Understanding Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination Laws in Cherry Hill, NJ

Workplace discrimination is illegal under a number of laws. If you have been a victim of workplace discrimination in any way, you may be entitled to substantial financial compensation. First, you would need to go through a typical and potentially grueling legal process that you should not shy away from because it is the prerequisite for a potential settlement check or jury award. Always check with a workplace discrimination lawyer to learn whether you may have a potential case and what you may do to sue your employer.

Federal Law Prohibits Workplace Discrimination in New Jersey

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the federal law that prohibits all forms of workplace discrimination. These laws apply when you belong to a protected class. Here, a protected class could include your:

• Race
• National origin
• Sex
• Sexual orientation
• Disability
• Religion
• Genetic characteristics

You cannot be treated differently on the basis of your membership in this class.

Examples of things which could be considered discrimination include:

• Failure to hire you for a job
• Wrongful termination
• Harassment
• Disparate treatment on the job
• Denial of certain benefits

New Jersey Law Also Prohibits Discrimination

There is also a state law in New Jersey that has similar prohibitions on discrimination. This law is generally co-extensive with federal law, giving you another option for a venue in which to file your case. There are some instances in which New Jersey law may be even broader than federal statutes. Your workplace discrimination lawyer will review your case and help determine the most advantageous venue for you to file your lawsuit.

You Need to Go Through the Government First

Regardless of whether you are filing a claim under federal or New Jersey law, you cannot go directly to court to seek legal relief. First, you would need to file your claim with either the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) if you were seeking compensation under federal law, or the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights (DCR) if your case is under New Jersey statutes. The government would decide whether to file a lawsuit on your behalf or try to resolve the dispute. If they declined to do so, it would not be the worst result in your case because you would then be able to go to court yourself and control the conduct of your litigation.

Workplace Discrimination Lawsuits Involve a Number of Challenges

Workplace discrimination lawsuits can present a number of difficulties that you must overcome. Your employer is never going to admit that any adverse employment action they took against you was on the basis of your membership in a protected class. Thus, you would rarely have direct evidence of the discrimination to use in your case. Most often, you would be trying to piece together a case using more indirect and circumstantial evidence. In some cases, you may even be trying to prove that members of your protected class in the aggregate were treated in a disparate manner from everyone else.

Employers often fight workplace discrimination lawsuits with everything that they have. Not only are they afraid of bad public relations, but they also fear large potential verdicts. Your employer may sing a totally different tune when they are confronted with strong evidence of their illegal actions. However, you would only be able to gather this evidence with the help of an experienced workplace discrimination lawyer. When you are operating from a position of strength, you have a better ability to negotiate a settlement.

Alternatively, you could take your case all the way to trial and potentially qualify for punitive damages if you win.

Contact the Cherry Hill Discrimination Lawyers at The Gold Law Firm P.C. for Help With Your Workplace Issue

The Cherry Hill discrimination lawyers at The Gold Law Firm P.C. can fight for you when you have been victimized by your employer’s illegal practices. To schedule a free consultation, call 215-569-1999 or contact us online. With offices in Philadelphia and Pennsauken, New Jersey, we proudly serve clients in South Jersey, including Cherry Hill, Haddonfield, Marlton, Moorestown, and Mount Laurel.