Employment & Labor Law

The constant evolution of employment law in the workplace creates challenges for both management and employees. Flanagan, Barone & O’Brien’s (f/k/a Purcell, Mulcahy & Flanagan) Employment Law team works closely with individual, corporate, government and small business clients on proper procedures to follow from the initial job search through the end of employment. Our expertise with the rules and regulations, coupled with our extensive litigation experience, allows us to provide superior legal counsel on all aspects of employment law.

Flanagan, Barone & O’Brien (f/k/a Purcell, Mulcahy & Flanagan) has extensive experience representing various entities in the area of employment discrimination. New Jersey, in particular, has undergone some significant overhauls in the past year with respect to newly enacted laws and regulations affecting employers and employees alike due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Our firm’s wide range of experience defending both lawsuits and administrative actions sets us apart from other firms. The Firm has defended lawsuits brought in both federal and state courts and has exceled at obtaining excellent results for our clients through mediated resolution and success at trial for claims related to:

• NJLAD
• CEPA and common law whistleblowing
• ADA
• Actual disability and perceived disability
• Reasonable accommodation requests
• FLA/FMLA
• Discrimination (age, sex, race, disability, national origin, religion, sexual orientation/preference)
• Employment contracts
• Defamation
• Constitutional Claims
• Civil rights claims under 1983
• 504 Rehabilitation Act

As part of our general employment law practice, we regularly assist clients with preventative measures to avoid EPL claims, by helping to establish discrimination policies, preparing and implementing employee handbooks, training employers on employment discrimination and sexual harassment, advising employers regarding litigation avoidance and the evolving subject area, establishing protocols for handling issues that arise, conducting affirmative action investigations and advising clients when employment law claims are threatened and/or pending. In similar vein, our attorneys have handled many claims arising out of interpretation of collective bargaining agreements.

A significant percentage of the Firm’s services over the past 30 years has been dedicated to the defense of a variety of employment claims against public school districts; charter schools; school administrators and employees; public entities including by way of example: municipalities and their subdivisions; county entities; park commissions and sheriff departments. We have developed a robust practice dedicated to resolving employment claims favorably to our clients by means of: (1) early motions for partial dismissal (to secure dismissal of or narrow the disputed legal issues); (2) post-discovery dispositive motion practice; and (3) strategically-timed settlement negotiations.

The Firm, in both policy and practice, provides opportunities for professional success to people of diverse backgrounds. Several of our attorneys are certified by the New Jersey Supreme Court as certified civil trial attorneys. Our professionals have significant experience practicing in New Jersey State courts in all 21 counties, United States District Court of New Jersey and in administrative forums including the Department of Education, the Office of Administrative Law, the EEOC and the DCR. Our attorneys also have extensive experience practicing in administrative law forums, such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) and Division of Civil Rights (“DCR”) in matters involving claims of employment discrimination, the Public Employment Relations Commission defending arbitrations and Unfair Labor Practice Charges under the Civil Service laws and regulations.