New Jersey Employment Law

• According to New Jersey employment law, New Jersey is an at-will employment state. Employers in at-will states have the right to terminate employees for any reason that is nondiscriminatory. Changing an employee from part time to full time in a nondiscriminatory fashion is not illegal in New Jersey. If your employer does not allow you to take accrued vacation time, he is not violating the law unless there is an employee handbook statement that guarantees vacation time regardless of full-time or part-time status.
  
  

At-Will Employment

• Working in an at-will employment state without an employment contract means that both the employer and the employee have the right to terminate the employment relationship at any time and for any reason. This at-will relationship extends to the conditions of employment including any benefits provided by the employer. According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, an employer is required to pay minimum wages to an employee for any hours worked, but may cut back those hours at any point as long as payment is in accordance with the FLSA. Benefits including vacation time, sick time or personal time may be offered by the employer but are not required by the FLSA.
  
  

Employment with a Contract or Employee Handbook

• Employees who have an employment contract may have some protection against losing wages and benefits. Depending on the language of the contract, the employer may not be able to reduce hours. Employee handbooks in New Jersey may also have implications for employers and protections for employees. In Witkowski v. Thomas J. Lipton Inc., the New Jersey courts upheld an employee's breach of contract claim based on a manual that was distributed to all employees that contained specific job security provisions as well as a comprehensive termination procedure.
  
  

Considerations

• If your employer reduces your hours to part time and then refuses to compensate you for vacation time earned as a full-time employee, review your employee handbook and your employment contract if you have one. If neither of these is applicable, because New Jersey is an at-will state, you may be forced to accept your current conditions of employment. If your position pays substantially less after a cut back in hours, you may be eligible for unemployment while you look for another position.