Law Offices of Usmaan Sleemi

The United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) can now provide certain benefits to Federal employees or annuitants even if they are married to same-sex spouses. The benefits are available regardless of the state of residency of the employee or annuitant. According to the Family Medical Leave Act, Federal employees get up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave in 12 months under specified circumstances. If you have questions about the OPM Family Medical Leave Act, contact the Law Offices of Usmaan Sleemi and ask for help.

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 is a federal law that protects the interests of employees. What are employee rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act? The act states that employees cannot lose their jobs in the event of family obligation or serious health problems. In such cases, they can get a maximum of 12 weeks of unpaid leave every year. If your rights are being violated, seek the help of a New Jersey family and medical leave lawyer. If you are looking for a reliable one, contact the Law Office of Usmaan Sleemi and ask for help.

If you are on FMLA leave, your employer should hold the job for you for 12 weeks. If, after 12 weeks, you are still unable to get back to work, they are under no legal obligation to continue holding the position for you. However, different companies have different policies. Some employers may give you up to six months. If your employer does not hold your job for you, you should seek the help of a New Jersey family and medical leave lawyer. If you need one, contact the Law Offices of Usmaan Sleemi and get a free consultation.

You can quit your job even when on medical leave. If, however, you needed the leave because of your employer, you should speak with a New Jersey family and medical leave lawyer. All employees have the right to work in a safe environment. Even though you can resign, the move will reduce the strength of your claim. If you are looking for a family and medical leave lawyer in New Jersey, contact the Law Offices of Usmaan Sleemi today and get the help you need.

Signed into law in 2018, New Jersey's Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act (NJEPA) requires equality of pay across the full range of protected categories. Under the law, it is illegal for employers that are covered by the law to pay employees in a protected class less than those outside the class when both groups perform “substantially similar” work. If a pay disparity exists within a position, then employers must be able to justify it on the grounds of a merit system, a seniority system, or other bona fide factors, such as education, training, or professional experience. Employees who were improperly denied fair and equal pay under the NJEPA may be entitled to back pay and, in many cases, treble damages. If you have any questions or concerns about your rights to equal pay under state or federal law, contact an experienced New Jersey equal pay lawyer for immediate assistance.

Reporting sexual harassment—whether it is done formally or informally—is a protected activity under both the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. In other words, you have a right to report sexual harassment and to file a complaint without facing any adverse employment action from your employer. You cannot be fired simply for reporting sexual harassment. Similarly, you cannot be terminated for supporting another employee’s sexual harassment claim. Anti-workplace retaliation laws provide considerable legal protection to workers who engage in protected activities. If you or your loved one was fired for reporting sexual harassment on the job or if you faced any other type of adverse employment action for filing a claim, it is imperative that you consult with an experienced New Jersey sexual harassment attorney as soon as possible. You may be able to file a sexual harassment and/or workplace retaliation claim against your employer.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that provides important protections to employees. If you are covered by the FMLA, your employer cannot terminate you simply because you took medical leave. FMLA is job-protected. That being said, employers covered by the FMLA can terminate workers if the reason is wholly unrelated to their taking of medical leave. If you or your loved one was terminated for taking medical leave, contact an experienced New Jersey employment discrimination lawyer for immediate assistance.

Under regulations enforced by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), unions owe their members a “duty of fair representation.” Should a labor union handle contract negotiations in an incompetent or negligent manner, the affected employees may be able to hold them accountable through a lawsuit. These are especially complex legal claims. If you are considering filing a lawsuit against a labor union for incompetence in contract negotiations, you should contact an experienced New Jersey employment law attorney right away.

The term severance pay refers to the compensation and benefits an employee receives after leaving a company. As a general matter, severance pay is offered in exchange for a benefit to the employer. For example, the employee who receives severance pay may be asked to agree not to litigate against the company. Before signing a severance agreement, employees need to be sure they are getting a fair deal. If you have any specific questions about severance pay or severance agreements, an experienced New Jersey employment law attorney can help.

A severance package is essentially a contract between an employee and their company. Generally, the employee is offered compensation for an involuntary job loss in exchange for giving up certain legal rights. Most notably, severance agreements typically include a condition that stops the employee from suing the employer. You should not accept a severance package until you are certain that the agreement is in your best interest. If you have questions or concerns about a severance package, contact an experienced New Jersey employment law attorney for immediate assistance.

Are you considering blowing the whistle on your employer, but you are not 100 percent certain that your suspicions of misconduct are correct? If so, you should understand your rights under state and federal regulations: you do not have to be correct in order to get whistleblower protections. Instead, you merely need to make disclosures in ‘good faith’ and with a ‘reasonable belief’ that your disclosures are substantially true. Before you move forward, it is advisable to set up a fully confidential consultation with a New Jersey employment law attorney.

As important as it is, blowing the whistle on an employer is not easy. Sadly, in far too many cases, whistleblowers face unlawful retaliation from their employer. After disclosing your concerns internally or reporting possible misconduct to the authorities, you could be subject to adverse employment, including termination. To be clear, this is illegal. Companies cannot punish whistleblowers. If you believe that your whistleblower rights were violated in any manner, please contact an experienced New Jersey employment lawyer immediately.

Once the agreement is signed and the paperwork is submitted, you should receive severance pay relatively quickly — perhaps in as little as a week or two. That being said, you should not rush into a severance agreement. Severance pay can be negotiated. Employees are not required to accept their company’s initial terms. You deserve a fair severance package that adequately protects your legal rights and financial interests. Be sure to review the contents with an experienced New Jersey employment law attorney.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides eligible employees an opportunity to take up to three months of unpaid leave to deal with a serious medical issue or a qualifying family emergency. The primary objective of this law is to provide employees who take leave with the ability to return to their previous position without facing any adverse consequences from their supervisor or their employer. FMLA leave is fully job-protected. If you were denied leave or you were fired for taking leave, your rights under the FMLA may have been violated. An experienced New Jersey employment law attorney can help.

Gossip and rumors can often have an effect on one’s employment opportunities and overall work experience. Your first step should be to report the rumors (and whom you believe to be spreading them) to your office’s HR department. If the problem doesn’t stop, you may have a discrimination claim if the rumors are retaliatory in nature (is your employer spreading rumors because you exercised a protected right?) or if you are being harassed based on your race, religion, gender, disability, or other characteristic protected in the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination and the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. You should consult with a New Jersey employment attorney for a free consultation.

New Jersey has passed a law banning pay secrecy, so your company’s policy is probably ineffective. The law explicitly protects discussing salaries for the purpose of trying to investigate discrimination in pay or other compensation. If your employer retaliates against you for discussing salary, then you can bring a lawsuit against your employer for compensation. Of course, the law will not protect you if you discuss pay for other reasons. Rather than risk losing your job, consult with a New Jersey employment attorney.

Under New Jersey state labor regulations, employers are not required to provide employees with bereavement leave. However, many companies in our state do offer such leave. If you have questions or concerns about bereavement leave, you should first consult with your employer’s company handbook. If you cannot find an answer to your question or if you believe that you were improperly denied leave in violation of your company’s policies, an experienced New Jersey employment law attorney will protect your rights.

Freelancers lack many of the job protections as other employers. For example, certain federal anti-discrimination laws do not apply to freelancers, so you will not be able to bring discrimination or harassment suits under these laws. As an example, neither the American with Disabilities Act or Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protect freelancers. However, you might have certain rights under your freelance contract. You should review it and consult with a New Jersey employment attorney for more information.

Flirting is typically innocent behavior that does not constitute workplace sexual harassment; however, if the event that flirting turns into an unwelcome sexual advance that “explicitly or implicitly affects an individual’s employment,” creates a hostile work environment, or interferes with that individual’s work performance, it could constitute harassment. If you believe that you are a victim of sexual harassment that stems from flirting, and if your work environment has been negatively affected as such, consult with a New Jersey employment attorney to learn more about your rights.