Employer Prerogative Rights

• In the absence of a contract for employment, an employer in New Jersey and other states across the country may change the job description of an at will employee, including lowering pay up to the state's minimum wage, as the employer sees fit. At will employment laws in New Jersey and other states allow an employer or employee to terminate a working relationship at any time without notice as long as the termination does not violation state and federal discrimination or harassment laws.
  
  

Contract Employee Protections

• An employer must honor the terms of an employment contract, including a collective bargaining agreement for union workers, when considering demoting employees. If the contract does not allow employee demotions, the employer cannot legally demote workers and lower wages. If the contract provides criteria for demoting employees, the employer must follow the criteria laid out in the agreement. Breaching the agreement may give employees the right to sue the employer in civil court for lost wages, court costs and punitive damages. This could end up costing an employer much more than simply choosing to honor the contract and pay the negotiated wages.
  
  

Legally Disabled Worker Laws

• The Americans with Disabilities Act governs the rules for changing the job descriptions or demoting disabled workers in New Jersey and all other states across the country. Before an employer may demote disabled workers, the employer must make reasonable accommodations to allow these workers to perform the essential duties of given jobs. Reasonable accommodations may include performing lighter duties at work, lower shelving heights to reduce physical strain and installing ramps to make accessing the job site easier. If an employer makes accommodations and disabled workers still cannot perform the job, then the employer may legally demote these employees.
  
  

Employer Retaliatory Actions

• Demoting an employee as a retaliatory action is illegal in New Jersey and all other states around the country. The demotion may also be a violation of federal law depending on the circumstances surrounding the retaliatory action. For example, an employer demoting a worker for reporting safety violations to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is violating the Fair Labor Standards Act. An employee may choose to sue the employer in civil court for damages and lost wages. This is in addition to the fines and investigation the employer will incur from federal agencies and the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.