Legal Question in Employment Law in New Jersey
I am writing in regards to a consultation involving my employment. Just a little background: I have been working for a large child care company in New Jersey for almost three years. I was compensated with an hourly wage as well as with partial payment of benefits and an 80 percent discount on childcare. The company was just purchase by a large publicly traded company. Instead of laying us off, we are being transferred into employment with the new corporation. Unfortunately, in the process I have lost vacation time, which I have already planned and have off of work from and they are increasing my Childs tuition to a fifty percent discount. Overall, my compensation package is significantly less than it was, and I was never offered the option of being laid off and finding new employment that suits my families needs. They will be offering me a subsidy in my check to make up for the difference for the next few months, but to my understanding that has to be paid back in taxes.
I'm not sure if what they are doing is illegal or if I even have any grounds to fight this.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Absent a contract, there is no guarantee that your working conditions will not change either with your current employer or, as here, with a successor. If you are unhappy with what the employer offers, you have the option to quit. If the change in working conditions is sufficiently different that it constitutes a constructive discharge, you may be able to win an appeal for unemployment compensation. However, you could lose and have to pay any unemployment pay back to the State. It is a difficult choice but it is the one that you have.
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