Many employees do not realize that employers in New Jersey may have the right to regulate and prohibit personal lifestyle choices after work and during their private time unless the conduct falls within a clear cut constitutional privacy protection or meets a clear mandate of public policy protecting private lifestyle choices.  Generally, the prohibited conduct relates to extramarital affairs, romantic relationships among co-workers, free speech, smoking bans and other private lifestyle choices.    All employers and employees are cautioned that the scope of the prohibited conduct will be closely reviewed by the Courts in New Jersey.   New Jersey seems to follow (as customary) its own thoughts on permissible versus unpermissible conduct. 

In a leading case, the Court has indicated that while an employer is free to discharge an employee at will, the general rule must yield when an employer Aacts contrary to public policy in accordance with the leading New Jersey case of Pierce vs. Ortho@.  

Questions about what may or may not be permissible versus dischargable private behavior by an employer?  Lauren Bercik, Esq. handles the firm’s employment related issues.  She can be contacted at lbercik@hnlawfirm.com.

For more information on Employment Law, click here:

A recent lawsuit filed by a law enforcement employee who failed to disclose his expunged convictions does not prohibit him from pursuing a workplace discrimination complaint against his employer for workplace harassment but the evidence of the convictions could be used to limit or potentially reduce economic damages.   In a widely anticipated decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court, the Court has ruled that even intentional withholdings of information by prospective employees which are later discovered by the employer is not a defense available to the employer if the employee is able to establish workplace violations actionable under the Law Against Discrimination (LAD).  The Court did rule however, that the evidence of the withheld information prior to employment could (if relevant and material to the outcome to the issues in dispute) serve as a basis for the employer to totally or partially avoid economic damages depending on the particular facts of the case.   This decision clarifies earlier court decisions relating to employees bringing actions against employers knowing that they had previously failed to disclose otherwise material and important information about their private life.   

For more information on this decision, contact Lauren Bercik, Esq. at lbercik@hnlawfirm.com

Generally, at-will employees can be fired for any reason or no reason.  There are several statutory exceptions to the at-will employment rule though.  For example, at-will employees generally cannot be terminated because of their age, race, sex, religion, disability, for taking a qualified medical leave, for objecting to a polygraph test as a condition of employment, for serving on a jury, for fulfilling military duties if employed by the military, or merely for having a criminal conviction. 

A. Contracts

Employees may also have legal recourse if they had a contract for employment that was breached by their employer (or are part of a union).  Even in the absence of an express contract, there are rare occasions when an employer’s handbook (or other documents) may create contract rights.
 
B. Public Policy Exceptions

Employers are not permitted to terminate employees if the termination will violate important and established public policies.  For example, state and federal employees cannot be terminated for making or refusing to make certain statements of public concern.  In many situations, it is also generally illegal to terminate or punish an employee for seeking worker’s compensation or unemployment compensation, for reporting safety violations in the workplace, and for refusing to engage in or commit a crime.
 
The above information does not represent an inclusive or a complete list of grounds for wrongful termination.  Many state laws, such as New Jersey’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act, provide far broader protections to at-will employees.