Gender Discrimination

New Jersey Sex Discrimination Lawyers

Our attorneys have decades of experience successfully representing the rights of employees who have been the victims of sex discrimination and sexual harassment.

Gender Discrimination

Gender discrimination is a cancer which even today still infects the workplace. It affects employees at all levels, from the lowest rungs of the chain of command, to supervisors and executives.  It affects government employees, private sector employees, and non-profit employees.  It may be overt, such as firing female employees, or more subtle, such as promotion or pay disparities, or opportunities denied.  However, the “glass ceiling” and the “old boys network” have no place in today’s workplace.

Sex discrimination takes many forms.  However, the bottom line is that it refuses to value the employee on job performance rather than gender.

Firing, Demotion and Other Adverse Employment Actions

Employers may not take any action (or fail to take any action) which would adversely affect her employment because of the employee’s gender.  For example, employers cannot fire or demote employees because of their gender.  There are exceptions, however -- the employer may consider gender where it is a “bona fide occupational qualification,” although these exceptions are very rare.  For example, a prison may require female corrections officers be present when there is a medical examination of a juvenile female prisoner, even though that might lead to a circumstance where a woman might be hired for the job over a similarly qualified man.

Sexual Harassment/Hostile Work Environment

An employee may suffer from a hostile work environment when the employee is harassed because of his or her gender.  The examples of sexual harassment are extremely diverse.  Examples include lewd comments, displays of pornography, unwanted touching, repeated requests for dates, sexual propositioning, and indecent photographs.

Quid Pro Quo Harassment

In Latin “quid pro quo” literally means “this for that.”  In employment law, “quid pro quo” harassment is illegal.  Quid pro quo harassment occurs when a superior conditions a benefit at work on some conduct touching on employee’s gender.  So a boss requiring sex for a raise would be quid pro quo harassment.  Less obvious examples qualify, such as statements like, “If you want to get ahead here you better wear a shorter skirt.”

Retaliation

New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination prohibits not just sex discrimination and sexual harassment.  It also protects those who complain or object that either they or their coworkers suffered from gender discrimination or sexual harassment.

Disparate Impact

Employers also may not take any action which adversely affect employees of a particular gender – even though it does not expressly discriminate against a particular gender – regardless of the employer’s interest.

Sex Discrimination is More Than Just Men Discriminating Against Women

While often sex discrimination most often occurs when men discriminate against women, any discrimination based on an employee’s gender is illegal.  Thus, women can discriminate against men, and they also can discriminate against other women as well.  Likewise, men can discriminate against both women and other men.

Contact McLaughlin & Nardi’s Gender Discrimination Lawyers

If you have been the victim of sexual harassment or sex discrimination, e-mail us or call our employment discrimination attorneys at (973) 890-0004.   We have decades of experience successfully fighting for employees’ rights in New Jersey’s courts and throughout the Northeast.  Our offices are conveniently located in Totowa, New Jersey.  We have easy access to Routes 80, 46, 23, 3 and the Garden State Parkway.

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