Reviewed by Richard S. Swartz, Esq. | Updated May 2026 | Practice Areas: FMLA, NJFLA, Wrongful Termination, Disability Discrimination, Retaliation Most people who reach out about a firing during medical leave aren’t sure if it was legal — they just know the timing felt wrong. The leave was approved. The doctor’s note was on file.…
If you reported discrimination, filed a complaint, requested leave, or refused to participate in something illegal — and your employer responded by demoting you, cutting your hours, giving you negative reviews, or firing you — you may have a retaliation claim. But having experienced retaliation and being able to prove it are two different things.…
Your employer put “salaried” on your offer letter. You work 50, 55, sometimes 60 hours a week. And when you ask about overtime, you get the same answer: salaried employees don’t get overtime. That may be wrong. Being paid a salary does not automatically exempt you from overtime. Under federal law and New Jersey and…
If your employer denied your FMLA leave request and pointed to missing or incomplete paperwork, that may not be a valid reason — even if the paperwork genuinely was not finished on time. What many employees don’t know is this: before an employer can deny FMLA leave based on incomplete documentation, the employer must follow…
If you were fired after reporting harassment at work in New Jersey, that may be illegal retaliation. New Jersey’s anti-discrimination law protects employees who make a good-faith complaint about discrimination or harassment, and federal law also protects employees who oppose unlawful harassment or participate in an investigation or charge process. Firing is one of the…
If your employer hasn’t paid you correctly, time matters. The statute of limitations for a wage claim in NJ determines how long you have to recover unpaid wages. Miss that deadline, and you could permanently lose your right to collect money you legally earned. New Jersey workers have strong wage protections — but those protections…
Updated June 2026 When your job ends in New Jersey, one of the first questions you may have is simple: Does my employer have to pay me for unused vacation time or PTO? The short answer is: not automatically. New Jersey generally does not require private employers to pay out unused vacation time or paid…
Introduction In 2026, worker misclassification remains one of the most common and costly employment errors in the United States — and it’s affecting contractors more than ever. Misclassification occurs when employers wrongly label workers as independent contractors instead of employees. While this might seem like a paperwork issue, the legal and financial impacts are very…
Overtime pay is one of the most misunderstood—and most violated—worker protections in Pennsylvania. Many employees still believe that being paid a salary automatically disqualifies them from overtime. Others assume small amounts of extra time do not matter, or that employers can simply refuse to pay overtime if it was not approved in advance. In 2026,…
If you believe you’re being treated differently at work because of your race, you’re not alone—and you may have powerful rights under New Jersey law. Racial discrimination in the workplace is illegal under both state and federal law, and the protections for New Jersey employees are some of the strongest in the country. This guide…