In the states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York, people have a deadline by which they must file legal claims, If you do not meet one of the narrow exceptions, your case will be dismissed if you miss the deadline. It is crucial for you to make certain that you file your employment law claim in a timely manner so that you don’t lose your rights to recover damages. The attorneys at Swartz Swidler can assist you with filing your claim within the limitations period so that your rights might be preserved.
What is a statute of limitations?
In every state, there are deadlines that have been established for the filing of different types of legal claims, including those involving employment law. These laws are called statutes of limitations because they limit the time period of when lawsuits can be filed.
When does the statute of limitations start to run?
It can be confusing to determine when the statute of limitations starts to run on different claims. For most types of civil claims, the limitations period starts to run when your rights were violated. For instance, if you were wrongfully terminated, the statute of limitations would begin running when you received notification of your job loss. The start of the limitations period for other types of claims might be calculated differently. For instance, the statute of limitations does not begin to run in a harassment case until the final act of the pattern of harassment. There is also a new limitations period for every day in which you were wrongfully denied minimum wage or overtime pay.
If you want to know the Employment Law Statute Of Limitations for your claim, here is a list of some of the applicable deadlines in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York. The list is not comprehensive, and some claims have shorter deadlines such as deadlines to file discrimination charges with administrative agencies in the states and the federal government.
New Jersey
- New Jersey Family Leave Act – Two or six years
- New Jersey Law Against Discrimination – Two years
- New Jersey Civil Rights Act – Two years
- Conscientious Employee Protection Act – One year
- Wage and hour violations – Two years
- Wrongful discharge in violation of public policy – Two years
New York
- Wage and hour claims – Six years
- New York Human Rights Law – Three years
- Retaliation claims for wage and hour violations – Two years
- New York Whistleblower Law – One or two years
- Breach of employment contract – Six years
Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania Wage Payment and Collection Law – Three years
- Pennsylvania Human Reliations Act – Two years after the PHRC dismisses the complaint
- Wrongful termination in violation of public policy – Two years
- Pennsylvania Whistelblower Act – Two years after the retaliatory action
Some claims may require you to file charges with a state or federal administrative agency before you can file a lawsuit, and the limitations periods for adminstrative charges may be as little as 180 days or 300 days. If you believe that you might have an employment law claim, it is important for you to talk to an attorney at Swartz Swidler as soon as possible. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.
