The law has been clear for a long time: an employer's well-stated anti-discrimination policy is not enough if it exists in name only.  But now a federal jury in New York has rendered a verdict against Novartis that snagged every defense lawyer's attention.  In a class-action claim for discrimination against women, the jury awarded $250 million in punitive damages.  While the 12 named plaintiffs got $3.3 million in damages for lost pay and emotional distress, the upcoming award for the class of millions of women employed by Novartis could top $1 billion -- with a B.

The jury apparently believed that Novartis' written policy was not enough -- it failed to enforce its policy and openly tolerated discrimination by its managers.  Novartis might have had a special program for grooming women managers and it may have fired a sexist manager in response to employee complaints, but the jury didn't see that as enough.  The 12 women testified to a corporate culture that was insensitive to working women.  For example. while the company had a generous maternity leave policy, many managers pressured women not to actually use their maternity leave.  The closing statement of Novartis' lawyer may have highlighted the plaintiffs' argument that Novartis is insensitive to women.  He called them "overly emotional, lying, hysterical women."  He berated another women for crying on the witness stand.  Finally, he referred to another witness as, no joke, the "little blond that came up here from Texas."

Dated: August 9, 2010

Did you sign a non-compete agreement with your employer when you started the job and now want to knave the company? You are not alone. Most employees sign non-compete agreements without consulting with an employment attorney. You are bound by the terms if the non-compete agreement, but there are still some options.

First, the non-compete agreement may not be legally valid in your state. Second, you may be able to negotiate with your employer to release you from the non-compete or reduce the terms. Third, the non-compete may contain language that will actually allow you to work for a competitor. Please contact our NJ non-compete lawyers to review your non-compete agreement. We can help advise you on your decision to accept a new job offer. We can also help negotiate with your employer to either release you from the non-compete or change the terms.

Dated: May 24, 2010 - Castronovo & McKinney, LLC - NJ Non-Compete Lawyers

Tips regarding Severance Offered the Day of Your Termination

Employers sometimes offer severance packages to the employee during a termination meeting. Most employer's allow the employee to take the severance agreement home to review and let the termination settle in before the employee makes a decision regarding severance.  However, some employers request that the employee sign the severance agreement on the spot without the employee having the ability to thoroughly review the severance package and discuss it with their attorney, accountant or spouse.  In situations like that, we receommend the following:  (1) stay calm during the termination meeting; (2) don't sign anything and ask that you be able to take severance agreement home to think about it; (3) ask your employer how much time you have to get back to them regarding the severance agreement; and (4) contact an employment lawyer to discuss the terms of the agreement and help you negotiate better terms.

Dated: May 22, 2010 - Castronovo & McKinney, LLC

New Jersey employment law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for an employees disability.  An employer is required to accommodate a disability unless it would impose an an undue hardship on the operation of the business.  New Jersey Law  requires an employer to make a "reasonable accommodation to the limitations of an employee ... who is a person with a disability."  An employer can be excused from making the accommodation if the disabled employee  cannot perform the essential function of the job even with reasonable accommodation.

If your employer has denied you an accomodation or if you were terminated as a result of your disability, please contact our NJ Disability Discrimination lawyers for a free consultation.

Dated: May 19, 2010 - Castronovo & McKinney