Employment Law Insights Blog | John J. Zidziunas & Associate

The law on silencing harassment victims has changed substantially. The federal Speak Out Act limits pre-dispute NDAs, New York requires that confidentiality be the complainant's own preference, and New Jersey makes concealment provisions unenforceable against employees. This guide explains what you can still say and what to check before signing.

Retaliation is a standalone legal claim that can succeed even when the underlying harassment claim does not. This guide explains what counts as protected activity, the broad range of employer actions that qualify as retaliation, how causation is proven, and why timing is so often the decisive evidence.

The customer is not always right. Employers can be held liable for sexual harassment by clients, customers, patients, guests, and vendors when they knew or should have known and failed to protect their staff. This guide covers the legal standard, the industries where it happens most, and what an adequate employer response requires.

When a co-worker rather than a supervisor is the harasser, employer liability turns on a negligence test: did the company know or should it have known, and did it act. This guide explains what counts as notice, what a proper response looks like, and why the employer's reaction is often the real issue in these cases.

Harassment by a supervisor, partner, or executive triggers the heaviest employer liability in employment law, but it is also the hardest to report. This guide explains the Faragher-Ellerth framework, who legally counts as a supervisor, why HR is often compromised, and how to protect yourself when the harasser controls your career.

A hostile work environment claim turns on whether the conduct was serious enough to change the conditions of your job. That threshold is no longer the same everywhere. New York has lowered it substantially, New Jersey applies a totality of the circumstances test, and Florida still follows the federal severe or pervasive standard.

Quid pro quo harassment happens when someone with power over your job conditions a benefit, or a punishment, on your response to a sexual demand. A single incident can be enough. This guide explains what the claim requires, why employer liability is strictest here, and how the standard differs across New York, New Jersey, and Florida.

New Jersey has adopted new regulations, effective October 1, 2026, that clarify how the state applies its ABC test for classifying workers as employees or independent contractors. Because the business bears the burden of proving all three prongs, and the test governs wage, sick leave, and disability laws, employers should review their contractor relationships now.

The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination is one of the most protective employment statutes in the country. This post explains how it applies to workplace sexual assault and where it goes beyond federal law.

Careful documentation strengthens every workplace sexual assault case. This post explains what to preserve, how to preserve it, and common mistakes that undermine otherwise strong claims.