NJ Employment laws, such as the Law Against Discrimination (used for sexual harassment and other discrimination claims) and the Conscientious Employee Protection Act (protecting whistleblowers) require a losing employer to pay the employee’s attorneys’ fees.  Due to the risk of non-payment, attorneys for employees also are permitted to apply for a “contingency fee enhancement,” usually between five and fifty percent.  Employment lawyers call this a “Rendine enhancement" based on the court decision that created it.  A recent decision from the United States Supreme Court interpreting federal laws raised doubt about whether a Rendine enhancement could continue under New Jersey law.

In a unanimous decision for two consolidated cases, the Supreme Court of New Jersey strongly upheld contingency fee enhancements: “The mechanisms for awarding fees, including contingency enhancements, that we adopted in Rendine shall remain in full force and effect as the governing principles for attorneys’ fee awards made pursuant to fee shifting provisions in our state statutes and rules.”  See Walker v. Route 22 Nissan Inc. and Humphries v. Powder Mill Shopping Plaza (both decided January 25, 2012). 

In reiterating Rendine, the Supreme Court explained the four reasons supporting contingency fee enhancements.  “First, they are designed to address the problem of unequal access to the courts” for employees, consumers, and the disabled.  “Second, they are intended to provide the individuals, whose rights are being protected by the statutes, with the resources to enforce those rights in court.”  Third, fee enhancements “operate so as to encourage adequate representation which is essential to ensuring that those laws will be enforced.”  Finally, “fee-shifting provisions are designed to promote respect for the underlying law and to deter potential violators of such laws.”

The Supreme Court’s decision in Walker and Humphries emphasizes the importance of fee enhancements in employment law, civil rights, and consumer cases to attract competent attorneys who work on a contingent fee basis against well-funded defendants paying their attorneys an hourly rate each month while also financing the costs of litigation.  By attracting competent plaintiff’s attorneys, fee enhancements guarantee equal access to the courts regardless of the ability to pay.

Please contact our NJ Employment Lawyers if you have any questions.

On January 9, 2012, the Governor signed the Trade Secrets Act making it the law of New Jersey.  The Trade Secrets Act protects business information that meets three criteria: it is not generally known, it provides economic value from its use, and the business makes a reasonable effort to keep it a secret.  The Act provides a civil remedy against any person who obtains any trade secret by improper means or improperly discloses such information.  It provides for damages beyond the actual loss of money from disclosure (such as a “reasonable royalty”) as well as punitive damages equal to twice the amount of damages awarded.  Before the Act was signed this week, New Jersey was one of only four states in the United States that did not have a statute protecting trade secrets.

New Jersey Sexual Harassment Law - Legal Update

Everyone is entitled to a workplace free of sexually inappropriate behavior, and NJ Sexual Harassment Law protects against sexual harassment in the workplace. If you have been sexually harassed on the job, your employer is required to fix the situation and prohibited from retaliating against you for making a complaint. In many cases, you may be entitled to compensation for any financial losses or emotional injuries you suffered as a result of the harassment.

Sexual harassment can take different forms. Hostile work environment sexual harassment is when you are subjected to unlawful sexual conduct at work because of your gender. Under New Jersey law, this conduct is illegal if it is severe and pervasive enough to make a reasonable person believe that the conditions of employment have been altered and the workplace has become hostile and abusive. Examples of behavior that can create a sexually hostile work environment include touching and grabbing, displaying pornographic pictures, and making persistent sexual remarks, jokes, comments, or propositions. It can also include conduct that is not explicitly sexual in nature if the reason for the conduct is your gender. While not all sexual innuendos, jokes, or acts rise to the level of a hostile work environment, a significant number of these acts can support a hostile work environment claim.

In addition, the law protects against quid pro quo sexual harassment, which involves a demand or request for sexual favors in exchange for certain employment benefits. Quid pro quo sexual harassment can be explicit (for example, your boss says he will fire you if you do not have sex with him or her), or more subtle (for example, your supervisor implies that you will not get a raise if you do not go on a date with him or her). Quid pro quo sexual harassment is not limited to your direct employer. New Jersey law also protects you from being sexually harassed by an employee of a company that does business with your employer (for example, an employee of your company's business partner tries to extort sexual favors as a condition of continuing to do business with your company). See J.T.'s Tire Service, Inc. v. United Rentals North America, Inc., 411 N.J. Super. 236 (App. Div. 2010).

Sexual harassment is prohibited in all jobs and occupations. New Jersey courts recently upheld a sexual harassment claim by an employee of a company that sold pornography and sex toys, recognizing that people who work in sexually charged atmospheres or industries are still protected from being sexually harassed on the job. See Longo v. Pleasure Productions, Inc., 2011 WL 3557518 (App. Div. Aug. 15, 2011). In addition, the gender and sexual orientation of your harasser is irrelevant to whether you have been sexually harassed.

Depending on whether the harasser is your supervisor, whether you suffered any adverse employment actions (such as demotion or termination), and whether your employer has an effective and well-publicized anti-harassment policy, you may or may not be required to report sexual harassment to your employer before your employer can be held liable for a hostile work environment.

If you have any questions regarding NJ Sexual Harassment Law, please contact our New Jersey Employment Lawyers.

Dated: January 11, 2012 - Megan Porio - Castronovo & McKinney

NJ Severance Law - Severance Law in NJ

NJ Severance Law is a myth.  There is no Severance Law in NJ that protects employees or requires an employer to provide an employee with severance pay.  Our NJ Severance Lawyers receive numerous calls a month asking whether a NJ employer is required to provide severance pay - the answer is no.  However, there are some exceptions to the non-existent NJ Severance Law. For example, an employer would be required to pay an employee severance if there is a contract requiring severance pay.  Also, if the employer provides a policy or section in its handbook setting forth that employees are entitled to severance pay, then the employer is required to provide severance.

If you have been offered a severance package, you do not need a NJ Severance Law to improve the offer.  Our NJ Severance Lawyers will work with you and your former employer to increase the amount of severance you are being offered and help negotiate additional/continued benefits.

If you have not been offered a severance package and feel that you were wrongfully terminated, our NJ Severance Lawyers can also help negotiate a settlement agreement pre-suit that would be similar to what you might receive as severance.

Please contact our NJ Employment Lawyers if you have any questions regarding NJ Severance Law.