New Jersey Wrongful Termination Laws

New Jersey has enacted a number of state statutes supplementing federal wrongful termination and discrimination laws, the most common of which are the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Federal Labor Standards Act of 1938. New Jersey workers have the right, in this “at will” employment state, to quit a job for any reason, and an employer has the right to terminate an employee for any reason except those which are specifically protected in federal and state laws. If an employer illegally terminates an employee, federal and state laws provide guidelines for filing claims and/or lawsuits to obtain the remedies that are available.

New Jersey’s Specific Labor Laws

There are a number of detailed state laws in New Jersey relating to discrimination and wrongful termination, which can be found in the following table:

Benefit	State Law	Additional Benefits
Right to Work	No
State Minimum Wage	$7.25 (tied to federal rate)	Maximum tip credit and minimum wage for tipped employees depends on occupation
State Military Leave	Yes	Unpaid leave for U.S. or state military service; guaranteed reinstatement unless employer’s circumstances change and make it impossible; must apply for reinstatement within 90 days; termination without cause in less than 1 year prohibited; up to 3 months training leave allowed every 4 yeara; employee must apply for reinstatement within 10 days
Jury Duty	Yes	Unpaid leave
Voting	No
Garnishment	Yes	Employer fee of $1 per support payment for child support garnishment; employer penalties prohibited; no number of garnishments specified
State Family & Medical Leave	Yes	Employers with minimum 50 employees covered; eligible employees have 1 year service & at least 1,000 hours in previous 12 months; 12 weeks family leave (24 weeks reduced leave) in 24 months for pregnancy/maternity, childbirth, adoption, or family care for serious condition; family members include domestic partners, parents-in-law (child includes legal wards; parents include those with visitation rights)
Arrest & Conviction Records	Yes	Employers may obtain information on convictions and pending arrests or charges to aid in determining applicant’s qualifications; must provide sufficient time for applicant to challenge, complete, or correct record; cannot presume guilt for pending actions
Discrimination	Yes	For 1 or more employees; age (18 to 70); national origin; disability (past or present, physical or mental); HIV/AIDS; gender; marital status (including domestic partners); pregnancy/childbirth; race; religion; sexual orientation; genetic testing; predisposing genetic characteristics; military service or status; smoker; accompanied by service animal; gender identity
Whistleblower	Yes	Employee must present report to employer or supervisor in order to allow them to correct abuses, except in emergency or when employee faces physical threat or when it is reasonable to assume employer will not correct)
Plant Closings	Yes	Possible plant closing; Department of Labor and other government agencies may assist (and commissioner of commerce may fund) employees in employee ownership plans, especially in economically challenged community

*These laws change often, so consult local statutes for the most up-to-date information.

New Jersey Discrimination Laws

Federal discrimination laws provide the basic protections based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. In addition, New Jersey has added legislation supplementing those laws and providing guidelines for pursing remedies for violations:

Private lawsuits are not preempted by state agency discrimination claims.
Employees in New Jersey are permitted to file private lawsuits for discrimination abuses.
New Jersey employment discrimination victims have the right to recover attorney’s fees in successful lawsuits and claims.
There is a 180-day statute of limitations for agency claims and a 2-year statute of limitations for private lawsuits in employment discrimination cases.

Filing a Claim for Wrongful Termination

An employee may either pursue legal remedies for unlawful termination or discrimination by filing a claim through a state agency or retaining an employee rights attorney to file a private lawsuit. Once the violation has been thoroughly investigated and deemed valid, legal representatives will generally attempt to settle the claim or suit by mediation or conciliation. If those methods fail, the case may go to court, either in the hands of agency lawyers or the employee’s employee rights attorney.

Legal Remedies for Wrongful Termination

Once a claim reaches negotiation or litigation in court, the remedies the employee and their legal representative can pursue are many, although they vary according to the violation, the state laws, and the degree of abuse. Those remedies generally include one or more of the following:

Lost wages
Injunctive relief in the workplace
Punitive damages
Reinstatement of benefits and position
Attorney’s fees and court costs
Compensation for stress and suffering

In addition to the remedies provided for the employee, there are penalties for the employer that violates these laws. Some states have additional penalties to those found in federal laws, and in New Jersey, they include the following:

Jury duty – disorderly person charge with fines of up to $1,000 and/or up to 6 months in jail; may be liable for economic damages, attorney’s fees, and reinstatement

Garnishment – for general garnishment, results in unlawful termination, disorderly person charge, reinstatement and damages; for child support withholding, wrongful termination, liable for fines, civil damages, reinstatement, attorney’s fees, twofold compensatory damages, legal costs, and back pay; for noncompliance with withholding order, liable for fine or amount not withheld, interest, attorney’s fees; for noncompliance with medical support order, liable for children’s medical expenses and all other withholding amounts not collected

Whistleblower – employee can file civil actions up to 1 year after violation to receive injunction, reinstatement, benefits, seniority, lost wages, legal and attorney’s fees, punitive damages, and civil fines of up to $1,000 for first offense and up to $5,000 for repeat offenses

New Jersey employees have several options to pursue reinstatement and compensation for wrongful termination or discrimination in the workplace. State EEOC offices can answer most questions concerning these issues, but if there is a complicated case of employer violations, it may be wise to enlist the counsel of an employee rights lawyer to ensure the rights of the employee are being protected and all of their options for remedies are being explored.