Attorneys in the state of New Jersey who practice labor law are oftentimes included in the same boat as New Jersey employment lawyers.
NJ Labor Law and NJ employment law in the State of New Jersey are very different, despite commonly being associated with one another. A labor attorney, based on the strict definition, is an attorney who deals with unions and labor organizations in negotiating contracts, handling unfair practices charges and any other issues between an employer, municipality and a union. Whereas, an employment attorney is typically handles litigation or counseling involving New Jersey’s employment laws.
The counseling side of employment law focuses on the drafting of handbooks, contracts, employment contracts, restrictive covenants, non-competes, non-solicitation agreements, and any other policy or regulation within a company. An attorney who acts as an employment counselor will also advise the employer on certain human resources decisions and other issues in the workplace.
An employment litigator will focus on the trial aspect of employment law. Typically trials are based on the New Jersey law against discrimination, the New Jersey conscientious employee Protection Act and the New Jersey wage and hour laws. The attorney will either file a lawsuit or defend against the filing of a lawsuit. Most attorneys practice on one side of a lawsuit. That means that the attorney will either represent the plane a side or the defense side. We have seen plainness attorneys who do handle defense cases and our firm does in rare instances. However, it is uncommon to see a defense attorney also represent individuals in employment law suits.
