Sex Discrimination Against Women Based on Numerous Biases
SEX DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN AND MULTI-FACTORED BIASES
Employers sometimes have a bias against certain persons because of multiple factors related to their sex, and these biases can lead to illegal discrimination against certain workers. There is currently a bill in the Senate that specifically addresses this multiple-factor reality as to employment discrimination. United States Senator Cory Booker reintroduced the Equality Act in the US Senate in 2023, which directly acknowledges that a single instance of discrimination may have more than one basis. This legislation would ban would ban employment discrimination based on a person’s LGBTQ status and states that many types of discrimination are an outgrowth of, and part and parcel of, sex discrimination itself and related sex stereotypes. The Equality Act would amend numerous federal civil rights statutes in employment discrimination and acknowledge this multiple-factor reality as to discrimination.
When this historic civil rights legislation was introduced into the House of Representatives, under the leadership of Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (Dem-CA), the Equality Act passed the House twice. If the Equality Act passes both Houses of Congress, President Joseph Biden has indicated he will sign it into law.
If you are a woman who is being discriminated against at work, you should contact this office today for a free consultation. I am an experienced employment law attorney, successful in representing female executives to cafeteria employees, and in obtaining monetary compensation for past lost wages and projected future lost wages, and in recovering financial compensation for their emotional pain and suffering.
SEX DISCRIMINATION MANIFESTS IN NUMEROUS FORMS.
Language in the bill, both the one in the Senate and one in the House, states that Congress finds that discrimination can occur on the basis of an individual’s “sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition of an individual, as well as because of sex-based stereotypes”.
The bill further acknowledges that each of the above factors alone can serve as the basis
for illegal discrimination, and further, that each is a form of sex discrimination.
This Senate Bill (as well as the one introduced in the House of Representatives) gives specific examples of how a single instance of discrimination commonly may have more than one basis.
For example:
DISCRIMINATION AGAINST A MARRIED SAME-SEX COUPLE
Discrimination against a married same-sex couple is sexual orientation discrimination because of the person’s sexual orientation. It is also sex-based discrimination based on a female sex stereotype or a male sex stereotype, and that marriage should only be between heterosexual couples, a binary man and a binary woman. Many heterosexual couples hide their status at work for fear of discrimination if the person with the authority to promote or terminate her/him, learns of their status. This fear is not without a basis in fact. By way of example, I successfully represented a top tier high level executive who never discussed his sexual orientation at work but was in a legal same-sex marriage in New Jersey. All was well until he filled out health insurance forms indicating he had a husband to be placed on the company’s health insurance. His supervisor then learned for the first time of his homosexual status, and shortly thereafter terminated him. I was successful in obtaining moneys for his lost wages, both for past lost wages and projected future lost wages, and in recovering financial compensation for his emotional pain and suffering. If you are an employee who is experiencing employment discrimination because of your affectional or sexual orientation, gender orientation, gender identity or expression, don’t sit on your rights. If you think you are being discriminated against, you should contact this office today for a free consultation.
INTERSECTION OF MULTIPLE LEGALLY PROTECTED CHARACTERISTICS.
In addition, some persons are subjected to discrimination based on a combination or the intersection of multiple legally protected characteristics. Discrimination against a worker who is a pregnant lesbian could be based on sex all pregnancy discrimination arises out of sex discrimination at its core), her gender orientation, her pregnancy, her sexual orientation, or discrimination based on her related medical condition, or on the basis of multiple factors.
Recent increases in numerous discriminatory state-sponsored legislation against LGBTQ persons across the US, set off alarms that civil rights advocates and employee rights advocates should not be dismayed and give up the fight for civil rights, and it spurred the Equality Act’s reintroduction. Throughout the US, state-sponsored legislation seeks to turn back the clock and take away the civil rights progress gained for this population in recent years. In state after state, the recent flood of legislation seeks to deny civil rights to persons in this class, although this demographically and statistically large class was the last to receive legal protection on par with civil rights of many other protected groups.
If the Equality Act is passed, the essential civil rights employment protections for this class will not be eroded by individual states’ legislation, and the changing mood of the population in those particular states.
In addition to employment civil rights protections, the Equality Act also amends federal statutes to provide protection for LGBTQ persons as to Public Accommodations, Public education and Federal funding.
NEW JERSEY EMPLOYEES ALREADY HA VE BROAD PROTECTION UNDER THE NJ STATE STATUTES
Note: If you are an employee in New Jersey, you already have broad legal protections in employment based on gender, gender identity, affectional and sexual orientation under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 et seq. This New Jersey statute mandates even greater protection for LGBTQ persons than does the federal Equality Act. i.e., an employer in NJ does not have to employ at least 15 persons. Rejecting a narrower definition of homosexuality as is used by some other states, the New Jersey statute has a broad definition of homosexuality which specifically includes many employees to be protected workers who have a right to employment without discrimination because of affectional or sexual orientation, sex, gender identity or expression as well as some other protected classes.
Don’t Sit on Your Rights
I am an aggressive and compassionate employment law attorney who is experienced and successful in representing LGBTQ executives and others and in obtaining monetary compensation for their being subjected to discrimination. I was successful in obtaining moneys for lost wages, both for past lost wages and projected future lost wages, and in recovering financial compensation for their emotional pain and suffering. I have successfully represented LGBTQ employees who were either terminated or forced out of their employment because of the bias against them and was successful in recovering money for them. I have been successful in obtaining monetary compensation for persons who experienced harassment because they were perceived to be gay but who were not gay. If you think you are being pushed out of your job or retaliated against, you should contact this office immediately for a free consultation.
If you quit your job, you may lose right to prevail in a lawsuit.
In many instances of discrimination, if you quit your job, you may lose right to prevail in a lawsuit unless you first take certain legally required measures to preserve your job while you are still employed. If you are thinking of handing in a resignation letter, or think you will be fired (or have already been terminated), you should contact this office immediately for a free consultation to discuss your options.
If you are being subjected to such unlawful workplace discrimination or believe you are being pushed out of your job, contact Hope A. Lang, Attorney at Law today for a free consultation. I accept discrimination and whistleblower cases from all over New Jersey and have locations in Southern, Central and Northern NJ to meet with clients.
Hope A. Lang, Attorney at Law represents workers throughout the entire state, including Hackensack, Jersey City, Newark, Irvington, Orange, East Orange, Trenton, Paterson, Montclair, Elizabeth, North Brunswick, Cherry Hill, Vineland, Union, Plainfield, Hamilton Township, Lakewood, Edison, Parsippany-Troy Hills, Franklin, Lakewood, and every NJ County, including Bergen, Hudson, Middlesex, Essex, Monmouth, Somerset, Ocean, Union, Camden, Passaic, Morris, Gloucester, Atlantic, Burlington, Camden Counties.