Family Law

• Adoption

Criminal Law

• Robbery

Business and Corporate Law

• Trade Secrets
• Unfair Competition
  Although an employer has a legitimate interest in protecting his trade secrets as well as his confidential business information and customer relationships, an employer “has no legitimate interest in preventing competition as such....” See Whitmyer Bros., 58 N.J. at 33. "[I]n cases where the employer’s interests do not rise to the level of a proprietary interest deserving of judicial protection, a court will conclude that a restrictive covenant merely stifles competition and therefore is unenforceable." See Ingersoll-Rand Company v. Ciavatta, 110 N.J. 609, 635 (1988) (citing Whitmyer, 58 N.J. at 35). See also Mailman, Ross, Toyes and Shapiro v. Edelson, 183 N.J. Super 434 (Ch. Div. 1982) (denying plaintiff accounting firm’s request for a preliminary injunction seeking enforcement of a restrictive covenant against its former employee, in the absence of some showing either that defendant engaged in unfair competition amounting to tortious conduct).

Employment Law

• Workers Compensation
  New Jersey law prohibits an employer from retaliating against an employee because the employee suffers an injury on the job and files a worker’s compensation claim. This type of claim is known as a common law claim for violation of public policy and allows the employee to sue to recover damages when they have been the victim of retaliation for having been injured on the job or having filed a worker’s compensation claim against the employer.
• Wrongful Termination
  The Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA) forbids an employer from retaliating against an employee due to the employee’s complaint, objection to, or reporting of the employer’s engagement in an illegal activity or an activity that violates public policy. CEPA was enacted to protect employees who report unethical or illegal activities in the workplace from an adverse employment action. The statute of limitations for a CEPA claim is one year, which is shorter than the limitations period for many other claims. The limitations period runs from the date of the adverse employment action that was taken in retaliation for reporting the employer’s prohibited activity. Therefore, an employee who believes that they may have been subjected to retaliation should immediately seek legal advice from an experienced labor and employment attorney such as the Law Offices of Gregory S. Schaer. Wrongful Termination / Wrongful Discharge
• Employment Discrimination
  Employees are protected from discrimination under state and federal laws. Specifically, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees from discrimination based on their race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Additionally, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Equal Pay Act prohibit discrimination based on a person’s age, disability, or gender. The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) provides much broader protections than the federal statutes. In addition to the classes protected by the federal statutes, the LAD prohibits discrimination based on a person’s creed, ancestry, pregnancy, sexual orientation, familial status, and several other enumerated traits. If an employer takes an adverse action against an employee based on his or her membership in a class protected by the LAD or the federal statutes, an employment attorney in New Jersey such as the Law Offices of Gregory S. Schaer can properly assess the claim and provide experienced legal representation. Workplace Harassment
• Employment Contract
  New Jersey is an “at-will” employment state. In other words, an employer can fire an employee at any time, with or without cause. Similarly, an employee can terminate the employment relationship at his or her discretion. There are some exceptions to this general rule, however, such as in cases in which there are statutory or contractual restrictions. Additionally, an employer cannot fire an employee for reasons that violate New Jersey or federal anti-discrimination laws. If you believe that you lost your job due to an improper reason, an employment attorney in New Jersey can bring a claim against your employer. Employment Contracts
• Employment Litigation
  Cases in New Jersey involving workplace rights, employment discrimination based on a person’s creed, ancestry, pregnancy, sexual orientation, familial status, and other enumerated traits including age, race, religion, disability, pregnancy, or gender, harassment, hostile work environment, sexual harassment, retaliation, whistleblowing, and other employment issues are particularly complex and require an aggressive and experienced advocate. An employment attorney in New Jersey such as Gregory S. Schaer can properly assess the claim and provide experienced legal representation.
• Non-compete Agreement
  In certain fields, an employer will ask an employee to sign a non-compete agreement or a non-solicitation agreement, also known as restrictive covenants, which limits the employee’s right to work for other employers. Although non-compete agreements (restrictive covenants) are not favored by the New Jersey courts, they are enforceable if they are reasonable. Whether an agreement will be deemed reasonable will depend upon many different factors including the duration, geographic scope and other issues including whether the agreement would impose an undue hardship on the employee, whether the agreement would cause public harm, and whether the agreement is limited to protecting the employer's legitimate interests. If you have been asked to sign a non-compete agreement, non-solicitation agreement or restrictive covenant, you should consult an employment lawyer in New Jersey to review the contract and assess whether the terms are reasonable. Unemployment Compensation Benefits
• Severance Agreement
  The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that provides covered employees with the right to take up to 12 weeks off from work per year due to a serious health condition, a serious health condition of a spouse, child, or parent, or the birth or adoption of a child. Similarly, the New Jersey Family Leave Act (FLA) grants certain employees the right to take up to 12 weeks of family leave per each 24-month period. The FLA does not permit employees to take leave for their own serious health conditions, however. In addition to the state and federal laws that provide protection for sick employees, most employees have a right to accrue up to 40 hours of earned sick leave per year under New Jersey’s Earned Sick Leave Law. If an employer takes retaliatory action against an employee for exercising their right to family leave or using sick days, a New Jersey employment lawyer such as the Law Offices of Gregory S. Schaer can help them pursue a claim. Severance Agreements
• Sexual Harassment
  Sexual harassment is one of the most common issues that affect employees in the workplace. While sexual harassment often involves explicit sexual advances, any harassment based on a person’s gender constitutes sexual harassment. Employees are also frequently harassed due to their age, race, or religious practices. Sexual harassment or other harassment based on a protected characteristic is actionable when it is so pervasive and severe that it creates a hostile work environment. Retaliation and Whistleblowing

Health Law

• Social Security Disability
• Disability Discrimination
  Handicap or disability discrimination can involve adverse action against an employee on account of their medical condition such as terminating an employee while they are out of work on disability or on a medical leave of absence or worker’s compensation due to a work related injury. These situations can also involve an employer taking disciplinary action against an employee as a result of actions that were caused by an underlying psychiatric or physical medical condition. In addition, employers are subject to liability for participating in and/or creating a hostile work environment or harassing an employer on account of their medical condition or disability.