Under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, N.J.S.A. 10:5-4, all persons shall have the opportunity to obtain employment without discrimination because of marital status.
What Constitutes Marital Status Discrimination?
Marital status discrimination occurs when employees are treated unfairly based on their marital status, i.e., whether they are married, divorced, single, in the process of divorcing, or in a domestic partnership. Employers bring their own perceptions and prejudices, applying their own personal vision agenda on their subordinate workers (how they believe lifestyles SHOULD be in their version of the idealized world that resides within their head) to management decisions based on the employee’s marital status.
This type of prejudice can manifest in numerous ways in the workplace: disparity in wages, being denied certain workplace benefits, disparity in training and promotions. Employers may make assumptions about an employee's availability, commitment, or ability to perform based on their marital status. This type of prejudice can significantly affect an employee’s career by limiting their opportunities for growth and advancement based on their marital status.
Don’t sit on your rights
If you are an employee who believes you are being discriminated against for illegal reasons, you should contact this office today for a free consultation. I have represented numerous employees for private and public employers and was successful in recovering financial compensation for their emotional pain and suffering and moneys for lost wages, both for past lost wages and projected future lost wages. We have locations in Southern, Central and Northern NJ to meet with clients. Call today for a free consultation.
Marital Status Discrimination Overlaps with Other Forms of Discrimination
Prejudice in the sense of a judgment or opinion formed based on unfounded facts, is the fountainhead of discrimination engulfing many classes of protected workers, which prove upon examination to be unrelated to job performance or to be nonexistent. The intent of the law is to protect workers against such prejudgment and bias.
Overlap of Marital Discrimination with Sex Discrimination
Discrimination in Wages. This type of discrimination can overlap with other prohibited discrimination. For instance, in an overlap with sex discrimination, a manager may only give raises of income to men who are married, thinking they need the extra money because they view them as head of a household with more personal responsibility, thinking whereas a single man does not need the extra money. Married women, however, no matter their achievements, or high scores on Employee Performance Evaluations, will be denied the raises because of this sex-based bias - the same prejudice and perception - thinking married women already have a male bread winner to support them. Bergen County, New Jersey Sex Discrimination Lawyer.
Discrimination in Promotions. Yet these same discriminatory managers who do not give raises to married women on par with those they give to married men, may promote an unmarried woman to a higher level management position, thinking that because she is single, she will have an abundance of time to take on extra projects, be available for work-related travel, etc. They may believe that single women have more ambition and are more committed to having the job be a top priority in her life, than does a woman who is married, and are reluctant to promote a married woman, whereas they have no hesitation in promoting a male married employee. See NJ Sex Discrimination Attorney, I Am a Female Passed over for Executive Promotions
Divorced males may be treated similar to married male employees, but divorced males may fare better than female employees who are divorced
Divorced males compared to married males may not be viewed any differently in terms of their risk factors for employer. A divorced male may not be viewed as a business risk if promoted to a high level position of authority with many responsibilities. But an employer with a sex bias against females may view a divorced female as being unreliable and a risk. This sex bias against females may be exacerbated when a female is in the process of divorcing, whereas it may be assumed a man in a process of divorce would not be the same level as risk. See NJ Sex Discrimination Attorney Males Paid more than Females for Doing Essentially the Same Job.
Employers assume that single employees, who have never been married, have fewer commitments outside of work than divorced employees or married employees. Employees may be given fewer opportunities or more demanding tasks based on their perceived responsibilities at home. Married female employees may be given fewer opportunities, based on their perceived responsibilities at home, than single women, with employers assuming that single employees have fewer commitments outside of work.
Overlap of Marital Discrimination with Sexual Orientation Discrimination
Management may offer congratulations when a heterosexual male employee gets married. He may even be invited to and attend his elaborate wedding. New Jersey Sexual Orientation Discrimination Lawyer. But while the manager may tolerate a single gay male subordinate in the workplace, if a gay employee plans to marry another male in an equally elaborate wedding, the biased manager may think the gay employee is bringing his gayness inappropriately open too far, and devalue his accomplishments on behalf of the employer. See NJ LGBTQ Rights Attorney, LGBTQ and Gender Non-Conforming Employees Hide Relationships.
Marital Discrimination can manifest in various ways, from being passed over for promotions, receiving unequal pay, to being denied certain workplace benefits. Employers may make assumptions about an employee's strengths and weaknesses, commitment, availability, or ability to perform based on their marital status.
Beyond its individual financial impact, marital discrimination can chip away at an employee’s morale professionally, and in some instances create a hostile work environment by causing stress and anxiety.
Don’t Sit on Your Rights
I have represented employees who were illegally discriminated against by their employers, and was successful in recovering financial compensation for their emotional pain and suffering and moneys for lost wages, both for past lost wages and projected future lost wages. If you think you are being discriminated against, you should contact this office immediately 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.
Contact Hope A. Lang, Attorney at Law today for a free consultation.
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.