New Jersey Employment Discrimination Practice Areas and Legal Definitions

New Jersey Employment Discrimination:

Employment discrimination generally occurs when an employee is intentionally treated differently because of the employee's race, color, religion, national origin, disability, gender, sexual orientation or age.

Even if the employee's evidence is sufficient to show discrimination, an employer may be able to justify this action by proving such treatment arose out of business necessity, or that a legitimate job qualification required consideration of a factor that had an unintentional discriminatory effect. When the employer makes such a legitimate justification, the employee must show that discrimination, not the employer's justification, was the true reason for the action.

Age Discrimination:

It is unlawful for an employer, employment agency or Labor Union to discriminate in employment against anyone because of his or her age. This includes refusing to hire an individual or firing an employee. It also includes an individual's compensation, terms, conditions, privileges of employment and all employee benefits.

New Jersey Disability Discrimination:

Both the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act protect individuals with disabilities. An individual with a disability is defined as someone who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, has a record of having such a physical or mental impairment or is regarded as having such impairment.

The term is broadly defined to include any physiological, mental or psychological-based impairment, but it does not include mere physical characteristics or cultural, environmental or economic impairment - the impairment must cause a substantial limitation to a major life activity. Temporary conditions, such as a broken arm or the flu, would not be considered substantial limitations.

Family Medical Leave Act Claims:

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) was created as a way of providing employees with a means of coping with the challenging demands of family and home. It applies to companies with 50 employees or more in one location, or 50 employees within a 75-mile radius. It helps workers, who for personal reasons may require time off. It allows up to 12 weeks unpaid leave and the employee at the end of that period is entitled to return to the same or similar position that they were in before they left. The Act covers the following situations: chronic or terminal illness of a spouse or close relative, birth or adoption of a child, and/or employee illness.

The employee must have been with the company for more than one year and have worked more than 24 hours a week in the year preceding the requested leave. Usually, the employer will require a doctor's certificate to corroborate the circumstances.

New Jersey Wrongful Termination:

To be considered "wrongfully terminated" under state and federal law, the termination must violate some fundamental public policy, such as a state or federal statute, regulation or constitutional provision. For example, if an employer directs a worker to break a law, ordinance, regulation or statute, and the employee complains about what he or she perceives as a violation of law, such as a failure to pay overtime, failure to provide lunch breaks, failure to provide family or medical leave, late-payment of salary or wages, or workplace safety issues, and is fired in retaliation, that would constitute an actionable claim for wrongful termination.

Whistleblower Claims:

Although a sub-class of wrongful discharge, there is protection under state law for an employee who is fired or retaliated against for reporting in good faith, what they believe to be a violation of state or federal law.

New Jersey Sexual Harassment:

Sexual harassment is any unwanted and unwelcome sexual behavior, which can include verbal harassment such as derogatory comments, tales of sexual exploits, or asking for sexual favors and physical harassment such as leering, inappropriate touching and/or a deliberate sexual assault. In order to be considered illegal, the conduct must be unwelcome and offensive to the victim.

Sexual harassment is a form of sexual discrimination, which violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in employment settings and under Title IX of the 1972 Education Act where it relates to sexual harassment occurring in schools or other educational settings. The Fair Housing Act further provides protection against sexual harassment and quite a few states have statutes pertaining to this offense.

Defamation (Libel & Slander):

A form of personal injury that does no physical harm but can be extremely harmful to a person's reputation or character is called defamation. Defamation is false and unprivileged spoken words (slander) or written publication (libel) which exposes any living person to hatred, contempt, ridicule, or which causes him/her to be shunned or avoided, or which has a tendency to injure him/her in his/her trade or occupation.

Most defamation litigation in the employment arena concerns the employer's "qualified privilege" to defame. Under this concept, employers and former employers are often protected from liability for defaming employees or former employers. By its very definition, however, the privilege is "qualified," and not "absolute." It is generally limited to situations in which the employer or former employer is making a good faith communication of information to someone who has a legitimate interest in receiving it. A good example of this is a former employer's good faith response to a new or prospective employer's inquiry about the job performance of a former employee. Generally speaking, even if the information given is false and damaging and would otherwise give rise to a defamation lawsuit, it will be protected under the "qualified" privilege.

If the communication exceeds the scope of the privilege, the privilege is not allowed. For example, if the communication to your new or prospective employer is not in response to an inquiry, but a voluntary and unsolicited communication, liability for defamation will attach if the information is untrue. Even if the communication is made in response to a prospective employer's inquiry, false and damaging information will not be protected by the privilege if it is made with knowledge or reckless disregard of its falsity, or with the intent to cause injury to the former employee.

If you or someone you know in Hackensack, or elsewhere throughout the states of New Jersey and New York, needs the assistance or trusted legal advice of an experienced employment discrimination lawyer, please call Deutsch Atkins P.C. today at 866-615-3234, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your free initial consultation.