Zatuchni & Associates

Focus and practice areas

Employment law is the whole of what this firm does, and it says as much on its own pages. The work centers on employees who are in disputes with their employers. That single focus sets the boundary for every matter the firm takes on.

Discrimination and harassment

Discrimination claims make up a large share of the caseload. The firm handles matters based on race, national origin, and ethnicity. It also takes on claims tied to sex and gender, sexual orientation, age, pregnancy, disability, and military service. These are the protected categories that state and federal law recognize, and each one carries its own tests for what counts as unlawful treatment. New Jersey's discrimination statute is known for its broad reach, and the firm builds many of its state-law claims on it.

The firm also lists sexual harassment cases among its practice areas, next to the discrimination work. In my opinion, keeping harassment and discrimination under one roof makes sense, because the facts of a workplace often blur the line between them.

Pay, discharge, and reporting claims

The firm handles wage and hour disputes, which cover unpaid overtime, minimum wage questions, and how hours get counted. Wage disputes often come down to time records and job classifications, and these are routine ground for an employment firm. It takes wrongful termination cases, where the question is whether a firing broke the law or a contract. Retaliation claims are part of the work too, and these come up when a worker faces payback for asserting a right.

Whistleblower and qui tam claims round out the list. In these, an employee reports wrongdoing, and the law offers some shield against retaliation for the report. Family and Medical Leave Act cases are part of the firm's practice too, and they cover the job-protected leave the statute grants. The spread is wide for a single field, and it covers most of what employment law reaches.

The lawyer behind the firm

David Zatuchni founded the firm and runs it as managing attorney. The about page marks 2000 as the year the firm began, which places more than two decades behind it. He is the lawyer the firm names on its home and about pages, and it carries his name.

His route into employee-side work is part of the story the firm tells. He began his career defending corporate employers who faced labor law violations and employment discrimination claims. He later crossed to the other side, and he now represents employees in the same kinds of cases. As a reviewer, I find that history worth flagging. A lawyer who once built defenses for employers has seen how those defenses come together, and that knowledge can carry over when he argues against them.

Courtroom experience and the law it applies

Trial work is part of the firm's account of what David Zatuchni brings. He has courtroom experience in state and federal venues, and that experience includes trials. Many employment matters resolve before they reach a courtroom, so a lawyer's readiness to try a case is a fair thing for a prospective client to weigh. Courtroom time also tends to sharpen how a lawyer prepares the cases that never see a jury.

The firm works under both New Jersey law and federal law. On the state side, its cases draw on the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, which covers many of the discrimination and harassment claims the firm handles. On the federal side, the firm applies Title VII, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act. Each of these laws governs a different part of the workplace, and together they touch on pay, disability accommodation, and family leave.

Who the firm represents

The firm takes the employee's side, and it holds that position across its practice areas. That choice matters for anyone deciding where to bring a workplace claim, since many firms divide their time between employers and workers. The firm's pages point to employees throughout.

For a worker, the choice of an employee-side firm can shape how a case is framed from the first meeting. The lawyer's incentives line up with the person bringing the claim. That alignment sets the starting posture for the work, though the facts of each case still control the result.

Workplace claims often turn on records, timelines, and the exact wording of a statute. An employee weighing a claim usually wants a lawyer who reads those details closely and who has argued them in court. The firm's description of David Zatuchni's career speaks to both his years in the field and his time before a judge.

Where the firm works

Two offices in New Jersey give the firm its footing, one in Lambertville and one in Hackensack. The two are at opposite ends of the state, one to the west near the Delaware River and one to the northeast. Both handle employment matters, and clients can work with whichever is closer. The firm has operated since 2000, and it serves clients throughout New Jersey.