It depends.  The general rule of thumb is this: If you have access to the document in the ordinary course of your duties and you give it only to your lawyer, then the document probably can be used in a lawsuit. In Quinlan v. Curtiss-Wright, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that several factors must...

The Family Medical Leave Act does not prohibit an employer from terminating an employee who is out on an approved leave of absence if the employer can prove that the termination would have occurred even if the employee was not out on leave.  Often times this scenario occurs when there is a reduction-in-force while...

The New Jersey Legislature just passed a bill that would prohibit employers from discriminating against unemployed applicants.  The proposed statute has not been signed into law by Governor Christie.  The legislation prevents employers from publishing an advertisement on the internet or in print announcing or suggesting that unemployed candidates cannot apply for the open...

On Sunday, November 30, 2010, an individual rescued a person who fell onto the subway tracks in New York City. The individual stated during his interview with the press explaining why he rescued the person was that "I was thinking, if he gets hit I can't go to work. It's Sunday. I can't miss...

Non-compete and employment agreements typically have restraints from disclosing trade secrets of the company.  The phrase "trade secrets" is usually defined very generally to cover any information that is created by the company, and its employees, that is not readily available to the public.  The non-compete agreement will be limited in time and will...

The New Jersey Senate Labor Committee yesterday approved a bill to ban businesses from using credit checks in deciding to hire or fire workers.  The proposed law contains a few exceptions where a credit check is deemed relevant to the work.  Employers may use credit checks for jobs handling large amounts of money, managing...

In Alexander v. Seton Hall University, the Supreme Court of New Jersey ruled today that women who seek equal pay filed their lawsuit in time under the statute of limitations.  The defense sought to stop the women professors from asserting their claims because they allegedly should have known they were not being paid the...

The New York Times recently commented on the issue facing employers and employees regarding drug testing and positive results based on prescription drugs. Employees taking Xanax, Oxycodone, and other prescription drugs that demonstrate a positive result for opiates could find themselves out of work for taking the drug that was prescribed by their doctor....

As of October 29, 2010, New York companies who provide bereavement benefits to employees will be required to provide employees in same-sex relationships with bereavement leave following the death of the same-sex partner, or the child, or other relative of same-sex partner. Accordingly, an employee whose same-sex partner dies, or the parent, child or...

You are only entitled to pay pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act when you are deemed to be “working” while waiting on-call. In order to demonstrate whether you are “working,” you have to demonstrate that you cannot use your time effectively for other purposes. However, if you are able to perform other activities...