Employment Laws in New Jersey
Protect Your Rights with an Employment Lawyer
New Jersey workers are legally entitled to a workplace free from discrimination, sexual harassment, wage theft, and retaliation.
Employment laws in New Jersey protect workers’ rights. The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination bans race discrimination, age discrimination, and sexual harassment.
New Jersey laws also cover discrimination because of someone’s religion, national origin, disability status, marital status, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression.
Have you faced workplace discrimination, sexual harassment, unpaid wages, or retaliation? An employment lawyer can help protect your rights. You may be entitled to lost wages and damages.
Contact Working Now and Then today for a free consultation with an experienced employment lawyer.
New Jersey Law Against Discrimination
Workplace discrimination violates the law.
In New Jersey, employers cannot discriminate against employers because of their race, religion, national origin, disability, age, sex, or sexual orientation. The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination also covers other protected characteristics, like marital status, ancestry, or genetic characteristics.
The Law Against Discrimination offers broader and stronger protections than federal workplace discrimination laws. For example, victims of age discrimination can receive damages for emotional pain and suffering and punitive damages, which federal law does not allow.
Workplace discrimination laws also protect employees from retaliation, wrongful termination, and a hostile work environment.
An employment lawyer can help NJ workers protect themselves from workplace discrimination. Reach out today for a free consultation.
Do you live in New Jersey but work in New York? Learn more about New York workplace discrimination protections.
New Jersey Sexual Harassment Protections
Strong sexual harassment laws in New Jersey protect employees.
The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination prohibits sexual harassment. This includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or any other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.
Supervisors cannot request sexual favors for a job offer, promotion, or any other employment benefit. They cannot threaten to fire employees who refuse to engage in a sexual relationship.
Sexual harassment can also create a hostile work environment. Employees deserve a workplace free of sexual, abusive, or offensive conduct. Coworkers, supervisors, or even subcontractors who create a hostile work environment with sexual harassment violate the law.
A sexual harassment lawyer can help NJ workers protect themselves from sexual harassment. Reach out today for a free consultation.
Do you live in New Jersey but work in New York? Learn more about New York sexual harassment protections.
New Jersey Wage Theft Protections
Across the country, workers lose $50 billion dollars each year because of wage theft.
Wage theft includes paying an employee less than minimum wage, not paying overtime pay, or other common forms of wage theft.
In 2019, New Jersey passed a strong anti-wage theft law. Under the law, victims of wage theft can receive unpaid wages plus damages equal to 200% of the unpaid wages. For example, if an employer underpaid an employee by $10,000, the employee can receive $10,000 in unpaid wages plus $20,000 in damages.
In New Jersey, strong laws protect employees from wage theft. An employment lawyer can recover your lost wages plus damages. Reach out today for a free consultation.
New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act
New Jersey offers strong protections for whistleblowers. When it was enacted, the New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act was described “as the most far-reaching ‘whistleblower statute’ in the nation.”
The Conscientious Employee Protection Act protects whistleblowers from wrongful termination, retaliation, and “retaliatory harassment.” This includes hostile, intimidating, and abusive behavior toward whistleblowers.
Employees who disclose or object to their employers’ illegal or unethical behavior are protected under the law. The law also applies to employees who refuse to participate in an activity that constitutes a clear violation of public policy concerning health, safety, or welfare or is incompatible with a clear mandate regarding the protection of the environment.
The fact that an employee was a participant in the illegal or unethical activity does not preclude them from Conscientious Employee Protection Act protections.
Whistleblowers can file a lawsuit to protect their rights under the Conscientious Employee Protection Act.
An employment lawyer can help whistleblowers file a claim and recover damages. Reach out today for a free consultation.
How to File an Employment Violation Claim in New Jersey
In New Jersey, employees can file a complaint about workplace discrimination or harassment with the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights (DCR). The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) also accepts discrimination and sexual harassment claims.
Unlike federal law, New Jersey law applies to all employers, regardless of the number of employees.
In addition to filing a complaint with the state agency, victims of workplace discrimination, sexual harassment, wage theft, and retaliation can also file a lawsuit in court.
An employment lawyer can help you determine whether you have a case. Some employment laws offer short statutes of limitations, so reach out to an employment lawyer as soon as possible.
Employment lawyer Charles Joseph offers free consultations on NJ employment issues. Reach out today to discuss your case.
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