Legal Question in Employment Law in New Jersey
Signed letter of Termination
I received a letter stating that the plant I work for was closing and my layoff date will occur between May 9 and May 23, 2008, but they extended it to July 28 thru Aug 8. The the letter of termination was changed and signed off by the Corporate office. I since then had a new baby and been on maternity leave and they are telling me that they do not want me to come back to work and that my release date from my maternity would be my last day of work. Since i have a dated & signed off letter of termination can they still change termination date? Can they let me go right after my maternity leave? I Need to stay working until the doors close. Is this legal? Or is my letter binding?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Signed letter of Termination
It depends. If they are treating you differently because of your pregnancy, then it may be unlawful discrimination. However, if your position has already been eliminated (i.e. no one is currently doing your job), then they can try to argue that they have a legitimate non-discriminatory business reason for terminating you after your disability leave. You ought to get in contact with an employment attorney to read and review the company's policies as well as the termination letter.