New Jersey Employment Lawyer Blog

The U.S. Department of Labor has won a substantial victory for employees of New York City-area dollar stores. According to the agency, the dollars stores and their owners agreed to pay more than $485,000 in minimum wages, overtime pay, liquidated damages, and post-judgment interest for approximately 120 employees.

The DOL discovered that many of the dollar stores were part of a large multi-establishment retail company, although the stores had argued in the past that each store was an individual entity. Some small businesses can be exempted from certain wage and hour requirements because, for instance, they are not involved in interstate commerce.

The agency filed the suit after an investigation by the Wage and Hour Division revealed that employees working at the companies' retail stores "often were paid at hourly rates less than the federal minimum wage, and were required to work more than 40 hours in many weeks without being properly compensated."

Employers who violate the law, whether it be wage and hour law, immigration law, or discrimination or whistleblower law, run a substantial risk of being sued by employees or government agencies. These lawsuits and investigations can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. If you own a small business, you owe it to yourself to engage an experienced employment lawyer to review your compliance with employment laws. An ounce of prevention is this area is worth several pounds of cure.

As reported in the Trentonian, a New Jersey State Trooper won a large verdict this week for his whistleblower lawsuit. The trooper alleged that after he reported that the state police were using uncertified handlers to train K-9 dogs, his supervisors passed him over for promotion and relegated him to a post at the state police museum.

The Mercer County trial jury deliberated two days before returning the unanimous verdict in favor of the trooper, who will receive $240,000 in compensatory damages.

Employees who blow the whistle on their employer's illegal or unethical activities do so at great risk to their careers. This case demonstrates that, given the right set of facts, juries are more than willing to stand up on behalf of these brave individuals. If you are a whistleblower or are considering becoming one, please contact an experienced New Jersey employment attorney to guide and assist you.

Fox News has been sued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") for asking a female employee to sign an employment contract which allegedly was intended to discourage her from making complaints of discrimination in the future.

The complaint alleges that Fox retaliated against news reporter Catherine Herridge after she complained that she was subjected to disparate pay and unequal employment opportunities because of her gender and age. The EEOC claims that during 2007, Herridge made several complaints to management officials at Fox News about employment practices that she believed were discriminatory. Fox conducted an investigation into Herridge's allegations but found no evidence of age and sex discrimination. Subsequently, when Herridge's employment contract was up for renewal, Fox inserted language which was allegedly intended to prevent the reporter from making further discrimination complaints. Herridge refused to sign, and she had to work without a contract for nine months, causing her considerable stress, according to the complaint.

Said the EEOC:
“The anti-retaliation provisions of Title VII and other federal anti-discrimination laws are indispensable to the attainment of a workplace free of discrimination. . . .Employers must take care that any action taken in response to a discrimination complaint is constructive and not retaliatory.”

In my opinion, if the allegations are true, Fox News is in for a beating. A company can't force an employee to sign away their right to make legitimate complaints of discrimination in advance. Anti-discrimination laws were enacted to eradicate discrimination; such a contract would seriously undermine the effectiveness of these laws.

Four whistleblowers were instrumental in helping the federal government recover $422.5M from Novartis, an East Hanover, NJ-based pharmaceutical company. Under the federal False Claims Act, the whistleblowers are entitled to receive bounties of approximately $25 million.

The whistleblowers provided information to the Justice Department that Novartis was selling its anti-epileptic drug Trileptal and five other drugs "off label." Under federal law, once a drug is approved by regulators, a drug manufacturer cannot market the drug for unspecified ("off label") use. Novartis agreed to pay $185 million in a criminal fine and forfeiture, and $237.5 million to resolve civil allegations of unlawfully marketing the six drugs.

The False Claims Act provides a "bounty" to whistleblowers who provide credible information to the government that it is being defrauded. If you suspect your company is defrauding the federal government, you need to contact an attorney who specializes in whistleblower protection law.