Jessica A. Merejo

Jessica handles claims for sexual harassment and discrimination, as well as state and federal whistleblower claims. She is regularly involved in matters alleging breach of express or implied employment contracts, intentional infliction of emotional distress, battery, breach of fiduciary duty, and violation of restrictive covenants. Jessica represents corporate defendants, as well as individual officers, directors, or employees who have been sued personally for sexual harassment, discrimination, negligent supervision, fraud, and negligent misrepresentation. She litigates claims before the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights, the New York Commission on Human Rights, the National Labor Relations Board, and American Arbitration Association (AAA). Relatedly, Jessica represents employers in litigation involving a variety of contract and tort causes of action and claims involving restrictive covenants, trade secrets, and other alleged violations of employment agreements. She has litigated claims involving the alleged theft of trade secrets and has sought and defended against temporary restraining orders and injunction applications. Jessica also handles wage and hour matters ranging from administrative proceedings to FLSA collective actions, Prevailing Wage Claims, including a recent wage and hour action filed in New Jersey, a case she strategically positioned to achieve an early settlement on very beneficial terms for her client.

Jessica also works with clients proactively to prevent or resolve employment disputes before they lead to costly litigation. She adeptly guides clients on their compliance with federal and state discrimination, family and/or medical leave, whistleblower, and wage and hour laws, and she provides in-depth counseling in connection with, for example, employee terminations, discipline, and performance.  Jessica also develops, revises, and presents employment practices training sessions, as well as comprehensive employee handbooks and manuals, all designed to help clients address such complex issues as performance management, termination, and compliance with the broad range of laws governing the employer/employee relationship, as well as to prevent such or potentially disruptive issues as workplace harassment, bullying, and discrimination.

Jessica advises clients on non-competition and confidentiality provisions, waivers of discrimination, and other employment-based claims. She also conducts comprehensive investigations to ensure her clients’ compliance with a full range of federal and state employment laws when dealing with workplace conduct issues. Jessica has handled numerous employment-related privileged and non-privileged investigations, including investigations conducted for the public sector and government entities.

A few of Jessica’s recent published decisions include:

• Local 1860 of the Newark Fire Officers Union v. City of Newark, A-4535-19
• Alleyne v. New Jersey Transit Corp, A-0753-20
• Mader v. Township of Edison, MID-L-2699-19
• Vartolone v. Borough of Paramus, BER-L-504-21

Prior to joining Peckar & Abramson, Jessica was an associate at Carmagnola & Ritardi, LLC, where she defended public and private entities in contractual and employment litigation matters and as co-counsel, assisted, civil jury matters involving the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, Conscientious Employees Protection Act, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

Prior to joining Carmagnola & Ritardi, Jessica clerked in the Passaic Vicinage of the Superior Court of New Jersey for the Honorable Ernest M. Caposela, A.J.S.C. Prior to her clerkship, Jessica assisted attorneys from the law firm of Walden Macht & Haran, LLP, in the representation of a high-profile fraud case after their client, was convicted at trial and set upon the ambitious goals of reversing the client’s wrongful conviction and then prove his innocence. The strategy worked. On July 27, 2021, all charges against the client and his co-defendants were dismissed.

Jessica is an active member of the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Young Lawyers Division, and the Labor and Employment Law Section. Jessica is also an active member of the Association of the Federal Bar of the State of New Jersey, the Hispanic National Bar Association, the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey, the Bergen County Bar Association, the Sydney Reitman Employment Law American Inn of Court, and the American Bar Association.

In 2022, Jessica was among twenty-five Latina Lawyers selected to participate in the Hispanic National Bar Association’s Latina Leadership Academy, offering relevant professional development and leadership training aimed at the advancement of Latinas lawyers in the workplace.