PRACTICE AREAS / EMPLOYMENT LAW
Employment law for Pennsylvania and New Jersey employers.
Employment issues are one of the most common reasons small businesses end up in court. Most of those disputes are preventable with the right policies, properly drafted agreements, and timely advice when issues come up. The firm represents employers across federal, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey law.
What we handle
Employment agreements and separation agreements
Offer letters, employment agreements, independent contractor agreements, and separation agreements with releases of claims. Separation agreements in particular have gotten more technical since 2023 — federal and state law and recent NLRB decisions have narrowed what can be done with confidentiality, non-disparagement, and release provisions. A handbook of forms that has not been updated in three or four years almost always needs revision.
Employee handbooks and workplace policies
Drafting from scratch and reviewing existing handbooks for compliance with current federal, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey law. Equal employment, anti-harassment, wage and hour, leave entitlements, FMLA, ADA accommodations, workplace conduct, technology and social media, and the procedural pieces — complaint procedures, progressive discipline, document retention.
Restrictive covenants and trade secrets
Non-compete, non-solicitation, and confidentiality agreements drafted to current Pennsylvania and New Jersey enforceability standards. DTSA-compliant trade secret programs and the immunity-notice language required to preserve full remedies. Enforcement actions when former employees take protected information or solicit customers in violation of their agreements.
Discrimination and retaliation defense
Defense of charges and lawsuits under Title VII, the ADA, the ADEA, the FMLA, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. The firm has particular depth on the procedural and strategic issues that arise when an EEOC or state agency charge transitions to litigation.
Workforce reductions and layoffs
Selection criteria, documentation, OWBPA disclosures for group reductions, severance and release packages, and the timing of communications. Group reductions are one of the most heavily litigated areas of employment law — done well, they close out cleanly; done poorly, they generate years of follow-on litigation.
Workplace investigations
Outside counsel investigations into harassment complaints, retaliation complaints, and other internal allegations — preserving privilege, documenting findings, and structuring the investigation so the work product holds up in any subsequent proceeding.
What clients value
Employment law is technical, but the decisions it forces on a business are practical: hire or do not hire, document or do not document, settle or fight. The firm's role is to give employers a clear read on the law and a clear read on the cost-benefit of each option.
That practical orientation is particularly valuable for small businesses, where every employment decision has a multiplier effect — on culture, retention, recruiting, and ultimately on the productive time of the owner.