Employment Discrimination

New Jersey Employment Discrimination Lawyers Representing Workers Throughout the State

If your employer has treated you worse because of who you are rather than how you do your job, you may have a legal claim under New Jersey law. The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, N.J.S.A. § 10:5-1, et seq. protects employees across the state from being fired, demoted, harassed, paid less, or passed over because they belong to a protected group. The Bergen County employment discrimination lawyers at Rabner Baumgart Ben-Asher & Nirenberg, P.C. can review what happened to you, explain whether the law applies, and help you decide what to do next.

This page explains what employment discrimination is under New Jersey law, how it tends to show up at work, what you would need to prove, and the steps you can take to protect yourself.

What Counts as Employment Discrimination in New Jersey

Employment discrimination happens when an employer treats you worse because of a personal characteristic that the law protects, rather than because of another reason such as your job performance, conduct, or qualifications. Under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, often shortened to the LAD or the NJLAD, an employer cannot fire, demote, discipline, refuse to hire, underpay, or harass you on the basis of a protected characteristic. The law reaches most employers in the state, including small businesses that federal law does not necessarily cover.

The NJLAD protects a wide range of categories. An employer is prohibited from treating you worse because of your:

• Age, including decisions based on assumptions about older workers
• Ancestry, meaning your family or ethnic background
• Color, meaning skin shade, which the law treats as distinct from race
• Disability, including an employer’s failure to provide a reasonable accommodation that would let you perform your job
• Gender and sex, including unequal treatment based on sex
• Marital status, such as being married, single, divorced, or widowed
• National origin, meaning the country or region you or your family came from
• Pregnancy, including recent childbirth, nursing, and the right to reasonable accommodations
• Race, including treatment based on racial or ethnic background
• Religion, including an employer’s failure to accommodate sincerely held religious practices
• Sexual orientation and gender identity, including being gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender
• Veteran or military status, as a current or former member of the armed forces
• Status as a victim of domestic violence or sexual assault, such as needing time off after an incident

The law also protects you when an employer treats you worse because of a characteristic it wrongly believes you have, or because of your association with someone in a protected group.

How Discrimination Tends to Show Up at Work

Discrimination rarely is announced. An employer almost never says it is firing you because of your age or your religion. More often, the unfair treatment is hidden behind an explanation that sounds legitimate on the surface.

A negative pattern frequently begins after a triggering event, such as a pregnancy announcement, a request for medical leave, a religious accommodation request, or the hiring of a replacement who is not in the same legally-protected group as you. Common forms of discriminatory treatment include being terminated while less qualified coworkers keep their jobs, being passed over for a promotion you earned, having your pay or hours cut, or being moved into a lesser role.

New Jersey law refers to these kinds of consequences as adverse employment actions. An adverse action is one that materially affects the terms or conditions of your employment, such as a firing, a demotion, a meaningful pay reduction, a denied promotion, or a transfer to a clearly worse position. Minor slights and ordinary workplace friction usually do not rise to this level, although a pattern of that type of behavior that makes your workplace hostile can be actionable harassment. Courts generally ask whether the action materially changed the terms or conditions of your employment.

Employers tend to build a written record before they act, so a few warning signs are worth noticing. A sharp and unexpected drop in performance reviews after years of positive evaluations, a performance improvement plan that appears soon after you disclosed a protected characteristic or made a complaint, and shifting or inconsistent reasons for a decision to take an adverse action all can suggest that the employer’s stated explanation is not the real one.

Retaliation for Reporting Discrimination

The NJLAD also protects you when you object to unlawful discrimination, or something you reasonably believe is unlawful discrimination. If you report it, file a complaint, support a coworker’s complaint, or take part in an investigation, your employer cannot punish you for doing so. Retaliation can take the same forms as discrimination itself, including termination, demotion, and harassment. You can read more on our retaliation page.

A retaliation claim can stand on its own even when the underlying discrimination claim is disputed or unproven. For example, a worker who is fired weeks after complaining about discriminatory treatment may have a claim for the retaliation, whether or not they can prove there was any discrimination.

What You Would Need to Prove

To succeed on a discrimination claim, you generally have to connect the harm you suffered to a protected characteristic, such as your age, gender race or disability. In most cases that means showing you belong to a protected group, you were performing your job, you experienced an adverse employment action, and the circumstances suggest discrimination may have played a role in the adverse employment.

Employers usually respond by offering a lawful reason for the decision, such as poor performance, a reorganization, or an alleged policy violation. The case then often turns on whether that reason is genuine or a pretext, meaning a cover story for the real motive. This is why documentation can matter so much, and why gaps or inconsistencies in the employer’s account can carry significant weight. Ultimately, discrimination often is established through circumstantial evidence, such as the timing of the employer’s conduct, or the fact that its explanation for its actions does not make much sense. Direct proof, such as an admission of discrimination or a discriminatory remark from a decision maker, can help but is not required to prove a claim.

When Intolerable Conditions Force You to Quit

Not every forced departure looks like a firing. If an employer deliberately makes your working conditions so intolerable that a reasonable person would feel compelled to resign, the law may treat your resignation as a termination. This situation is known as constructive discharge.

Proving constructive discharge is demanding. You generally have to show that the conditions were severe rather than merely unpleasant, that the employer created them or knew about them and let them continue, and that a reasonable person in your position would have seen no realistic choice but to leave. Quitting can complicate a later claim, so it usually is worth speaking with an attorney before you resign because of discrimination.

Damages Available in a Discrimination Claim

When a claim succeeds, New Jersey law allows a range of remedies. Depending on the facts, these typically include recovery of lost wages and benefits, compensation for emotional distress, and attorney fees. In some situations, additional damages may be available, such as punitive damages. What you may recover depends heavily on the specifics of your situation.

Steps to Take If You Believe You Are Being Discriminated Against

If you think you are facing discrimination at work, a few practical steps can protect your position while you decide what to do:

• Write down what is happening, including dates, what was said, and who was present, as events occur rather than from memory later.
• To the extent you are permitted to do so, save relevant emails, text messages, performance reviews, and other records to a personal account rather than only on a work device.
• Consider whether reporting the conduct internally makes sense. Some claims may depend on giving the employer a chance to address the problem.
• Do not sign a severance agreement or release without having it reviewed first, since these documents often ask you to give up legal claims.
• Watch the deadlines. A lawsuit under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination generally must be filed within two years. Other options have shorter deadlines. Waiting too long could cost you your rights.

Every situation is different, and the right move depends on facts that a short article cannot capture. A Bergen County employment discrimination lawyer can review your specific circumstances and tell you which of these steps matter most for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Counts as Employment Discrimination Under New Jersey Law?

Employment discrimination occurs when an employer treats you worse because of a protected characteristic rather than something else, such as your job performance or conduct. The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination prohibits employers from firing, demoting, disciplining, underpaying, or harassing you on the basis of traits such as age, race, sex, disability, religion, national origin, pregnancy, or sexual orientation.

Does the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination Apply to Small Employers?

Yes. The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination covers most employers in the state regardless of size, which means it can reach small businesses that federal antidiscrimination laws do not necessarily cover. Whether the law applies to your situation depends on the specific facts. An attorney can confirm whether you have a viable discrimination claim.

How Long Do I Have to File an Employment Discrimination Claim in New Jersey?

A lawsuit under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination generally must be filed within two years of the discriminatory act. Some options, such as filing an administrative complaint, have shorter deadlines, so it can be important not to wait. Missing a deadline could permanently prohibit you from bringing a claim.

Do I Have to Report Discrimination to My Employer Before Taking Legal Action?

Not always, but sometimes it is necessary. Some claims, particularly those involving a hostile work environment, may depend on whether you gave the employer a reasonable chance to address the problem. Reporting it also creates a record. Whether internal reporting is advisable depends on the specific circumstances. As a result, you might want to speak with an attorney first.

What Can I Recover If My Discrimination Claim Is Successful?

Remedies depend on the facts of the case. When a claim succeeds, New Jersey law may allow recovery of lost wages and benefits, compensation for emotional distress, attorney fees, and in some cases punitive damages or other forms of damages and relief. What you may be entitled to varies with the facts and circumstances of your case, including the types of harm you suffered.

Can My Employer Retaliate Against Me for Reporting Discrimination?

No. As long as you have an objectively reasonable belief that there was unlawful discrimination, the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination prohibits employers from punishing you for reporting it, filing a complaint, supporting a coworker’s complaint, or taking part in an investigation. Retaliation can include termination, demotion, or harassment, and can support a separate legal claim even when the underlying discrimination claim is disputed.

Talk to a Bergen County Employment Discrimination Lawyer

If you believe your employer has discriminated against you, then you do not have to work out your next move alone. The attorneys at Rabner Baumgart Ben-Asher & Nirenberg, P.C. represent employees throughout New Jersey from our office in Montvale, in Bergen County. Our firm can review the facts of your situation, explain whether you may have a claim, and help you decide how to proceed. Call (201) 777-2250 to schedule a consultation.