Congratulations, you got the job! Your happy news, however, was accompanied by an employment agreement. You’re supposed to sign it and return it to HR immediately. Should you be concerned? Here’s what you need to know to put your mind at ease.

In recent years, New Jersey has taken the lead in working to reduce discrimination, especially in the workplace. Recent legislation has gone above and beyond the basic protections of the New Jersey law against discrimination (NJLAD), proving protections that encourage diversity and seek to reduce more subtle expressions of race discrimination in workplaces.

As states start to gradually reopen businesses and encourage service providers to return to work, many employees with underlying health issues are worried. Especially in industries that involve a lot of contact with the public or where employees work in close quarters, it may be impossible to maintain the levels of social distancing that the CDC recommends.

In 2010, New Jersey passed the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act (“CUMMA”) and became the 14th state to allow its residents to use marijuana medicinally.[1] The initial implementation of the Act did not, however, provide protection to medical marijuana users from being terminated based on their marijuana use or medicinal user status.

For pregnant women in the workplace, discrimination can take the form of being fired, demoted, or never hired in the first place. Many times, however, it can also take more subtle forms. Here are a few less obvious ways pregnancy discrimination can affect workers.

Many employees are asked by their employer, either at the time of their hire or sometime during their employment, to sign an arbitration agreement. This can be a stand-alone agreement or a clause in an employment contract or handbook. Such an agreement asks the employee to agree that if they have a grievance with their employer, they will settle the dispute using binding arbitration rather than litigation. On one hand, arbitration is typically cheaper and resolves disputes more quickly than going to court, which can be very expensive and take months or even years to conclude. On the other hand, an employee who agrees to resolve any disputes using binding arbitration often gives up their rights to what may be more lucrative, more equitable, or more just compensation through the legal system. 

Whether you’re shopping for holiday gifts, struggling through end-of-year doctor’s appointments, or picking up dinner, you will likely find yourself slogging across a wintery parking lot in the next few months. Since many parking lots are commercial property (such as those for shopping malls, offices, and other retail establishments), you may be able to receive compensation if you slip, fall, and suffer injuries.

Formerly limited to high-level corporate employees, non-compete agreements are becoming a standard part of the pre-employment or onboarding packet for an increasing number of workers. In some situations, these contracts—also called “restrictive covenants”—can provide benefits for both an individual and their employer. However, companies often issue these restrictive covenants without negotiation to lower-wage and lower-level employees, for whom they provide little benefit and a potentially significant burden. How can you tell whether a non-competition agreement will be valuable or detrimental to your situation?

There’s a chill in the air, the faint strains of too-early holiday music, and store windows festooned with wintry scenes: winter is here, and snowy conditions are just around the corner. As commuters and shoppers struggle through parking lots and sidewalks piled with snow and ice, some accidents are bound to happen. If you are injured in a slip-and-fall occurrence, do you know where to turn for compensation? 

One of a new employee’s typical first tasks is to read through and complete a stack of paperwork: tax forms, employee handbooks, and other documents. More and more frequently, one of these forms is a non-compete agreement. You may wonder what this document means, how it alters your legal rights and career opportunities, and if your employer can require that you sign it.