Employment Law
Employment Contracts and Employee Handbooks
Employees find themselves facing an overwhelming array of considerations during negotiations for their employment. Employment law attorneys can help an employee, whether a new recruit or a seasoned executive, sift through the complex terminology, laws, and regulations relevant to his or her employment and successfully negotiate a beneficial employment contract.
Our firm regularly assists employers and employees in connection with employment contracts due to new employment, confidentiality agreements, covenants not to compete, employee handbooks, severance agreements, and other employment-related matters or disputes. Contact us if you have an employment issue or are in need of the drafting, review and/or negotiation of an employment agreement or restrictive agreements, to ensure you are well represented and protected.
Employment “at will”
Most employees who are not under an employment contract or in a union, are considered employees “at will.” The “at will” doctrine permits an employer to terminate one’s employment for any reason or no reason at all. Just as employees at will can quit a job for any reason without notice, an employer is free to fire an employee at any time. However, the law carves out certain protected classes, that if one has proof they were terminated by virtue of falling into one of these class, the employer has broken the law. In such instances, employees are afforded certain remedies under the law to compensate for the employer’s wrongdoing.
Employment Discrimination
The Civil Rights Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, and state law protect employees from discriminatory treatment on the basis of one’s race, sex, sexual orientation, color, religion, national origin, age, and disability. Further, an employee is afforded protection from retaliation for refusing to engage in discrimination or reporting discriminatory conduct. Employers who take adverse employment actions, including, but not limited to, firing an employee, reducing one’s pay, failing to hire, and failing to promote on the basis of any of these protected class, are in violation of the law. An employer is also under an affirmative obligation to prevent a hostile work environment free from discrimination.
If you feel you have been subjected to unlawful discrimination in the workplace, please contact Stuckert and Yates at 215.968.4700 to discuss your options with one of our experienced employment lawyers.
1. Race Discrimination
Often, employees are not aware of certain protections afforded under both federal and state law. Race discrimination in the workplace occurs when an employee is treated differently or harassed on the basis of their race, color, or national origin. This also includes situations where employers take tangible employment actions against individuals on the basis of their race such as failing to hire, firing, demoting, and failing to promote or provide advancement opportunities. Racial slurs, derogatory statements, or other verbal or physical conduct based on the employee’s race constitutes unlawful harassment, if this conduct creates a hostile work environment wherein the conduct interferes with the employee’s job performance.
2. Sex Discrimination
Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and both PA and NJ state law, an employee is protected from a hostile work environment and discriminatory treatment on the basis of their gender. These laws cover workplace harassment, including sexual harassment, equal pay, pregnancy discrimination, sexual orientation discrimination and parental status discrimination. Employers are required to establish policies and practices that equally treat both male and female employees. Additionally, employers are required to provide employees with channels to report harassment in the workplace and must take action to prevent this harassment.
If you have fallen victim to sexual harassment or sex discrimination in the workplace, consult with one of our attorneys to understand your rights.
3. Religious Discrimination
An employee is afforded certain protections from discrimination on the basis of their religion. Religious discrimination occurs when an employee is treated differently because of their religion, religious practices, and/or requests for accommodations based on their religious practices. If one can establish that the employer was aware of his or her religious beliefs or practices and was treated differently, the employee may be entitled to certain remedies under federal and state law.
4. Age Discrimination
Employers regularly discriminate against individuals over the age of 40 when hiring, promoting, or offering certain employee benefits. Similarly, when companies terminate employees and implement reductions in force, often it is the older employees who are the first to be demoted and fired. Unfortunately, many individuals are not aware of their rights and do not realize they may be victims of age discrimination. Age related commentary, jokes, questions related to when an employee intends to retire, or preferential treatment for similarly situated, younger individuals may be evidence of unlawful age discrimination.
5. Disability Discrimination
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) bars employers from discriminating against employees with qualified disabilities in the hiring process, firing, and advancement opportunities. A qualified individual is an employee with a disability who, with or without a reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the job title. Once an employer is on notice of an individual’s disability, the employer must engage in the interactive process in determining a reasonable accommodation for the employee. This accommodation is one that does not impose an undue hardship on the employer’s business. An undue hardship is one that the employer can show requires considerable difficulty or expense. The law prohibits employers from discriminating against qualified employees based on their disability. This law also protects against employees perceiving that an individual has a disability as well as discriminating against individuals for the care of a close loved one with a disability.
Far too often employees do not understand the protections they are afforded when they have a disability. If you feel you have been the victim of disability discrimination, please give us a call at 215.968.4700.
Retaliation
Just as discriminatory conduct in the workplace is illegal, an employer is barred from retaliating against an employee in the workplace. An employer may not take tangible adverse employment action against an employee if that employee reports and/or refuses to engage in wrongful, illegal, or discriminatory activity. It is also unlawful for an employer to create a hostile work environment, wherein the employee is afraid from making complaints because they fear retaliation.
If you feel you have been retaliated against by your employer, contact us at 215.968.4700 for a consultation to discuss your rights.
Severance Agreements
A severance agreement specifies the terms of an employee’s separation from an employer. The agreement will establish the amount of severance pay and the manner in which the former employee will be paid. Often, the agreement will include confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses, and restrictions, including restrictive covenants and non-competes. These provisions will cause the former employee to waive certain rights as against the employer in exchange for the severance pay.
It is crucial that when presented with a severance agreement, the employee takes the time to review the agreement with an employment lawyer as, often, employees will blindly forgo claims as against their employer in exchange for seemingly convenient severance pay. Employees may also fall victim to overly broad restrictions that limit their future employment opportunities. In having an experienced attorney review and/or negotiate your severance agreement, you will be aware of your rights and what you are waiving in signing what is often a lengthy document. Further, you will be aware of the restrictions you will be under in seeking subsequent employment.
At Stuckert and Yates, our employment attorneys are here to provide you with a clear understanding of your severance agreement.
