Discrimination: The Law Offers More Protection Than You Think
The New Jersey Supreme Court has likened discrimination in our society to a cancer that must be aggressively removed and prevented from spreading. One way that New Jersey has addressed the problem of discrimination is through the education of our youth in our public schools in the hope that prejudices learned at home will be removed through the cultural education of our impressionable children.
Another effective way New Jersey has dealt with discrimination is through the implementation and enforcement of one of the most powerful anti-discrimination laws in the nation, the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. Under this New Jersey law, it is illegal for any employer, school, hospital, business, government agency, financial institution, landlord, real estate seller, and place of public accommodation (hotel, motel, etc.) to discriminate against any person in the basis of numerous protected classifications, such as gender, race, national origin, ethnic origin, religion, marital status, age, physical or mental disability, a person’s genetic, cell or blood type, and the pregnancy.
New Jersey law protects everyone who falls within any protected classification from being fired or deprived of a job or a benefit or service because of discrimination. In addition, the law prohibits discrimination as a reason to change the terms or conditions of a person’s employment or any service, benefit, or right to which an employee is entitled. One of the key provisions of the law allows everyone to afford a lawyer to help them with discrimination claims, since the Law Against Discrimination obliges the company or person guilty of discrimination to pay the legal fees and expenses of the victim.
Some examples of widespread illegal discrimination in the workplace can be seen in the cases our law firm has handled. In one case, a young woman of Hispanic ethnicity was fired simply because she was pregnant. Although our client was physically capable of performing all the required tasks of her job and even had a letter from her doctor certifying this fact, her company fired her simply because of her pregnancy. The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination clearly states that such an action is illegal, therefore the employer made an unwise decision to fire our client because the company will now have to pay many tens of thousands of dollars in litigation costs to defend and ultimately solve our client’s problems. claims.
In another case, our clients were subjected to unwanted touching and sexually explicit verbal comments by their male employer. On one occasion, the male employer even posted a nude photograph of himself on the office bulletin board so that all of his staff, all women, would have to see it while they were working. On another occasion, our client was humiliated when the employer in question placed a small Christmas tree on his desk and, instead of Christmas decorations, the boss hung condoms on the tree. The boss continued to commit similar demeaning and shameful acts on his female staff almost daily for several years until finally the female office workers decided they had enough and hired our law firm to help them. In the end, it was the boss who was humiliated when he and his insurance company were forced to pay millions of dollars in damages to compensate the women he had victimized for his own gratification.
In another example that shows the extent to which people in positions of authority victimize those who mistakenly believe they have no power to defend themselves, the president of a company threatened to sue our client, an illegal immigrant from a South American country. , for the INS, unless you had sex with him after the other employees went home for the night. This exploitation continued for months until our client learned of his rights, retained the services of our law firm, and filed a lawsuit under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. During litigation, it became clear that the boss exploited other female employees in the past and that the company failed to provide adequate training and education to its managers and supervisors regarding unlawful discrimination in the workplace. As a result of the lawsuit, the boss who exploited our client was fired from his job and his company was forced to pay large compensation to our client.
Although there are many cases similar to the above examples, the sad fact is that illegal discrimination, especially in the workplace, is an everyday occurrence. The common thread in the above examples is that when some people believe that they have authority over others by virtue of their high position in a company, these people believe that they have the right to exploit or discriminate against their employees who do not possess the same authority. inside the company. The Law Against Discrimination, however, is the great equalizer! When victims of unlawful discrimination learn about the law and understand that they no longer have to endure discriminatory practices against them at work, they gain the ability to make a difference for themselves and all similarly victimized employees and, in process, obtain compensation for damages. As the old saying goes, “Information is power.” It is clear that all New Jerseyans who toil just to feed, clothe and house their families need to understand that when it comes to fighting discrimination, they have the power of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, a protection law too strong for any bigoted exploiter. to ever defeat.
If you believe that you or a loved one has been the victim of unlawful discrimination, you may want to consult with an experienced attorney to discuss the situation and learn more about your rights and available remedies, especially since no item can serve as a substitute for the advice that an experienced attorney can provide based on the merits and circumstances of an individual case. The bottom line: With the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination as a powerful ally, no one should have to tolerate discrimination in the workplace.