Current Events

As reported in the press and according US government statistics, the filing of Pregnancy Discrimination claims are on the rise. Some may like to believe that public school teachers may be immune to this type of discrimination, as they are dedicated to caring for children, but such is not the case. This Law Office has litigated these types of pregnancy cases, both in Federal and State Court and obtained successful monetary results for clients.

The fight to end discrimination against women in the workplace in New Jersey is far from over, and women who plan to have children or become pregnant remain vulnerable. A recent case out of Asbury Park illustrates how pregnancy discrimination is still a problem.

NJ State and Federal law prohibit discrimination against an employee because of the employee’s associations with a disabled person. An employer may not discriminate against you because of your association with a disabled person, or a person who is merely perceived to be disabled, if not in fact disabled. This protection applies not only to permanent and full-time employees but also to part-time and temporary workers. 

The disabled person need not be a relative of the employee; he/she could be a roommate, a friend or other associate. This protected category is known as associational disability discrimination.

As stated earlier on this site, if you work for a private employer you may not sue your employer for violating your free speech rights under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution ( not to be confused with individual state constitutions) which establishes limits only on the government’s infringement of speech rights but not on a private employer’s curtailing of speech of its employees.

The  U.S.

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

If you work for a private employer you may not sue your employer for violating your free speech rights under the First Amendment of the U.S.

New Jersey has several laws that prohibit an employer from retaliating against an employee who testifies against the employer in a lawsuit brought by another employee. This is good news including for New Jersey state employees who might otherwise have to rely upon First Amendment protections with mixed results. 

The most common law for protecting workers from retaliation by the employer if they testify against that employer in a lawsuit brought by a co-employee is New Jersey’s general whistleblower law,  the Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA) N.

Employees who are in the position of working for a supervisor who is younger than them and/or being the oldest workers in their department may find themselves being the brunt of ageist jokes. Calling employees, “grandpa,” and “old bastards ”and “like a bag of bones” are among some of the humor or name calling that was alleged in successful employment age discrimination cases. Employees who are among the oldest in their department may find themselves excluded not only from social gatherings with co-employees,  but also from employer sponsored quasi-social meetings and training sessions. While the former is not necessarily indicative of age bias on the part of the employer, the latter may have real consequences for the older employee who not only wants to be retained, but also wants to be promoted, and it could be an indicator of illegal age bias. 

One such case with alleged facts typical of age discrimination plaintiffs was settled August 3, 2016 with the judge dismissing the case August 4, 2016 while preserving the right of either party to reinstate the action within 60 days if the settlement was not consummated.

There has been conflicting interpretations and opinions for decades on whether the Civil Right Act's Title VII prohibition on employment sex discrimination encompasses employment discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. Unlike the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, the Federal Civil Right Act's Title VII does not specifically include within the statute’s language, the protected characteristics of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Plaintiffs who lived in more conservative states that did not have strong state discrimination statutes protecting employees from LGBT discrimination in the workplace, were left with having to litigate LGBT discrimination claims under Title VII, with mixed results.

Some African Americans still undergo a disturbing amount of blatant racism on the job, including having a supervisor call the employee the “N-Word” on job. As shocking as these facts are, incidents of blatant racism, such as the “N-Word” or even the extreme symbolism of a noose left laying around in the place of employment, are far more common than generally realized.

One such case, where the employee alleged that he was subjected to the “N-Word” on job,  was filed under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, “NJLAD”, in State Superior Court, with the author of this blog as the Plaintiff’s counsel, and the case settled for six figures.

Imagine coming to work each day for a supervisor who referred to you as the “N-Word”. Could anything be more demeaning or infuriating? The author of this blog currently represents a public state employee in a lawsuit filed in Superior Court, brought under the NJLAD, where the employee alleges he was subjected to being called the “N-word” repeatedly on a daily basis by his supervisor.