COPYRIGHT © DIGITAL JOURNAL INC. Sitemaps: XML / News. Digital Journal is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more about our external linking
Workplace discrimination is unlawful under state and federal laws. Whether you have been treated unfairly at work or denied employment due to your protected class like age, race, religion, color, disability, or sexual orientation, you can file a workplace discrimination claim. Employment lawyers like Jersey attorney Charles Z. Schalk can help you determine whether it is best to file a claim or lawsuit. You want to hire an attorney who has extensive experience presenting workers in administration and court proceedings with a history of achieving great outcomes for clients.
Under the discrimination law in New Jersey, employers cannot discriminate against employees and those who apply for jobs based on their race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, sex, ancestry, nationality, marital status, and genetic information. Employment discrimination can take place in various forms such as refusing to recruit a job applicant, refusing to let a gay worker take part in certain activities, denying a promotion, or terminating a worker.
If you think you have been discriminated against in your workplace, file a claim with the Division of Civil Rights (DCR) or the EEOC. The state’s anti-discrimination law covers all employers no matter the number of workers. But in general, the federal law applies to employees that have at least 15 workers. File a discrimination claim with the EEOC first before you file a federal lawsuit. If the EEOC cannot resolve your complaint it may issue a letter that allows you to sue.
Because of this, you may want to file a discrimination claim with the DCR. Keep in mind, though, that if this Division finds that your evidence doesn’t support your claim, you can’t take your case to court. Rather, you need to appeal the determination of the DCR.
In addition, if you prefer to file a claim with the DCR, remember that you only have 180 days to do so. The clock starts ticking on the date the discriminatory conduct happened. Meanwhile, you have two years from the incident date to file a lawsuit under federal laws. Regardless of your decision, an employment attorney can help you navigate this process and keep your rights protected.
Because of the challenges and time limitations of pursuing a discrimination claim with the DCR or EEOC, you may want to file a discrimination lawsuit in federal court. However, you can expect to face many challenges since employers can disguise their unlawful and discriminatory motives as legal employment decisions. You can protect your rights by working with a skilled employment attorney. They can hold your employer accountable. They will handle your claim by performing a thorough investigation, getting and examining your personal profile and job performance reviews, identifying and speaking with witnesses, determining any history of discrimination in your workplace, and communicating with your employers and their lawyers.
Your attorney may choose to settle your lawsuit through negotiations, but they will also prepare your case for trial, so you can have an advantage when bargaining takes place. If your employer does not make a reasonable settlement offer, your attorney will take your case to court. You can expect them to recover damages like lost wages, reputational harm, emotional distress, punitive damages, and attorney and court fees.
Although employment discrimination is unlawful, it is not easy to prove. Often, employers don’t create direct evidence of their discriminatory actions. That is why your attorney may have to prove discrimination circumstantially. This means showing that your employer’s action was a pretext for discrimination. This can be done by showing that the justification of your employer is not true. Another way to prove this is to demonstrate that even if the justification of your employer was true, this wasn’t the real motivating factor.