Henry v. New Jersey Dept. of Human Resources, Docket No. A-69-09 (N.J. December 10, 2010)

An employee may be entitled to equitable tolling of the statute of limitations if misled by the employer concerning basis of action.

The plaintiff was advised by a representative of the employer that she was not eligible to seek a job reclassification until she completed a year of service. She subsequently resigned and thereafter realized that the representation concerning reclassification may not have been correct. In reversing the Order of Dismissal and remanding for a Lopez hearing, the New Jersey Supreme Court held that the statute of limitations may be equitably tolled if the delay in filing the Action was due to reasonable reliance on the improper information provided by the employer.

Case Law Alert - 2nd Qtr 2011