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

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

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

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

2. Don’t File A Complaint With the DCR or EEOC Without a Lawyer. Contact an employment lawyer to discuss whether you should file with the DCR or EEOC.  You are not required to file with either the DCR or EEOC in New Jersey pursuant to the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.

3. Hire An Employment Law Specialist. Selecting the right lawyer is very difficult and you should consult with a couple of attorneys before making your decision.  During your selection process, you should determine whether the lawyer is a specialist or a generalist.  For example, does the lawyer handle multiple different practice areas or does the lawyer focus on only employment law.  Employment law is a very specialized field and requires a significant amount of knowledge regarding the facets of changing case law and statutes.

Dated: May 18, 2010 - Castronovo & McKinney, LLC - NJ Employment Lawyers

Dated: May 13, 2010 - Castronovo & McKinney

An employee in a retaliation lawsuit in NJ must show the following in order to win the case:

1. The employee (a) opposed or complained harassment, discrimination or any other act that is protected by NJ’s Law Against Discrimination; or (b) filed a complaint alleging a violation of NJ’s Law Against Discrimination; or (c) the assisted as a witness for someone else filing a complaint alleging a violation of NJ’s Law Against Discrimination.
2. The employee must demonstrate that he or she was retaliated against after complaining about the harassment or assisting with another employee’s complaint; and
3. The termination, suspension or other action taken against the employee was related to the complaining about the harassment or assistance with another employee’s complaint.

If you believe that you have been the victim of retaliation in New Jersey, please call us for a free consultation to discuss you potential case.

Dated: May 10, 2010 – Castronovo & McKinney

The Wage Laws have set forth the following test to determine whether you are an employee or an intern and entitled to the pay and benefits by the employer:

1. The internship is similar to an educational environment and provides training (most critical);
2. The internship is for the benefit of the intern and not the employer;
3. The intern is closely supervised by the employer;
4. The intern does not replace the job of an employee;
5. The employer does not guarantee employment at the end of the internship; and
6. The employer and intern understand that the intern is not entitled to wages.

The employer must meet all 6 of these requirements in order to have an unpaid intern.  Keep in mind that this test is for “for-profit” businesses and does not apply to “non-profit” charitable organizations.

This test is very fact specific and you should contact us for a free consultation to determine whether you are entitled to wages and overtime as part of your unpaid internship.

Dated: May 7, 2010 – Castronovo & McKinney – Wage Laws

If you file a lawsuit against your employer in New Jersey, you should file under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.  You may be entitled to receive your back pay (the amount of pay lost from the time you suffered an adverse employment act and the date that a verdict is reached), front pay (pay to cover the amount of money lost going forward), emotional distress damages for your pain and suffering), punitive damages against the employer for the involvement of upper-level management of their intent, interest and attorneys fees and costs.

Dated: May 7, 2010 - Castronovo & McKinney - NJ Discrimination Lawyer

Employees are not entitled to overtime pay if they perform high-level work involving independent judgment.  Each job is different and it is important that an Overtime Lawyer discuss the requirements of your job and evaluate whether you are entitled to overtime pay based on the wage laws.  Keep in mind though as an easy reference, the exemptions from overtime pay are commonly referred to "white-collar exemptions."  The intent of the exemptions is to exempt white-collar employees from the wage laws requirement for overtime pay.  Whereas, a blue-collar job would not be exempt from overtime.

The first step in this evaluation is to look at the primary duty of your job.  What do you do the most?  What is the most important part of your job?  If your primary job duty fits into an exemption, you will not be entitled to overtime.  Please contact us if you believe you may be entitled to overtime pay based on the wage laws.  We can help you recover the overtime pay you are owed.

Dated: May 7, 2010 - Castronovo & McKinney - Wage Laws in NJ