Legal Question in Employment Law in New Jersey

I have been a secretary for over 3 years for a Real Estate firm, full time 40 hours a week, I recently had surgery for radial nerve, ulnar nerve and thumb release, I was told I would be out 6 weeks recovering. I was told by the office manager that his wife would be filling in while I was gone, and I actually trained her. After 4 weeks, I was called by the broker today and told that they made a decision and are "choosing a different path" and keeping "her" full time. I asked am I being fired?

He told me well "not firing, "choosing a different path" ....and that I could use him as a reference and could collect unemployment......I told him I was hurt, and I couldn't believe he was doing this.

Is this legal????? I am only 4 weeks into my disability....and they are firing me to keep the managers wife!


Asked on 3/08/11, 1:17 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Barry Gartenberg Barry F. Gartenberg LLC

Thank you for your LawGuru question. The general rule of employment in NJ is: At-Will. Which means, among other things, an employer may terminate an employee at any time, without prior notice, and for good reason, bad reason, or no reason at all. Furthermore, generally, an employer is not required to �keep a position open� for an employee who misses work due to illness. There are some exceptions to these rules.

Please feel free to contact me ASAP so that we may explore your options and protect your legal rights. 973-921-0600.

Kindly note and remember that my response is merely a general comment on the law related to your question, and NOT legal advice or opinion. Also, your question and my response does NOT create an attorney-client relationship between us. You cannot rely upon what I have written, because I do not have all of the information that I need to advise you or render an opinion. Even simple facts you have not shared can completely change my answer. For me to give you legal advice or opinion, you would need to hire me to be your lawyer, and then we would need to discuss this in detail and go over the documents.

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Answered on 3/08/11, 1:44 pm


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