You do have the opportunity to take responsive action if you face workplace discrimination, either by filing a claim with the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights (DCR) or by suing your employer. Working with an employer discrimination lawyer serving Elizabeth an make it easier to outline these options and build a case accordingly.
New Jersey has robust protections in place designed to protect employees from mistreatment based on race, gender, sexuality, age, and other characteristics. You don’t have to let any fears about retaliation prevent you from getting the justice you deserve if you’ve been wrongfully denied a position, fired, refused a promotion, or docked pay due to protected traits.
Get in touch with our employment lawyers today to learn more about how DCR claims and discrimination lawsuits can help you protect yourself in the workplace.
Who is Protected From Discrimination in New Jersey?
Our Elizabeth employment lawyers know that New Jersey has a robust system in place designed to protect employees from discrimination based on protected traits. According to the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD), no employer has the right to target an employee or someone they’re interviewing based on that person’s:
- Disabilities
- Race
- Color
- National origin
- Pregnancy or likelihood of becoming pregnant
- Age
- Sexual orientation
- Gender
- Gender identity
- Marital status
- Genetic information or refusal to participate in genetic testing
If you suspect that an employer may have discriminated against you based on one of these protected traits, you can connect with an Elizabeth workplace discrimination lawyer to discuss how you can hold them accountable for violating the law.
Working with our legal team gives you the opportunity to demand compensation for your mistreatment.
What is Workplace Discrimination?
Workplace discrimination can take on a wide range of forms, and it’s not always obvious. You may have the right to invoke NJLAD and sue an employer for discrimination in Elizabeth if you believe that an employer:
- Refused to hire you based on a protected trait
- Refused to offer you a promotion due to biases about protected traits
- Terminated you from your position due to your protected traits
- Altered your compensation or benefits
- Reduced or altered your privileges of employment
- Barred you from joining an employee organization or participating in union activities
Workplace harassment campaigns can also constitute workplace discrimination. If your employer or managers are actively making your workplace unsafe and unpleasant to be in while targeting the characteristics protected by NJLAD, you may have the right to compensatory legal action.
What to Do if You’ve Experienced Workplace Discrimination
The best thing you can do if you suspect that you’re a victim of workplace discrimination is to document key incidents. The more information you have about when discrimination took place, what form it took, who witnessed it, and how it impacted your experience in the workplace, the easier it can be to pursue legal action against your employer.
Once you have a comprehensive record of the discrimination enacted against you, it’s time to file a complaint under the New Jersey DCR. We encourage you to get in touch with a lawyer if you want to file a complaint. You only have 180 days from the day of a discriminatory act to move forward with your complaint.
Comparatively, you may have up to two years to act if you want to sue your employer for discrimination in Elizabeth.
Why Should You Work With an Elizabeth Workplace Discrimination Lawyer?
Connecting with an Elizabeth workplace discrimination lawyer allows you to:
- Rely on professionals while evaluating the discrimination you faced and your subsequent right to take action.
- Investigate an employer’s discriminatory behavior.
- Protect yourself from retaliation.
- File a complaint with the DCR before your right to act expires.
- Complete the paperwork necessary to move forward with a workplace discrimination lawsuit and file that paperwork before relevant deadlines expire.
- Negotiate for a settlement that accounts for the financial losses you sustained due to the discrimination you faced.
When you meet with our team, you can discuss how you want to approach your fight for justice and how we can tailor our services to meet your needs.
It’s Time to Discuss Your Right to an Employment Discrimination Claim
If you suspect that you’ve faced workplace discrimination and lost a role, promotion, or reasonable pay as a result, you have the opportunity to demand justice for your mistreatment. You can connect with an Elizabeth, NJ, workplace discrimination attorney today to discuss how you can approach a fight for discrimination compensation.
We’re prepared to represent you in conversations with DCR representatives after filing a claim that highlights the mistreatment that you’ve faced. We can also stand with you in court, where we can outline how your employer’s behavior violated New Jersey’s anti-discrimination laws and thus entitles you to recoverable damages.
You can sue your employer for discrimination in Elizabeth, or you can file a DCR claim against them. Contact O’Connor, Parsons, Lane & Noble today to discuss how you want to proceed in the face of employer misconduct.