I. The Legal Snapshot: A Quick Summary Employees taking FMLA leave during the holidays face unique risks of retaliation, including the denial of “attendance bonuses” and accusations of leave abuse. To avoid these pitfalls, employees should provide written notice of their leave needs as early as possible, avoid social media activity that contradicts their…
I. The Legal Snapshot: A Quick Summary Workplace retaliation often spikes during the holidays as employers use the busy season to mask punitive actions. Common tactics include withholding discretionary bonuses, assigning punitive holiday shifts (e.g., working Christmas Day) to employees who took protected leave, and issuing sudden negative year-end reviews. Under laws like the…
I. The Legal Snapshot: A Quick Summary Whistleblowers filing at year-end face unique risks that do not exist in July. The “first-to-file” bar under the federal False Claims Act requires you to be the very first person to file a lawsuit to claim a reward. However, NJ state courts typically hold a recess between…
I. The Legal Snapshot: A Quick Summary Employers often enforce “blackout dates” for vacation requests during the holidays, but these policies generally cannot be applied to protected medical leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Punishing an employee for taking necessary medical leave during a busy holiday period—by withholding bonuses, assigning penalty…
I. The Legal Snapshot: A Quick Summary Year-end retaliation occurs when an employer uses administrative actions—such as performance reviews, salary adjustments, or holiday bonuses—to punish an employee for engaging in protected activity earlier in the year. Common signs include a sudden drop in performance ratings despite a history of success, or the denial of…
I. The Legal Snapshot: A Quick Summary Filing a whistleblower claim before the end of the year is often strategically important due to strict, short statutes of limitations—some as short as one year under state law. Critical considerations include documenting the employer’s fraud with specific evidence, understanding the difference between the federal False Claims Act…
I. The Legal Snapshot: A Quick Summary Neither New Jersey nor Pennsylvania law requires private employers to pay extra (“time-and-a-half”) solely for working on a holiday. However, wage violations frequently occur when employers fail to include non-discretionary holiday bonuses in the “regular rate” for overtime calculations or when they improperly exclude holiday hours worked…
I. The Legal Snapshot: A Quick Summary While employers generally have the right to set work location policies, they cannot deny a remote work request if it qualifies as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or equivalent state laws (NJLAD/PHRA). Denying remote work for discriminatory reasons (e.g., based on disability, gender,…
I. The Legal Snapshot: A Quick Summary Discretionary holiday bonuses are considered a form of compensation and are therefore covered under federal laws like the Equal Pay Act (EPA) and the Civil Rights Act (Title VII), as well as state laws like the New Jersey Equal Pay Act. If an employer provides unequal bonuses based…
I. The Legal Snapshot: A Quick Summary Discrimination and harassment that occurs at mandatory or company-sponsored off-site events, like a holiday party, are often considered a workplace liability and are fully covered under employment law. Employees in New Jersey and Pennsylvania have legal protections against harassment based on protected characteristics, such as gender, religion, age,…