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Employment Law

Editor tries to stop presses on alleged retaliation

08/25/2008
Silvina Barboza served as editor of Latinos Unidos, a Spanish language newspaper owned by Greater Media Newspapers (GMN) in Freehold. Early in 2005, Barboza was diagnosed with obesity and scheduled for gastric bypass surgery in December. When management learned of her plans, GMN terminated her …

State troopers charge ‘Arbitrary, antiquated’ processes are biased

08/25/2008
Twenty-three black and Hispanic state troopers are suing the New Jersey State Police, alleging bias in promotions, training, special assignments and discipline. The lawsuit claims the department’s promotion system is “an arbitrary, antiquated and subjective process that is skewed in favor of male Caucasians.”

Employees win right to sue for employer post-Employment conduct

08/25/2008
Employers that think their liability ends when a terminated employee walks out the door better think again. A recent New Jersey case expanded employees’ rights to sue employers for post-termination nonemployment-related conduct. In the wake of the decision, courts may construe common employer acts as retaliation …

Tell bosses: Don’t voice anger about discrimination complaint

08/22/2008
Want to create an instant retaliation claim after an employee says she lost out on a promotion because of discrimination? Just let a supervisor or manager react angrily to the accusation. It’s dangerous for managers to make any negative comments in the wake of what an employee says was discrimination. Bosses must learn to hold their tongues …

Lower retirement pay doesn’t excuse late discrimination filing

08/22/2008
Employees who believe they have suffered pay discrimination have to move fast to file their claims. They can’t wait, for example, until after they retire and only then claim their retirement benefits are lower than they should be because they were discriminated against …

Supervisor’s ignorance of the law isn’t enough to justify punitive damages award

08/22/2008
Although there are serious consequences when supervisors don’t know how to comply with workplace anti-discrimination rules, their ignorance of the law won’t necessarily result in a costly punitive-damages award if you get sued …

Longtime hospital worker sues to keep her job

08/22/2008
You’ve got to give points for stamina, no matter the outcome, to 83-year-old Annie Allen, a part-time worker for more than 35 years at John Umstead Hospital in Butner. She’s fighting for her job after being fired earlier this year …

Judge: ‘Language and national origin not interchangeable’

08/22/2008
Lucas Lopez-Galvan, a native of the Dominican Republic, was hired in June 2005 as a tailor in a Men’s Wearhouse store in Charlotte. Regional tailor Nitin Bulsara, who is fluent in Spanish, hired Lopez despite the fact that Lopez does not speak English.

May we demand applicants pay for medical exams?

08/22/2008
Q. Our company requires applicants for certain classes of jobs to have medical examinations as a condition of employment. Can we require the potential employee to pay the costs of the medical examinations? …

Can we require repayment of moving expenses if a new employee quits?

08/22/2008
Q. Our company plans to hire a manager who will move to North Carolina from out of state. We will pay her moving expenses. Can we recoup those payments if she quits after moving here? …