New Jersey Lawyers BlogNew Jersey Supreme Court Limits Non-disparagement Agreements in Settlement of Discrimination Lawsuits
New Jersey employment lawsuits alleging discrimination, harassment or retaliation are often resolved in settlement agreements. The New Jersey Supreme Court recently clarified the
permissible scope of non-disparagement agreements in those settlement agreements in the case of Savage v. Township of Neptune.
Background
Christine Savage was a police officer with the Neptune Township Police Department. She filed a lawsuit against the Department and certain individuals in 2013 alleging that they violated the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination by sexually harassing her, discriminating against her because of her gender, and retaliating against her because of her complaints of discrimination. The lawsuit was settled in 2014. As part of the settlement the Township agreed to give Savage access to training and promote her to sergeant.
Businesses entering into negotiations with other businesses or persons often need to give the other party confidential information. For example, a business will need to give a potential buyer information regarding its revenue, expenses, customers, formulas, payroll, vendors, and pricing so that the potential buyer can formulate an offer during the due diligence period. If the deal falls through the seller will rightly want to ensure that the buyer which backed can’t use this information to compete with it or disclose it to competitors or customers.