Zuckerman & Fisher, L.L.C handles matters on behalf of employees where the potential recoveries run from a few thousand dollars to in excess of a million dollars. We seek to resolve all disputes without resort to litigation; however, when necessary to obtain reasonable relief for the client, we are committed to carrying representation into litigation and through trial. In appropriate situations, the firm is also willing to handle appeals of adverse decisions at the trial level.

Following is a sampling of settlements and trial verdicts obtained by the firm on behalf of its clients:

  • Failure to accommodate: A quality assurance engineer for a large company suffered a mild traumatic brain injury unrelated to her job. She requested accommodation but her employer claimed the request was not reasonable and terminated her employment without engaging in the interactive process. A federal court jury found that the employer violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and awarded our client over $1,000,000. The matter is currently on appeal.
  • Sexual harassment: The president of an import company hired our client, a young Chinese woman with whom he was having an extramarital affair. After the relationship went sour, our client was terminated, allegedly due to market conditions. We obtained a $500,000 settlement for her, plus 12 months of health benefits.
  • Improper disclosure of HIV information: Our client was a patient in a hospital where she was giving birth. The hospital was informed that our client was estranged from her husband and had a restraining order against him. The hospital improperly disclosed to our client’s husband that she was HIV positive. A trial judge ruled in our favor on summary judgment, finding that the hospital had violated the New Jersey AIDS Assistance Act. Thereafter, our firm secured a $60,000 settlement for our client, plus counsel fees.
  • Harassment by co-employees. An employee of a utility company had been harassed by co-employees, with the apparent acquiescence of the company, for many years. Zuckerman & Fisher, L.L.C. filed suit against the company, alleging race discrimination, discrimination based upon actual or perceived disability, and discrimination based upon actual or perceived sexual orientation. On the eve of trial, the matter settled, with our client receiving a recovery a few thousand dollars less than $1,000,000.
  • Age discrimination, whistleblowing. An industrial corporation controller in his mid-50s was fired after twenty years of service. The company asserted that the firing was because of alleged misconduct by managerial employees including the controller. The controller argued that he was not responsible for the conduct complained of, which conduct had been authorized by the company, and that the real reason for his termination was his age and/or the fact that he complained of improper/illegal/unethical activity engaged in by professional representatives of the company. Our firm filed a complaint on behalf of the client; shortly prior to trial, the matter was settled with the payment of $100,000 to the client.
  • AIDs discrimination. A salesperson suffering from AIDs was terminated by his company, allegedly as part of a down-sizing. When the company began to hire again, it failed to re-hire the salesperson. Zuckerman & Fisher, L.L.C. instituted litigation against the company, alleging, among other claims, that the client had been terminated and not re-hired because of his AIDs. During the litigation, the client died but we pressed the matter to trial on behalf of his estate. Following a three-week trial, a jury returned a verdict in favor of the estate for over $200,000 plus attorney fees. The company appealed and the matter was settled while on appeal for almost $250,000.
  • Race discrimination. Two African-American custodians at a large financial services company complained they were subjected to harassing comments by a supervisor on-site. Although the company denied the allegations, we were able to settle the matter without litigation by obtaining for each client the sum of $50,000.
  • Sexual harassment. A female employee of a research firm was repeatedly subjected to sexually harassing comments and unwanted sexual touching by her supervisor. Shortly after filing a complaint, the employee was able to reach a settlement with the company paying her $110,000.
  • Sexual harassment. A nanny was sexually harassed and assaulted by her employer, a high-ranking executive of a large corporation. Prior to instituting litigation, Zuckerman & Fisher, L.L.C. secured a settlement that paid the client $750,000.
  • Age and disability discrimination. An employee of an auto repair facility was terminated after many years of faithful and competent service. Although the employer argued that the termination was based upon the employee’s alleged refusal to perform certain work, the employee alleged that it was really due to the employee’s age (56) and his deafness. After trial by a jury, the client was awarded a recovery in excess of $1,000,000. While the verdict was being appealed, the parties reached an acceptable settlement.
  • Whistle-blowing. Our client, an employee of a large health-care company, discovered that, allegedly in violation of law, her employer had been understating claim reimbursements to certain health care providers. The client complained to her employer about this; eventually, the company was required to pay millions of dollars to resolve this and related issues. Well after the client’s complaint, the company fired her for an alleged inability to get along with others. During litigation in federal court, after extensive discovery and depositions, the employer settled the litigation by paying $700,000 to our client.
  • Age discrimination. Our client was 63 years old and employed as custodian for a church in northern New Jersey.  He had been the church’s custodian for 16 years and received no complaints about work performance during that period.  In fact, he had received many letters of appreciation from parishioners.  Over the years, as other custodian assistants were laid off, he assumed responsibility for their jobs. The client worked long hours, often starting as early as 4:00 a.m. and ending after 9:00 p.m. Nevertheless, just before his 64th birthday, the church terminated the client and replaced him with someone much younger. The matter settled, without having to file a lawsuit, for the sum of almost $114,000.

Contact an experienced discrimination lawyer in Mercer County

If you have been subjected to any form of discrimination, harassment, retaliation or wrongful termination in the course of your employment, you need a skilled Mercer County discrimination lawyer advocating for you. Contact the law office of Zuckerman & Fisher, L.L.C. online or at 609.514.0514 to speak with a seasoned discrimination lawyer in Mercer County.