Woolson Anderson Peach
A Professional Corporation - Attorneys at Law

Employment and Law

Woolson Anderson Peach has extensive experience in counseling businesses and individuals on the state and federal laws governing the workplace, as well as litigating employment disputes.

On the managerial side, we have assisted businesses in the drafting of their employment contracts, including restrictive covenants and non-compete provisions, and the enforcement of those contracts in court if necessary. We also counsel employers on how to navigate disputes involving their workers, and enforce anti-discrimination measures in compliance with New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination and the federal Civil Rights Act. We have drafted employee handbooks and workplace rules in accordance with the developing case law, and have counseled businesses on how to utilize their handbooks to head off costly employment disputes.

We always take a creative approach to solving the problems presented by our clients. As a result of our attorneys' combined deep knowledge and experience across different fields of law, we are often able to identify issues, claims or defenses that might be missed by other attorneys who are narrowly focused in one area.

Mr. Peach has authored numerous articles on the anti-discrimination laws faced by businesses and public accommodations, including "Should Religious Slurs Amount to a Hostile Workplace?: Court Wrongly Takes Absolutist View", New Jersey Law Journal, October 16, 2008; "Make All Workplace Slurs Actionable?: New Jersey Legislation is an Irrational Response to a Weak Case", New Jersey Law Journal, February 4, 2008; "Lighten LAD's Load On Small Companies", New Jersey Law Journal, May 22, 2006; and "Princeton Eating Clubs Must Admit Women", 22 Seton Hall Law Review 235 (1991). Mr. Peach's published cases include Sarbak v. Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., 354 F.Supp.2d 531 (D.N.J. 2004), a discrimination case brought in federal court which involved the enforceability of an arbitration provision.

Our firm is also experienced in litigating workplace disputes. The areas of employment law which we have successfully litigated on behalf of both businesses and individuals include:

· Harassment/Hostile Work Environment. New Jersey law prohibits not just sexual harassment but any harassment based on a protected trait, such as age, race or national origin.

· Unlawful Termination. We have litigated claims of unlawful discharge based on race, gender (often combined with a claim that the worker was fired after a period of sexual harassment), or age. Claims of retaliatory firings – where a worker claims to have been discharged after complaining of prior unlawful treatment – are also the source of many workplace disputes.

· Disability Discrimination. The unfair treatment of a worker based on a perceived handicap or disability is strictly prohibited in New Jersey, as well as under federal law.

· Whistleblower Claims. New Jersey law prohibits retaliation against a worker for objecting to actions by a company that are illegal or against public policy.

· Restrictive Covenants. Restrictive or Non-Compete Covenants are frequently the subject of litigation in New Jersey, as courts have held that such covenants must be reasonable in scope. It is important that such provisions be drafted to begin with so that they are enforceable if challenged in court.

Please call or email us if you are facing such an issue. We look forward to working with you!