Employment discrimination is more than getting offended at work. It’s an act that can prevent advancement in a career or force someone out of employment. It can even cause a hostile work environment that results in mental trauma.
State and federal governments have laws that allow people to put forward employment discrimination cases. To raise your chances of success, you need an employment discrimination lawyer in Englewood, NJ, on your side. Morelli Law Firm can help you sue the people who committed these acts.
What Is Employment Discrimination?
New Jersey and Federal law recognizes that certain classes of people have faced discriminating or harassing activities in the past and protects them with employment discrimination laws. Federally, these regulations are enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In New Jersey, the relevant law is the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.
Discrimination happens when one group of people is favored over another group of people because they’re a member of that group, whether deliberately or indirectly through policy. A classic example is when a woman is paid less for doing the same job as a man solely because of her gender.
It is also illegal for employers to ignore complaints of workplace discrimination or to retaliate against them. Over half of cases reported to the EEOC have retaliation as one of the complaints. If we can gather evidence of retaliation, you could receive significant compensation and potentially punitive damages.
Does My Case Qualify As Employment Discrimination?
Being a member of a protected class does not protect you against legal forms of discrimination. For instance, if a majority coworker is promoted over you and you belong to a minority, that doesn’t mean it was employment discrimination. To prove it, we would have to gather evidence.
This is one advantage of reaching out to an employment discrimination lawyer in Englewood. All consultations are free, and you’ll get a straight answer about your situation. Our team of experienced lawyers can also tell you how and what kind of evidence we would need to prove illegal discrimination.
Besides helping you with evidence, we can protect you from retaliation behaviors and unlawful denial of taking protected leave. There is no harm in asking our opinion about our situation. If there is something that is illegal, you do not have to pay us unless you win your case.
Englewood Employment Discrimination Lawyer Near Me 877-751-9800
Should I Also Report Discrimination to the Authorities?
Yes. For most businesses in Englewood, the state of New Jersey is the place to begin. In New Jersey, you can file a discrimination or retaliation complaint to the state government through the New Jersey Bias Investigation Access System. You will need to make an account to use their system.
An employment discrimination lawyer can do this on your behalf as well. Also, if you’ve reported the matter to HR and they’ve ignored your complaint or tried to downplay your situation, hiring a lawyer will show that you mean business and intend to take your case to the authorities.
You may also need to reach out to the EEOC to make a complaint if federal law has been violated. Your lawyer can tell you if this needs to be done and do it on your behalf. In either case, it’s best to make the complaint as soon as possible after the incident. Preserve all documents and write down your verbal communications, including dates and times, as best as you can remember.
Can I Record a Conversation to Prove Discrimination?
New Jersey is a “one-party consent” state for recording laws. This means you can legally record discriminating or harassing behavior against you. However, this may be a fireable offense in your employee handbook and could be grounds for immediate termination.
If you have a copy of the handbook, we can review it to see if there are any clauses that could be twisted to fire you, like bringing down company morale, that could be used to retaliate against you. If you do get a recording, keep copies and do not alter them. Then, speak with an Englewood employment discrimination attorney immediately about next steps.
Time Is of the Essence – Talk to a Lawyer Today
In most cases, you only have one year after the discriminating action to file a complaint. Sexual harassment cases have a larger window, but in neither case should you wait too long. The longer you wait, the more memories fade and change and the harder it will be to get evidence.
Remember, there is no harm in asking a lawyer for advice. Contact Morelli Law for a free consultation about your situation with our Englewood employment discrimination lawyers. You could help yourself and help your coworkers through your complaint and potential lawsuit.