phone helpline, an online contact form, or both.

Finally, you should have employees complete an online training session about sexual harassment each year. It should give a variety of examples of scenarios that count as sexual harassment so that employees will know not to do these things at work and will know that they have the right to complain if they witness these actions. A surprisingly large number of people hold misconceptions about sexual harassment. They might not know that it does not have to include physical touching or verbal threats, for example, and they might not know that women are not the only people who can be targets of sexual harassment. Likewise, case law on sexual harassment changes frequently, so your employees’ knowledge might not be up to date.

Contact an Employment Lawyer About Your Sexual Harassment Case

A sexual harassment lawyer can help you report sexual harassment that you have witnessed in your workplace. Contact McOmber McOmber & Luber in Red Bank, New Jersey to discuss your case.

Under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD) and other federal statutes including the US Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), your employer has a responsibility to prevent pregnancy discrimination and provide pregnant employees with reasonable accommodation. A pregnant woman has the right to work so long as she is able to perform the functions of her job.

Pregnant employees should be treated the same as all other employees. It is unlawful for an employer to treat a pregnant employee less favorably than any other employee with a limiting condition or circumstance. An employer of a pregnant employee must provide reasonable accommodations in the workplace to the employee when the pregnant employee requests accommodations based on a physician’s advice. These accommodations can include bathroom breaks, water breaks, assistance with manual labor, rest breaks, or even temporary transfers to less hazardous work.

The employer must provide accommodations if provided to other employees. The employer must provide these accommodations unless the employer can demonstrate that providing the accommodation would be an undue hardship to the business operations of the employer.

Further, the employer cannot penalize the pregnant employee for requesting accommodations.

Examples of Pregnancy Discrimination

  • Treating pregnant employees differently
  • Paying pregnant employees less
  • Failing to promote pregnant employees
  • Refusing pregnancy leave or time off
  • Changing positions or responsibilities or demoting a pregnant employee based on the assumption that they cannot handle her usual tasks
  • Terminating or laying off a pregnant employee, or an employee who has recently had a child.
  • Forcing a pregnant employee to resign
  • Failing to provide accommodation other employees would receive

Contact An Experienced Pregnancy Discrimination Lawyer Today 

There are laws in place at both a state and federal level to protect the rights of pregnant employees. If you believe you have been the victim of pregnancy discrimination in the workplace, such as being fired, demoted, or harassed because of your pregnancy, the lawyers at McOmber McOmber & Luber, P.C. can help. To find out if we can assist you, please call our offices in Red Bank, New Jersey at 732-842-6500, in Marlton, New Jersey at 856-985-9800, or in Newark, New Jersey at 973-878-9040. 

For most employees in New Jersey, the minimum wage is $13 per hour. For employees who make a substantial portion of their income through tips, though, the minimum wage is $5.13 per hour. The minimum wage for tipped employees represents the amount that the employer must pay them per hour; the assumption is that, once you add in their tips, their total pay will be at least $13 per hour. What happens when it is a slow night at the restaurant, though? When a tipped employee gets less than $7.87 per hour in a given shift, so that their total compensation does not add up to $13 per hour, the employer must pay them $13 per hour for that shift, as if they were hourly employees instead of tipped employees. 

Golf caddies at a country club in West Orange are currently involved in a legal dispute with their employer; they claim that their employer has not paid them the state minimum wage when it was the employer’s responsibility to do so. If you are employed as a tipped employee in New Jersey and your employer is not paying their fair share, contact the  employment lawyers at McOmber McOmber & Luber.

Caddies Accuse Employer of Paying Them Less Than Minimum Wage

Montclair Golf Club in West Orange is plenty pricey; it costs between $40,000 to $70,000 to join, and then members must pay between $5,000 and $15,000 in dues each year, depending on which membership privileges they get. Most of this money does not end up in the bank accounts of the caddies who work at the club from March until November. Caddies work a 10-hour shift, and the club pays them $60 for each golf bag they carry; they also receive tips from the golfers.  A round of golf is so long that one can realistically expect a caddy to carry only two bags per shift. This means that, unless the golfers tip well, the caddies earn less than the $13 per hour minimum wage.

This is one of the issues that the caddies’ lawsuit against Montclair Golf Club seeks to address.  They allege that the club treats them like hourly employees without paying them as such. Their supervisors ask them to perform additional tasks not listed in their job description, such as serving drinks to golfers on the golf course and cleaning bathrooms but do not pay them any additional money for doing these tasks. Furthermore, when the club is not busy, caddies must wait for hours before being assigned to a golfer, and they do not receive any pay for this time.

Contact an Employment Lawyer About Tipped Employee Wage Disputes

A wage and hour dispute lawyer can help you resolve disputes if your employer is not paying you their fair share during shifts when you do not get paid sufficient tips from customers.  Contact McOmber McOmber & Luber to discuss your case.

Do You Have Grounds for a Wrongful Termination Lawsuit?

Sometimes employers and employees part ways peacefully; for example, the employee leaves because they have reached retirement age and are financially secure enough to retire, or the employee leaves because they are relocating to another city because of their spouse’s work or to be near family, or maybe even leaving the workforce to spend more time with their young children or to start their own business.  If it is the employer’s decision to end the employment relationship, though, the employee is likely to experience some negative emotions about it, if only because the employee now has the stress of finding a new job or depending on credit cards or financial support from family until they can find one.  Whether the employer has the right to terminate the employee’s job depends on the details.  If you think your employer’s decision to fire you was an act of discrimination or retaliation, contact a New Jersey wrongful termination lawyer.

Downsizing or Discrimination?

New Jersey is an at-will state, which means that employers can fire you for almost any reason, even if you have not done anything wrong.  It is against the law, however, for an employer to fire an employee because of a protected characteristic.  The Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), and other laws have defined employment discrimination and the protected characteristics on which employment discrimination is based.  These are some examples of legally protected characteristics, which means that it is against the law for your employer to terminate your employment because of them:

  • Race or ethnicity
  • Sex, gender, or sexual orientation
  • Disability
  • Age
  • Family status, marital status, or pregnancy

If you think that one of these characteristics of yours was your employer’s true motivation for terminating your employment, contact a Red Bank wrongful termination lawyer.

Recession or Retaliation?

It is also illegal for your employer to fire you in retaliation for engaging in a protected activity.  These are some examples of protected activities:

  • Reporting a workplace safety hazard or other misconduct by your employer
  • Filing a discrimination complaint
  • Filing a workers’ compensation claim
  • Requesting an FMLA leave for medical or family caregiving reasons
  • Requesting accommodations for a disability

Severance Pay or Hush Money?

Employers sometimes try to stave off wrongful termination lawsuits by offering laid off employees a separation agreement.  The agreement sometimes includes severance pay, usually equivalent to several months of salary and health insurance benefits.  Do not sign the separation agreement until after you discuss it with a lawyer.  If you sign the separation agreement and accept the severance pay, you lose the right to sue for wrongful termination.

Contact an Employment Lawyer About Wrongful Termination of Employment

New Jersey’s at-will employment laws do not excuse discrimination and employer retaliation.  A wrongful termination lawyer can help you exercise your rights if your employer fired you because of a protected characteristic or protected action. McOmber McOmber & Luber, P.C.’s employment lawyers are available for a free consultation. Please call our office in Red Bank, New Jersey at 732-842-6500, our Marlton, New Jersey office at 856-985-9800, or our Newark, New Jersey office at 973-787-9040 to find out more.

Being in a position of power sometimes brings out the worst in people. Although many people who serve in public office work to serve the public or to remedy social problems, some are willing to step on people for advancement or abuse their authority, especially in the workplace. If you have ever met a woman who has attended the New Jersey State League of Municipalities (NJLM) annual conference, chances are that she has some war stories about the creepy or downright abusive behavior of some of the high-ranking men at the conference, according to recent reports. Widespread sexual harassment in local government and politics has been an open secret for years, and New Jersey has recently enacted legislation that specifically addresses sexual harassment and other kinds of sexual misconduct in the political sector, in addition to the other federal and state laws that prohibit sexual harassment and other types of employment discrimination. If you have questions about filing formal complaints about sexual harassment in the workplace, contact a sexual harassment lawyer. 

League of Municipalities Convenes in Person Amid New Measures Against Sexual Harassment 

Before the pandemic, the after-parties and social events surrounding the NJLM conference were rampant with creepy comments, unwanted sexual advances, and sexual assaults, according to reports. The problem got bad enough that the conference organizers brainstormed changes before the 2019 conference and even made changes to the Walk to Washington event. The conference met virtually, meaning that there were no cocktail receptions and boozy after-parties in hotels and private residences; but before the annual meeting convened in 2021, the conference organizers knew that more changes were necessary. 

About 14,000 participants attended the NJLM conference this year, and outside the conference rooms, they saw signs detailing which behaviors were considered harassment. The NJLM also set up a hotline where participants could report harassment that they had experienced or witnessed. Meanwhile, on June 30, 2021, New Jersey enacted SB3389, which establishes a commission to investigate sexual harassment allegations against political candidates and other individuals connected to political campaigns, such as candidates’ staff members, lobbyists, members of political party committees, and journalists who cover political campaigns. The new law aims to close a loophole in employment discrimination, as case law allowed defendants to pass the buck as far as who is the employer responsible in employment discrimination cases regarding political campaigns. Another new law requires political party committee members, candidates for public office, and campaign staffers to undergo training about sexual harassment. 

Contact an Employment Lawyer About Sexual Harassment in the Political Sphere 

Politics has never had a squeaky-clean reputation, but people who work on political campaigns may the same protections against sexual harassment and other forms of employment discrimination as any other employees.  A sexual harassment lawyer can help you present your claim effectively. McOmber McOmber & Luber, P.C.’s employment lawyers are available for consultation. Please call our office in Red Bank, New Jersey at 732-842-6500, our Marlton, New Jersey office at 856-985-9800, or our Newark, New Jersey office at 973-787-9040 find out more.

This week the U.S. Senate confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to be the next Justice to the U.S. Supreme Court.  The 53-47 vote fell largely along partisan lines, with three Republicans crossing over to support her confirmation.

When Judge Jackson begins her term, she makes history as the first Black woman to serve on the Court. Her confirmation also makes the Court the most diverse in its 233-year history, with four women and three Justices of color on the bench. She will also be the first Justice to have served as a public defender.

It is unlikely Judge Jackson’s presence will change the Court’s 6-3 ideological divide.  Judge Jackson’s philosophy appears to be in line with Justice Stephen Breyer who she is replacing and to whom she served as a law clerk.

When Judge Jackson takes her seat on the Court, she will hear several high-profile civil rights cases.  Among them are Students For Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina which asks the Court to overrule the landmark 2003 decision in Grutter v. Bollinger.  Grutter-held colleges and universities can consider race as part of their efforts to create a diverse student body.

The Court will also hear arguments on the tension between free speech and non-discriminatory public accommodation laws in 303 Creative v. Elenis.  In this case, a wedding web designer refused to create a wedding website for same-sex couples claiming she was opposed to same-sex marriage because it was against her religious beliefs.

Finally, the Court will hear arguments in Merrill v. Milligan on whether Alabama’s congressional redistricting plan which includes only one majority-Black district, runs afoul of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

Judge Jackson currently serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.  She graduated from Harvard University and Harvard Law School.

It is expected that Justice Breyer will stay on the bench until he retires at the end of the current term this summer, and Judge Jackson will begin her term this fall.

The entire team at McOmber McOmber & Luber, P.C. is extremely proud to announce that four of our attorneys have been recognized by the prestigious Super Lawyers organization. Congratulations to Partner R. Armen McOmber, Christian V. McOmber, Matthew A. Luber, and attorney Meghan A. Pazmino on their selection to the 2022 SuperLawyers & Rising Stars.

Super Lawyers select attorneys in each state on an annual basis. Decisions are based on their patented, multiphase selection process. Criteria include peer nominations, independent research, and nonpartial evaluation. Super Lawyers’ objective is to provide the public with a comprehensive listing of lawyers from over 70 areas of focus who excel in their particular practice area.

  • Partner R. Armen McOmber has been selected as a top-rated Employment & Labor attorney.
  • Partner Christian V. McOmber has been selected as a top-rated Business Litigation attorney.
  • Partner Matthew A. Luber has been named a Rising Star in the area of Employment & Labor.
  • Attorney Meghan A. Pazmino has been named a Rising Star in the area of Employment & Labor.’

Armen, Christian, Matthew, and Meghan are part of a team that includes well-established and passionate lawyers practicing in a broad range of legal areas. To speak to a qualified attorney regarding your legal issue, call McOmber McOmber & Luber, P.C. today to arrange a free consultation.

We have offices in Red Bank, Marlton, and Newark, New Jersey to represent clients across the state. Contact us today to speak with one of our dedicated New Jersey employment lawyers.

 

The United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) has finally settled its gender discrimination lawsuit against the United States Soccer Federation (USSF).

In a historic agreement, the USSF agreed to pay the women’s soccer team $24 million in back pay and pledged $2 million to fund charitable efforts related to women and girls’ soccer.

The most significant part of the settlement, however, is USSF’s pledge to equalize pay between the men’s and women’s national teams in all competitions, including the World Cup.  This will happen when the players union for the U.S. women’s team hammers out their next collective bargaining agreement.

The USWNT’s fight for pay equality goes back almost six years when some of its star players filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) claiming wage discrimination.  Even though the USWNT won several Word Cup championships and generates more revenue than the men’s team, they argue they receive 40% less than male players and are denied substantial benefits and bonuses according to the men.

This development is a huge victory for women’s soccer and for all women in the workplace who believe they are being denied equal pay for equal work.  If you believe you are being denied wages due to your gender, you may have a wage or discrimination claim.  To find out more, reach out to the experienced lawyers at McOmber McOmber & Luber, P.C.  You can call our office in Red Bank, New Jersey at 732-842-6500, our Marlton, New Jersey office at 856-985-9800 or our Newark, New Jersey office at 973-878-9040.

 

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