Disability Discrimination

When people think of illegal workplace harassment they usually think in terms of sexual harassment. Newly proposed government guidelines that have not yet been passed, include harassment based on a person’s disability, race, color, national origin, age, religion, and genetic information in addition to sex harassment.

The new proposed guidelines define disability-based harassment as harassment based on the person’s physical or mental disability, and they offer more articulate definitions and examples than as contained in the current law. This includes harassment about an individual’s particular disability or harassment based on stereotypes about individuals with disabilities in general. It includes examples of harassments based on traits or characteristics linked to an individual’s disability.

In today’s NJ workplace, illegal pregnancy discrimination is all too common against female executives, middle, and lowered tiered employees across all industries. Unlike other types of discrimination such as race and ethnicity, it is rarely directly or overtly hostile but is frequently annoyingly insensitive at best and results in the worker being severed from her job at worst. The majority of employers are aware that pregnancy discrimination is illegal and take measures to mask their discriminatory actions fearing legal action by the employee.

If you are an employee at any level whose employer is not providing reasonable accommodations for your pregnancy or related medical condition, and the terms and conditions of your employment have changed, or your contract was not renewed, you should contact this office today for a free consultation. I am experienced and successful in recovering moneys as a result of pregnancy discrimination for lost wages, both past lost wages and projected future lost wages, and for recovering financial compensation for their emotional pain and suffering.

The most experienced and qualified IT specialists should not have to fear being fired due to their age.  IT workers are all too frequently forced out of jobs and replaced by younger, though not more qualified, workers. The younger IT replacement workers frequently have a starting salary that exceeds that of the older long-term workers whom they replaced.

If you are an IT worker who is being forced out of your job, you should contact this office today for a free consultation.

I have represented IT workers and older employees who were pushed out of jobs because of their age 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 are a pregnant worker requiring an accommodation for your pregnancy, you will have further protection from discrimination under a new law to go into effect later this month. Covered employers cannot make you take leave of absence if a reasonable accommodation for your pregnancy is available. President Biden signed the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) on December 29, 2022, as part of an appropriations bill. Pregnant workers now gain further rights for pregnancy accommodations under a new federal law which goes into effect on June 27, 2023. You may read the text of bill here.

Employees with a disability which requires a reasonable accommodation to allow them to do their job, should ask for the accommodation in writing. This puts the employer on notice of their legal duty to engage in an interactive process with the employee to be able to provide the accommodation. An employer-employee interactive process is necessary when the employer cannot immediately provide the articulated accommodation requested. For example, teacher with diabetes who requests that her lunch period be moved from 3 pm to 11:30 am so as to not suffer a hypoglycemic event, has a clearly defined request for an accommodation that the employer can understand. There may be no need in some situations for the employer to engage in the interactive process if the employer can provide the requested accommodation.

The Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) does not allow an employee to take time off to care for one’s parent-in-law. This is unsettling news for many couples because the lower wage earner in a couple is frequently the one who desires time off to care for an in-law. This makes economic sense because in a two-wage earning family, the person with the higher income frequently desires to remain working since the FMLA gives the right to unpaid leave, but not mandating paid leave. But to NJ employees, don’t despair! See the New Jersey Family Leave Law below, which does mandate time off to care for one’s parent-in-law.

Many persons are familiar with the FMLA which entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family medical reasons or the employee’s own medical reasons.

The Legislature enacted CEPA, New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act, N.J.S.A. 34:19-1 et seq.

Whistleblower employees who complain that their NJ employer is violating “public policy”, should be cautious when identifying such “public policy”. If they are subsequently terminated after they complain, they may have a hard time prevailing in a claim for wrongful termination under New Jersey’s whistleblower statute, Conscientious Employee Protection Act, CEPA, N.J.S.A.

For NJ employees who experience discrimination on the job because of their weight, relief is hopefully in sight with the introduction of legislature bills that would make discrimination based on an employee’s height or weight illegal, except in those extremely rare instances where a certain weight or height is a bona fide occupational qualification. Weight discrimination disproportionately affects women. It’s no secret that individuals, usually women, are too frequently discriminated against in hiring and promotions because of their weight. Pressure on individuals, particularly women, to maintain certain weight appearance standards contributes to eating disorders and lifelong health issues. No person should suffer discrimination on the job because the boss does not care for the employee’s weight or height.

As the average age of those in the US workforce is getting older, there is a corresponding rise in ageism in the workplace. The oldest employees are the most disadvantaged in locating new employment if they are terminated, yet too often both private corporate and public employers will not hesitate to terminate even the oldest worker even though the worker is meeting the employer’s legitimate business expectations. If you were fired and think age may have been a factor, you may have a valid claim. Don’t sit on your rights.

If you are an older worker who was terminated while younger workers were retained, you should contact this office immediately for a free consultation.

Yes, there are binding precedents in the US Supreme Court as to certain employment law decisions that states must follow. Both federal courts and all state courts are obligated to follow Supreme Court precedents because Supreme Court precedents are binding precedents on all state and federal courts. This is true for employment discrimination cases and other types of employees’ rights cases. The US Supreme Court in recent years with few exceptions has issued rulings exhibiting little encouragement for workers’ rights.

By way of example, in 2020, employee rights’ advocates were alarmed when the US Supreme Court ruled that Catholic school teachers cannot sue for disability or age employment discrimination under federal laws.