New Jersey Employment Lawyer Blog

It looks like a group of lawyers from the State of New Jersey may need some advice from an employment lawyer. A former associate lawyer from the law firm of Levinson Axelrod has launched a website to trash his former employer. The former associate uses the domain name www.levinsonaxelrod.net to trash talk the partners at his former firm. The Levenson Firm uses www.levinsonaxelrod.com for its website. New Jersey Lawyer Edward Harrington Heyburn claims that he was willing to risk litigation at the time he started his website that badmouths his former partners at the New Jersey law firm of Levinson Axelrod.

The New Jersey Law Journal says that Levinson Axelrod has retained their own attorney. According to the New Jersey Law Journal, Levenson hired Thomas Cafferty of Scarinci Hollenbeck in Lyndhurst. Levinson's lawyer plans to file suit shortly over Heyburn's website.

How could this have been avoided? The answer is simple if you ask a New Jersey employment lawyer. Levinson should have realized the potential damage a former associate lawyer can create when leaving a firm. Had the Levinson Firm offered Mr. Harrington a modest severance, the Firm could have obtained a standard non-disparagement clause in the severance agreement. Any violation of the clause could have been stopped by way of an injunction. I guess an ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of gold"

I recently read an article on how firms handle layoffs. The article made the point that there is no uniform procedure amongst employers for laying off employees. Employers are often puzzled when faced with the dilemma of having to engage in a mass layoff, whether it's 5, 50 or 500 employees. So what does an employer do?

In New Jersey, employment lawyers are quite busy these days fielding calls and providing advice on how to handle layoffs. As a preliminary matter, all employers have to be mindful of the WARN Act which imposes penalties and civil liability for failing to give proper notice for a mass layoff. New Jersey has it's own version of the WARN Act which employers must review before laying off employees. But assuming notice is not required under state and federal law, should an employer give notice to the employees. The answer is really up to the employer. This is not an easy question because the employer runs the risk that the service and dedication to the company will not be there if the employee knows that he or she is being terminated. Some employers feel the moral obligation to let the employees know as soon as possible that here jobs at risk. This is where the severance package becomes a useful tool for the employer. An employer can reduce the risk of litigation substantially by offering a severance package and also accomplish the task of compensating the employee for not being able to provide advance notice of the layoff, even if the notice was not legally required, but was more of a moral requirement.

Severance is a hot topic these days in employment law. Is an employee entitled to severance? Ask a New Jersey employment lawyer and the answer will probably be no. There are exceptions such as a contractual agreement with the employer that the employee will receive a severance upon termination, but such agreements are rare and not common amongst the majority of the workforce.

So, without a legal obligation why would an employer offer a severance? The answer is simple. The employer offers the severance in exchange for the employee's release of any and all claims the employee may have against the employer up to the date the severance agreement is executed by the parties. When an employee releases his claims against the employer in exchange for compensation, the employer is virtually guaranteed that the employee cannot sue the employer for claims under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, as well as other employment laws. This provides a level of comfort to the employer.

Quite often, the employee and employer negotiate the terms of the severance depending upon the particular facts leading up to the layoff, termination, or resignation of the employee. The negotiations may include the following: amount of the severance; the continued payment of health benefits; references; the employer's position on whether to oppose unemployment; the offering of job placement services; the employer's position on how to respond to regulatory agencies for a professional position. The terms and conditions are not limited and the parties are generally free to craft an agreement which will leave both parties feeling comfortable about the termination of the relationship.

When looking for new employment a praising reference from a former employer can be critical in the employment search. With the poor economy, and the changing workforce, reference checks are on the rise. There is no mandate in New Jersey employment law that requires a former employer to provide a reference check for a former employee. But what if the former employer negligently gives a bad reference? Under New Jersey employment laws if a former employer gives a reference for a former employee, and is negligent in providing that reference, the employer's conduct is protected by a qualified privilege. Generally speaking, this means that the employer will not be liable to the employee in a defamation lawsuit unless the employer is found to have acted in a reckless manner. This is a high standard for New Jersey employment lawyers to meet.

So what can employee do to protect himself? One thing the employee can do is to negotiate a reference with the former employer. When negotiating a severance agreement, New Jersey employment lawyers typically request that the former employer provide a good reference, or at the very least, a neutral reference upon the request of prospective employers. Most employers are willing to provide the reference.

Of course, there are those times that the employee is not able to negotiate a severance agreement, or the employee fears that the former employer will give a bad reference upon request out of spite or for some other reason. Under these circumstances, the employee does have an option. There are services that will conduct a reference check with your former employer. The reference checks typically run between $70.00 and $100.00 and it might be worth it. If an employee gets a bad reference he may able to contact the employer and request that the employer cease and desist from providing bad references in the future. Most employers will cease and desist from providing bad references in the future out of fear from the exposure of a lawsuit.