Employment discrimination claims because of a discriminatory animus against persons who are in legally protected classes must either cause change in employment status (see explanation below of what constitutes a change in employment status) and/or be harassment creating a hostile work environment. In New Jersey, a supervisor’s nagging/harassing behavior or rudeness toward you is not covered under discrimination law and generally is not illegal unless it results from your being a whistleblower or because you are a member of a legally protected class, which latter qualifier to sustain a claim comes as a surprise to many workers. Under N.J.S.A.§ 10:5-4, New Jersey’s state discrimination statute, employment discrimination and harassment is illegal when it is based on any of the following protected classes: race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, affectional or sexual orientation, familial status, disability, liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States, nationality, sex, gender identity or expression. (Pregnancy discrimination is a part of sex and/or disability discrimination.)
If you are thinking of handing in a resignation letter, or think you will be fired, or have been terminated, you should contact this office immediately for a free consultation to discuss your options. 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.
Discrimination Claims Based on Your Being a Member of a Legally Protected Class Must Either Be One of Two Things:
1) There is a Change in Your Employment Status:
Such as your hours are reduced or changed,
Your pay is reduced,
You are demoted,
You are reassigned,
You are denied a promotion or transfer, or
You are terminated.
2) The Discriminatory Bias Creates a Hostile Work Environment
One casual, stray or off-hand, bad-taste comment would not generally be sufficient to have one’s work environment be considered to have turned into a hostile work environment to the average reasonable person.
A work environment that has grown hostile to the victimized employee, exists when the harassment is so severe; or else frequent, ongoing, or pervasive; that a reasonable person in the employee’s position and of the same protected class, would find the situation to have become hostile and abusive.
A Hostile Work Environment Claim Does Not Require That the Harassment Be Both Frequent/Ongoing Harassment and Severe Harassment.
A hostile work environment claim does not require that the harassment be both frequent/ongoing harassment and severe harassment. It must be either sufficiently severe or else sufficiently frequent/ongoing. There is no defined metric for this; jurors decide every claim on a case-by-case basis. A single act of extreme misconduct such as a single racist epitaph, such as the n-word used once, could be sufficiently severe to create an illegal hostile workplace.
Generally, when the offending conduct is frequent or ongoing, the less severe it must be. The inverse is also true. The more severe the act of harassment, the less frequency is required to maintain a hostile work environment claim. Context of the offending act within the whole is considered. Numerous courts have ruled that single use of a racist epithet may be sufficient to create a hostile work environment.
You can read more about reporting the harassment in NJ Employment Attorney, Harassment Discrimination at Work.
Don’t Sit on Your Rights
I am an aggressive and compassionate employment law attorney who is experienced and successful in representing persons of color, women, older workers, disabled employees, LGBTQ executives, and in obtaining monetary compensation for their being subjected to harassment and discrimination. I have successfully represented employees who were either terminated or pressured into resigning because of the discrimination against them.
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.