Articles Posted in Employment Discrimination

The New Jersey Supreme Court recently ruled that municipalities that hire from a civil service list have to provide a “legitimate” reason for hiring someone who placed lower in the test ranking, The Star-Ledger reports.

New Jersey Employment Lawyers have seen countless examples of people who were passed over for good jobs simply because of an unqualified person’s connections or other unlawful reasons. These situations should be fought aggressively and sometimes litigation is necessary in order to get justice.In a recent 4-2 decision In the Matter of Nicholas R. Foglio, the New Jersey Supreme Court reversed a practice that some experts say gave too much power to hiring authorities who gave vague reasons for bypassing qualified candidates in favor of family members and those with political connections.

The court ruling is based on the case of Foglio, who was skipped over for a firefighter’s position in Ocean City in 2007. In hiring firefighters that year, the city picked a bartender and a lifeguard over Foglio, who had eight years of experience as a volunteer fireman and emergency medical technician in several communities.

The city initially cited better educational background as the reason, though Foglio had more firefighter educational training. According to the newspaper, it later said the other two had performed better in interviews, though the city couldn’t provide notes or a list of standard questions they asked all candidates. Finally, the city said the other candidates “best met the needs” of the fire department and the Civil Service Commission agreed, as did an appeals court.

But the state’s high court said a “boilerplate” reason is insufficient, and the city was obligated to provide the New Jersey Department of Personnel with a statement of “legitimate” reasons why Foglio wasn’t selected. The city must now decide whether to give Foglio a “legitimate” reason for why he wasn’t hired or must give him a job, his attorney said.

The New Jersey Supreme Court decision is good news for those applying for jobs within a city or town throughout the state. Many times, those hiring civil service employees simply hire less-qualified people as a favor and it undermines the legitimacy of the hiring process. It also is a form of discrimination that shouldn’t be tolerated.

Whether based on age, race, gender, sexual orientation, creed or other reasons outlined in New Jersey law, employers aren’t allowed to discriminate. And that includes the hiring and firing processes. Potential employees are afforded protections just like people who are already on the payroll.

Hiring a New Jersey Employment Lawyer where a potential employee has been passed over for a job or turned down for a promotion or harassed on the job is critical. These injustices should not go unnoticed and unpunished. Sometimes, litigation can be avoided, but there are times when filing a lawsuit is necessary. Our firm has decades of experience handling these cases and continuously fights for employees’ rights.
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In the midst of summer, it is important to note that for teenagers, it’s the best time of year to find a job. Whether it’s picking up shifts at a local retailer or finding work at an ice cream shop along the Jersey Shore, this is the ideal time for young workers out of school.

But while they may be young, they still have rights, just like every other worker. And they can face problems at work, too. Teen work violations in New Jersey must be fought aggressively. New Jersey Employment Lawyers have been fighting workplace discrimination and harassment for decades and believe that everyone should be able to work without added pressures brought on by unlawful practices.In recent years, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal agency that enforces federal laws that prohibit workplace discrimination, teamed up with the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General to educate young workers about the rights they have as employees and how they should and shouldn’t be treated. The campaign was also used to educate business owners, to ensure their employees are treated fairly.

One recent case where young employees allegedly faced issues was in Long Island, CBS News reports. The TV station reports a case of three 20-something sisters who have filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against a restaurant where they once worked.

According to the news station, the sisters claim they were routinely subjected to lewd comments and behavior by male co-workers, including a cook who was convicted for groping one of them in 2008. The man was later convicted of attempted sexual abuse and was sentenced to four months in jail, the station reports. The two other sisters say they were routinely touched inappropriately by other workers.

Along with federal protections, the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination provides help for employees who face discrimination based on race, creed, color, national origin, nationality, ancestry, age, sex, familial status, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, atypical hereditary cellular or blood trait, genetic information, liability for military service and mental or physical disability, perceived disability and AIDS and HIV status, according to the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General.

Sexual harassment means unwanted sexual advances, comments, e-mails, requests for sexual favors or unwelcome touching in the workplace. Workers cannot apply sexual pressure in exchange for increased pay, promotions or other perks. It is against the law.

While jobs are tough to get right now, no one should suffer through discrimination at work in exchange for the promise of keeping a job. Fighting an employer to make things right is important and making sure there is no retaliation is critical, too. Don’t allow yourself to be stuck in a frustrating and difficult job situation without at least consulting with a New Jersey Employment Attorney.
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The Jersey Journal recently reported about a lawsuit filed by five Hispanic police officers formerly on the Hoboken SWAT team. The suit was settled with a $2 million payout.

It’s sad to see, but discrimination based on race still exists today. There are state and federal laws that prohibit discrimination in the workplace based on age, race, creed, national origin, gender, sexual orientation and many other factors, yet employers continue to make hiring and firing decisions based on factors outside a person’s control, such as their race or family history.New Jersey Employment Lawyers seek to ensure all employees are treated fairly and are employed based on their talents, skills, education and qualifications and not based on their skin tone, age or gender.

In this case, the five officers filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against the city in 2007, alleging they were subjected to racial slurs and racially motivated mistreatment. Some of the incidents allegedly occurred during two trips to Louisiana to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

After complaining about the treatment, the officers alleged that officials with the police department retaliated against them.

According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claims of racial discrimination are among the chief complaints that workers make to the agency, which is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against an employee or job applicant.

In 2010, there were 99,922 charges of workplace discrimination and of them, 35,890 were noted to be related to a person’s race. In the last 10 years, race discrimination claims have increased:

• 2010: 35,890
• 2009: 33,579
• 2008: 33,937
• 2007: 30,510
• 2006: 27,238
• 2005: 26,740
• 2004: 27,696
• 2003: 28,526
• 2002: 29,910
• 2001: 28,912
• 2000: 28,945

That is a 24 percent increase in just a decade. It’s unclear whether this means there are far more instances of racial discrimination in the last decade or whether people are more likely to make reports — legitimate or not.

But this story and others like it show that racial discrimination still exists in the workplace throughout New Jersey and the United States. In 2010, more than 3,300 race-based claims of discrimination were settled and monetary benefits totaled $84.4 million, up from $82.4 million in 2009. Benefits totaled $61.7 million in 2000.

More than 26,000 claims were found to have no reasonable cause in 2010, while the agency found that another 1,300 did have reasonable cause to continue.

In this tough economy, brought on by the Great Recession, many people are thrilled just to have a job. But if a worker faces discrimination on the job or in applying for a job, it is unacceptable and unlawful. Some people will simply take the abuse the unlawful treatment in exchange for having a job. Employers sometimes use the threat of unemployment and bleak job prospects as a way to treat workers unfairly.

These injustices should be fought and consulting with a New Jersey Employment Lawyer is the first step.
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New York lawmakers recently introduced legislation that would make it illegal for businesses to discriminate against unemployed job seekers, Reuters reports.

New Jersey Employment Lawyers understand how difficult it can be to find work right now. Millions of Americans are searching job postings, sending out resumes and hoping for callbacks to get back on their feet. And it’s tragic when companies decide not to hire someone just because they’ve been out of work, the result of which may not even be their fault. Unfortunately, its not against the law. Disqualifying an employee for other reasons — including sex, age or race — is illegal and should be handled by a discrimination attorney in New Jersey.The article says the bill would make the unemployed a protected class under New York law, which would give them the same status as other groups, such as the physically disabled. It would also make it illegal to post job openings and openly discourage unemployed applicants.

This type of discrimination contributes to the increased problem of long-term unemployment, lawmakers said. The New York State Department of Labor reports the unemployment rate was 7.9 percent in April, down almost 1 percent from April 2010.

New York is catching up to New Jersey, which was the first state to ban a form of unemployment discrimination by pushing through a bill that made it illegal for companies to require their applicants be employed. It took effect on June 1. There is no federal statute banning employment discrimination, but a Democratic Representative from Georgia recently introduced the Fair Employment Act, which would prohibit hiring practices based on the unemployed.

All this is good news for job seekers. But while these are improvements to the law, it may not protect you at your job. Employers aren’t always legally required to treat their employees fairly, unless the discrimination is based on religion, race, age, gender physical condition, sexual orientation, national origin, veteran or military status or other legally protected class.
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