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Three years ago, on June 1, 2021, President Joseph Biden signed a Proclamation establishing the nations’ official Pride Month, stating, “Pride is a time to recall the trials the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) community has endured and to rejoice in the triumphs of trailblazing individuals who have bravely fought — and continue to fight — for full equality.”
Since then, many more NJ communities have established their own Pride traditions to support the collective and personal celebration of the self-worth, contributions, and dignity of their LGBTQ residents. These traditions can include Pride parades, festivals, town picnics, concerts and designation of a Pride Day at the municipal pool. Despite these highly visible jubilant communal Pride celebrations, LGBTQ employees are still reporting disparate treatment and at times harassment in the workplace.
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.
Disparate Treatment and Harassment Can Take Many Forms, Including:
Joking about a person being gender nonconforming;
Sharing AI-generated and deepfake images and videos of sexually demeaning depictions of LGBTQ persons;
Saying or writing a homophobic or gender-based slur;
Distributing through the internet or otherwise an offensive or derogatory “joke” email;
Displaying offensive material or humiliating cartoons or graffiti;
Making inquiries about a person’s dating life, or asking what dating apps they use,
Asking intrusive questions about gender identity, sexual orientation, one’s gender transition, or intimate body parts;
Having a double standard resulting in a work environment where sexual orientation for LGBTQ employees is still sexualized more than for cisgender employees.
When a Supervisor’s Own Gender Stereotyping May Be Illegally Influencing Employment Decisions.
A supervisor’s bias may be illegally influencing employment decisions against LGBTQ employees. Even when an employer perceives a worker as cisgender, a supervisor’s own binary view and gender stereotyping may still be an influencing bias affecting decisions regarding the employee’s status, such as promotions, etc. Such gender stereotyping which influences employment decisions are generally illegal.
In spite of official corporate policies for nondiscrimination of LGBTQ employees in the workplace, one survey found that approximately half of LGBTQ employees in the US, remain in the closet while at work for fear of bias or retaliation. The survey applied to all levels of employees, including top-tier executives.
A Long Way to Go-What You Can Do
I am an aggressive and compassionate employment law attorney who is experienced and successful in representing LGBTQ executives and in obtaining monetary compensation for their being subjected to discrimination. 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 also 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 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.