Legal Question in Business Law in New Jersey

Re: Two weeks notice??

A lawyer could have a lot of fun litigating that question. There are several issues and no clear answer.

It is "legal" for the company to change its handbook any way that it wants. The question is whether the change that you report is binding on you. Let's look at a scenario. Suppose that you are working without a written contract. You give two weeks notice and leave. The company refuses to pay severance benefits because you did not give the two months notice required in the manual. In court, your lawyer would argue that the manual is not a contract and, even if it is, it does not bind you because there was no additional consideration given at the time the manual was changed. If there was a severance policy in place at the time you were employed and you knew about it, this may be a winning argument. The company will argue that you can't have it both ways; either the notice provisions and severance policy stand together or not at all.

On the information that you have provided, I think that the equities are on your side. Adding a two month notice requirement seems to be an important restriction for which the company should have given something of value. It does not appear that they have covered themselves in that regard.

As an interesting sidepoint, the manual might operate to guarantee you two months pay if the company terminates you.

Keep copies of the old and new manuals in case you need them at a later time.