Being an employer these days can be tricky. The job requires constant juggling. Add to the mix the volatile economy, a litigious society and an employer can be on his toes much of the time, constantly juggling a million different things.

But Gregory Kennedy in Orlando, Florida isn’t getting much sympathy after he fired all his employees via a text message. Perhaps that’s because he did this on the Fourth of July holiday. And he still owed them their last paycheck. Oops. The possible error in judgment has caused the owner of Barducci’s Italian Bistro to get a public flogging via social media, where the news of how he treated his employees is continuing to make the rounds. “I unfortunately need to inform you that I have been forced to close Barducci’s effective immediately,” he texted his employees, according to a report in WFTV. Kennedy responded to criticism with another text: “Unfortunately businesses are forced to close across Orlando every day especially in the restaurant sector.” Most people have been heaping negative comments upon Kennedy but a few have sided with him. “Ridiculous. Do you expect him to hold an all-hands meeting with a catered breakfast?” wrote one supporter. Unless there is more to the story than we know, Kennedy wouldn’t be accused of breaking any laws in New Jersey for firing his employees via text. But there are other laws that would apply in this situation. Under New Jersey labor laws:

• Employees must be paid all owed wages by the next scheduled payday after being terminated.

• Employers are not required to pay severance, which is considered a fringe benefit at the discretion of the employer.

• An employee would receive severance only when a contract or company policy mandates it.

It’s long been a tradition that college students can gain on-the-job training and experience through internships.

Some of these offer a modest wage. Others offer nothing at all. More often than not, internships are unpaid. Employers figure they are willing to spend time teaching a novice in exchange for . Interns figure they will gain valuable experience that will help them get a foot in the door of their chosen field. Even the attorney general in New Jersey offers unpaid internships.

Former Interns File Lawsuits

But unpaid internships have come under the magnifying glass recently as former interns have filed lawsuits, contending they should have been paid for the work they did. The latest one was just filed on Monday. The latest case involves a former intern who alleges that he should have been paid while working for Atlantic Records because he was essentially doing the work of an employee without receiving any special training or education. He says in the lawsuit that he often worked more than 40 hours a week without receiving any overtime pay during his internship from October 2007 to May 2008. The suit, which also names Warner Music Group, was filed as a class-action lawsuit in the state Supreme Court in Manhattan in case other former interns want to join. The lawsuit is the latest in a spate of others filed by former interns.

Federal Judge Rules in Favor of Former Interns

Another lawsuit filed last week by two former interns at W Magazine and The New Yorker alleges that parent company Conde Nast Publications failed to pay them the minimum wage. A similar lawsuit is pending against Hearst Magazines. More information about those lawsuits can be found at Unpaid Interns Lawsuit. One federal judge is siding with two interns who say Fox Searchlight Pictures violated minimum wage and overtime laws for not paying interns who worked during production of the 2010 movie “Black Swan.” U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III found that the interns did the same work as regular employees, providing value to the company while doing low-level work that didn’t require specialized training. PBS talk show host Charlie Rose, the target of a similar lawsuit, last year agreed to pay up to $250,000 to former interns who wanted back pay for work they did while working for him.

What can you do as an employer?

All these lawsuits can certainly make you pause if you’re an employer who offers an unpaid internship program, even just for one person every year. How do you make sure you’re not vulnerable to a lawsuit? In general, an unpaid internship should be set up to offer the intern an educational opportunity and not just be free labor for the employer. There are several criteria that must be met in order for an unpaid internship to be unpaid. We at Aretsky & Aretsky specialize in employment law and can help you determine whether your internship program meets the criteria to be unpaid under federal and state labor law. Photo credit: timomcd

In this short video, Bergen County attorney specializing in divorce, employment, criminal and personal injury law addresses employment issues. Dolores L. Aretsky has more than 25 years experience handling employment law cases.

If you are in Bergen County and have experienced injustice in the workplace, Aretsky and Aretsky can help you know your rights and build a case to address your grievances. Common employment law issues can include: race, gender and other discrimination based on a protected class, sexual harrassment in the workplace, retaliation and wrongful terminations. If you are experiencing one of these or other workplace problems, consulting with an experienced attorney can help you understand how New Jersey law protects employees, and what damages you may be awarded for violations of the law.

Our Hackensack divorce attorneys can help you if you believe your child support amount is unfair for any reason, if your ex has hired an attorney, if you have a business or other assets to protect, or if your ex is avoiding paying child support. Child support issues are not always simple. They are one of the most common causes of dispute in a divorce.Before you come to your first visit with an attorney, its helpful to have the latest information about your child support case . You can find your child support information on the state website: http://www.njchildsupport.org/# You can also call the New Jersey Child Support Information Line at 1-877-NJKIDS1, or visit your local office. The Bergen County Child Support office is located at 133 River Street, Hackensack, New Jersey, 07601 , and can be reached by phone at (201) 527-1200.The highly qualified Bergen County lawyers at Aretsky & Aretsky provide experienced, caring, and aggressive representation in the areas of Divorce, Criminal Defense, Employment Law and Personal Injury with offices in: Bergen County, Hackensack, Ridgewood, Mahwah, Fort Lee.

If your spouse has hurt you or threatened to hurt you, intentionally damaged your property, or repeatedly contacted you in a way that is annoying or intimidating, you may be able to get a restraining order against them. Our law firm serves many Fort Lee family law clients around these and other family law issues. A restraining order can require your spouse to do a of a number of things including: prohibit them from contacting you or others named in the order, from continuing the abusive behaviors, or from possessing a firearm. It can give you sole possession of the home you both live in, require them to pay for certain expenses, require them to undergo counseling, or other relief that you request for yourself or your children. If your spouse is being abusive, your family law attorney will help you collect the documentation you need of the abuse to get a restraining order. Your attorney can help you to decide what the order will compel your spouse to do or stop doing to keep you and your children safe. You may want to ask your attorney about pursuing criminal charges against your spouse.The highly qualified Bergen County lawyers at Aretsky & Aretsky provide experienced, caring, and aggressive representation in the areas of Divorce, Criminal Defense, Employment Law and Personal Injury with offices in: Bergen County, Hackensack, Ridgewood, Mahwah, Fort Lee.

As Bergen County employment law attorneys, we encounter all kinds of New Jersey employment concerns, from simple to unusual and complex.Here are some of common employment concerns that necessitate an attorney:1. Contact an attorney anytime you believe you were discriminated against on the basis of your race, nationality, sex, marital or domestic partnership status, age, medical condition or disability, or other protected status. Discrimination is always wrong , and an attorney will help you fight for justice and the compensation you deserve.2. You were not paid at least New Jersey minimum wage of $7.25 an hour for all the hours you worked. If you’ve been paid improperly, our employment attorneys in Bergen County can help you recover your wages.3. Workplace harrassment: No employee should ever be subjected to the hostile work environment created by sexual or other workplace harassment. Unlawful harassment can include unwelcome verbal conduct, such as racial slurs or offensive comments about the sexual orientation, religious dress, or disability of an employee. If you are a victim of unlawful harassment or discrimination, a Bergen County employment lawyer can help protect your employment rights.The highly qualified Bergen County lawyers at Aretsky & Aretsky provide experienced, caring, and aggressive representation in the areas of Divorce, Criminal Defense, Employment Law and Personal Injury with offices in: Bergen County, Hackensack, Ridgewood, Mahwah, Fort Lee.

Once they have made the difficult decision to get divorced, most people want it to be over as soon as possible. (If you are looking for a Ridgewood divorce attorney, see our website) The good news is that New Jersey does not have a waiting period for divorce, like some states do.If you have a simple case, no children, and few assets; or if you and your spouse are lucky enough to agree about most of the matters of the divorce; it could be all over in as soon as 2-3 months.For many divorcing couples, things are more complicated. While the dissolution itself doesn’t take long, things like parenting and dividing your assets can take longer to settle. Your attorney’s first priority is to make sure your interests are best represented in the final decision and that the process is fair to you, but they will also advise you on how to get it done as quickly as it can be.The highly qualified Bergen County lawyers at Aretsky & Aretsky provide experienced, caring, and aggressive representation in the areas of Divorce, Criminal Defense, Employment Law and Personal Injury with offices in: Bergen County, Hackensack, Ridgewood, Mahwah, Fort Lee.

Check out this article from The Jersey Journal about the debate over proposed law changes:Is alimony antiquated? Should child support depend on ability to pay?

“There’s a chorus of people shouting that alimony is a leftover from an earlier society and awards are arbitrary and unfair. They don’t complain as loudly about child support, but there’s a growing demand for amounts to be modified when payers hit economic hardships. Couples often wrangle over payments before, during and after their divorce, and few judges enjoy hearing their griping and sniping. In this not-so-great economy, complaints have grown even shriller and more frequent. Assemblyman Sean Kean of Monmouth County introduced legislation that already has been approved unanimously by Judiciary Committees in both houses of the Legislature. It would allow courts to modify child support and alimony payments when circumstances change. That means courts could lower payments if the paying spouse or parent lost a job or suffered some other significant decline in income lasting six months or more. Only if the income reduction wasn’t deliberate, of course….”

The highly qualified Bergen County lawyers at Aretsky & Aretsky provide experienced, caring, and aggressive representation in the areas of Divorce, Criminal Defense, Employment Law and Personal Injury with offices in: Bergen County, Hackensack, Ridgewood, Mahwah, Fort Lee.