Blog

July 3, 2014

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed suit against the United Health Programs of America (and its parent company, Cost Containment Group) for violating its employees’ religious and civil rights. The company allegedly forced its workers to pray to thank God for their jobs, and then required they all say “I love you” to managers and co-workers. Anyone who protested was fired, according to the complaint filed by the EEOC. This unusual policy was known as the Onionhead doctrine, and was created by the aunt of the company’s owner. According to the EEOC’s complaint, many…

June 26, 2014

With the amount of time Americans spend at work on a weekly basis, there’s no surprise when office relationships spring up. According a 2013 CareerBuilder.com survey, 39 percent of workers admitted to having an office fling at least once. It would certainly be nice if every office romance ended in a great, fulfilling and long-lasting relationship. However, for myriad reasons, that’s unlikely. In fact, the opposite usually occurs, leaving people hurt and disgruntled. Further, when romance sparks up at the office, there are some legal risks for both employees and employers. We have offices by appointment…

June 20, 2014

Preventing a crash with a truck is the responsibility of both truck drivers and operators of other vehicles. Most of us get a little nervous when we are driving next to a truck going 65 miles per hour on the highway, and rightly so. Being on the wrong side of a truck crash could mean severe personal injuries, extreme damage to property and a potential untimely death. It’s all about defensive driving. Many vehicle operators get stubborn with their driving habits and fail to adjust to the limited maneuverability, performance capabilities and braking of a truck.

June 13, 2014

The summer is officially less than two weeks away and yet there have already been at least nine children who have died after being left alone in a hot car. If you follow the trends set in recent years past, that number is surely to rise, according to the National Safety Council. Since 1998, according to research by San Francisco State University’s Department of Geosciences, there have been an estimated 615 heatstroke deaths suffered by children left in hot cars. That’s an average of 38 deaths per year, with more than half of the children dying under age two.

June 5, 2014

One hundred NJ police departments that bought defective bulletproof vests are about to receive a share of $173,780, stemming from a manufacturer who filed for bankruptcy a decade ago. Many years before Second Chance Body Armor Inc. went out of business and declared bankruptcy, their Zylon-based vests were said to “have the potential to put police officers’ lives at risk,” according to NJ Acting Attorney General John J Hoffman. The divisions of Law and Consumer Affairs obtained an order from U.S. Bankruptcy Court in  August 2013 for the distribution of funds. They have recently received a payment and…

May 29, 2014

When you make the decision to retain an attorney, it’s most likely because you’ve gotten into a legal situation you can’t handle on your own. How do you know that your lawyer performed their duties to the best of their abilities? What do you do if you think they have made your situation worse instead of better? People who hire a lawyer have a right to expect a reasonable standard of care commonly associated with others who practice law. If your lawyer performs at a level lower than that, you may have a case of legal…

May 22, 2014

NJ high school and college interns as well as other young aspiring professionals working in New York City will now have the same anti-discrimination and harassment protections as all employees. On April 15, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio signed a bill protecting unpaid interns in NYC from sexual harassment and workplace discrimination. This was a clarification of the law, spurred by the case of Lihuan Wang. Wang was a former unpaid intern for Phoenix Satellite Television. She sued after allegedly being harassed by her supervisor. However, her case was thrown out by Judge Kevin Castel, who said…

May 15, 2014

If you’re one of the thousands of New Jersey residents who are unemployed and still looking for a job, the State Senate delivered you some good news on Monday, May 12. A bill prohibiting employers from using employment status as a condition of hiring passed through the state senate, 23-13, moving it on to the Assembly. Under bill-S1440, employers would be permitted to inquire about potential employees’ work history and why they were fired or left the job, but it cannot factor into their hiring decision. Employers would also be allowed to limit job searches to…

May 8, 2014

A Woodbridge personal injury law firm has been thrust into the news after it fired an employee who suffered a panic attack during lunch. Now the woman, Laura Springvloed, is suing her former employers for lost wages, court fees, attorneys’ fees, compensatory damages, consequential damages, and punitive damages. According to the lawsuit, Springvloed claims she had anxiety problems which worsened following a surgery to remove a mass from her breast. On Feb. 22, 2013, she suffered a panic attack during lunch. She texted her boss, saying: “I’m not coming back. I’m physically shaking and suffering inside.

April 29, 2014

As the weather warms up around the country, construction projects will begin to pop up all over, and with that comes an increased threat of injuries. Working on a construction site is one of the most dangerous occupations in the country, with thousands of injuries every year, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The fatal injury rate for the construction industry is higher than the national average and it’s because of the inherent nature of the business. Construction workers are in danger of falls, trench and scaffolding collapses, electrocution, repetitive motion injuries and caught…