Retaliation Category Archives — New Jersey Employment Lawyer Blog Published by New Jersey Employment Attorneys

Published on: December 9, 2022

A Trenton Police Officer Demoted After Confronting a Colleague About His Sexual Harassment of a Female Subordinate Settles His Retaliation Case

When your employer retaliates against you because you stood up against illegal conduct — such as discrimination or sexual harassment — it has engaged in illegal conduct in New Jersey. That’s equally true whether the action you opposed harmed you or harmed someone else. If you’ve been punished because you spoke out — whether on behalf of yourself or a coworker — you should contact an experienced New Jersey retaliation lawyer about your situation.

As a recent example, there’s the story of a New Jersey police detective who allegedly intervened on a behalf of a coworker experiencing sexual harassment… and suffered a demotion as a result.

R.R. had worked for the Trenton Police Department from 2007 to 2011 (when he lost his job in a round of mass layoffs,) and returned to the force two years later. By 2019, he had risen to become a detective and part of the Shooting Response Team as well as the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, NJ.com reported.

Published on: October 31, 2022

What It Does — and Doesn’t Take to Establish a Case for Retaliation in Violation of Title VII

by Phillips & Associates

We probably all can imagine what a workplace retaliation situation might look like. An employee speaks up against discrimination, harassment, or some other illegal conduct, and for speaking out, that worker loses their job. But job loss is far from the only form of retaliation for which you can take action. In fact, under Title VII, the federal discrimination statute, retaliation can be anything that a reasonable worker would construe to be materially adverse to them. That potentially can be a wide spectrum of things. If you think you’ve endured retaliation at work, get in touch with an experienced New Jersey retaliation lawyer to learn more about your legal options.

As an example, there’s the recent retaliation case of Y.C., an intake officer with the New Jersey Department of Child Protection & Permanency.

For Y.C.’s first 18 months, the department assigned new cases on a “straight rotation” basis. Starting in September 2013, though, the officer’s supervisor instituted a new “modified rotation” system designed to ensure that all new cases involving Spanish-speaking families got assigned to Y.C. or one of the office’s three other Spanish-speaking intake officers. She objected, arguing that the modified rotation system would place a heavier burden on the four bilingual intake officers.

Published on: August 10, 2022

How Your Employer’s Inconsistent Application of Discipline Can Strengthen Your Retaliation Case

by Phillips & Associates

As children, many of us decried what we saw as inconsistent treatment of ourselves versus peers or siblings with the oft-used refrain “that’s not fair!” For adults, when inconsistent treatment in the workplace happens because of your race, sex, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, etc., then that often is illegal discrimination. When it happens because you refused a decision-maker’s request for sex, that’s sexual harassment. And when it happens because you engaged in protected activity as part of opposing illegal conduct like discrimination or harassment, that can amount to illegal retaliation. If you’ve encountered that last one then, with representation from a skilled New Jersey workplace retaliation lawyer, you may have a winning retaliation case.

A recent retaliation case from outside New Jersey is a very good illustration regarding how an employer’s double standards and inconsistent application of discipline can work to undermine its defense.

The worker in the case was an employee at an aluminum manufacturing facility in West Virginia. In 2013, management at the facility changed the overtime policy. Under the new policy, workers interested in working overtime shifts had to sign up on a board.

Published on: July 15, 2022

Diversity Jurisdiction and Overcoming Defense Claims of ‘Fraudulent Joinder’ in Your New Jersey Discrimination Case

by Phillips & Associates

There might be various reasons why you’d prefer to litigate your New Jersey discrimination case in a state Superior Court as opposed to a federal District Court. (You may have considered issues of speed, cost, the kind of jury that’ll hear your case, or other factors.) Whatever the reason, you and your knowledgeable New Jersey employment discrimination lawyer undoubtedly contemplated the issue at great length, so you want to do everything possible to ensure that your case eventually proceeds in the court you prefer.

There may be various ways you can shield your state court case from potential removal to federal court. An experienced attorney can help you with pleading your discrimination case in a way that avoids unnecessary exposure to removal.

One of those potential exposures is something the law calls “diversity jurisdiction,” as a recent disability discrimination case from Somerset County illustrates.

Published on: May 31, 2022

A North Jersey Employer Pays Its Former Marketing Director $195K After the AG Accused it of Discrimination, Retaliation, and Denial of Family Leave

by Phillips & Associates

Adding to your family as a result of a pregnancy should be a joyful time. However, for too many parents, especially new mothers, having a baby and caring for that new child is fraught with difficulties at work. These difficulties may include receiving less than all the family leave the law allows, returning to a reduced role after family leave ends, a failure to accommodate breastfeeding, or even termination. All of these things are potentially violations of state and/or federal law so, if any of them have happened to you, do not delay in contacting a knowledgeable New Jersey family leave lawyer.

Earlier this year, a new development occurred in a case we blogged about two years ago. Back in 2020, the Attorney General’s Office had initiated proceedings against a Hudson County home goods company on the basis of discrimination and retaliation.

To recap the case, the worker was a marketing director who became pregnant in 2017. In early 2018, she notified her employer that she planned to take several months off, using federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave to recover from giving birth and New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA) leave to care for her new baby.

Published on: April 29, 2022

Impermissible Retaliation Actions in New Jersey Workplaces and What You Can Do If You’re the Victim of One

by Phillips & Associates

When you get hurt on the job and become disabled (either temporarily or permanently) as a result, your employer may fear the consequences… on their bottom line. Many of those same (improper) considerations can take place when you step up and act as a whistleblower. If your employer has taken adverse action against you (such as firing you, demoting you, cutting your hours, etc.) because of the disabling injury you suffered or because you engaged in whistleblowing, then your employer very possibly has violated the law. Don’t assume there’s nothing you can do. Instead, fight back by consulting with an experienced New Jersey workplace retaliation lawyer and finding out more about the legal options that exist for you.

Sometimes, an employer can make a good-faith mistake regarding a less-than-clear issue of how far their legal obligations under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination do (or don’t) extend. (That doesn’t mean that they aren’t culpable for the harm they caused you, as an unintentional violation is still a violation all the same. A more egregious violation may, however, open an employer up to greater liability.)

A lot of times, though, the alleged missteps an employer makes are more obvious. I.F.’s retaliation case against a New Jersey county government fell more into the latter category than the former.

Published on: January 31, 2022

You Have Rights in New Jersey If You Were a Whistleblower and Your Employer Retaliated Against You Because of It

by Phillips & Associates

As you may know, employers generally are prohibited from retaliating against you if you speak up +and oppose discrimination or sexual harassment (targeted at you or someone else.) However, here in New Jersey the law does more — barring employers from retaliating against employees for standing up and opposing (or threatening to oppose) various law violations, rules violations, safety issues, fraud, or other misconduct. This type of speaking out is called whistleblowing and the Conscientious Employee Protect Act offers whistleblowers substantial protections. If you’ve been punished for speaking out, then you may be entitled to various forms of very important relief, so you should get in touch with an experienced New Jersey whistleblower retaliation lawyer as soon as possible to discuss your options.

For one Jersey Shore nurse, A.W., it all started when a fellow nurse, according to their local union, “blew the whistle” on the lack of proper personal protective equipment (PPE) at their workplace during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a nj.com report.

A.W., who was also the local union president, backed up those assertions, posting on Facebook about the lack of PPE, hazard pay, and other problems, as well as hosting an “Ask Me Anything” on Reddit.

Published on: January 24, 2022

A Black Worker in New Jersey Suffers Discrimination, Sues, and Settles… Then She Suffers Retaliation and Sues Again, Recovering an Additional $2M

by Phillips & Associates

There are certain assumptions people often make about people who endure discrimination or harassment at work. One of those is that, if the employee is not fired, they will leave the job on their own. Reality is often more complicated. For a variety of reasons, you might want or need to keep that job despite what has happened in the past, and therefore stay on. By continuing to stay, you may remain vulnerable as a target for additional discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation. If that happens, the law allows you to go back to court and seek additional compensation. An experienced New Jersey employment discrimination lawyer can help you ascertain the best way to go about doing that.

Take, for example, P.W., a Black woman who worked for NJ Transit and who allegedly suffered both race discrimination and workplace retaliation. Back in early 2014, she and six other Black NJ Transit employees sued for racial discrimination. The nature of the alleged discrimination was multifaceted, including receiving lower pay than their white peers and unfair treatment as compared to white coworkers. The allegations also stated that a white supervisor used the N-word and placed a makeshift noose around a Black employee’s neck while commenting that that was “how things were handled in the South,” according to a nj.com report.

The plaintiffs in that lawsuit successfully worked out a settlement in that case. The settlement, reached in 2016, called for the workers to receive $3.65 million, nj.com reported.

Published on: November 16, 2021

A Federal Judge in New Jersey Greenlights an ESU Officer’s Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Her Employer

by Phillips & Associates

Certain employment cultures place an outsized value on refusing to report misconduct by one’s colleagues to higher command or upper supervisors. Those that do report may be at extreme risk of becoming targets within these insular cultures. Law enforcement can be one of those workplaces. An officer who reports his/her fellow officers risks being tarred as a “rat.” This is especially problematic for female officers, as many of these police departments are also male-dominated workplaces prone to sexual harassment. If you’ve suffered sexual harassment in your police job, you owe it to yourself to contact an experienced New Jersey sexual harassment lawyer and find out what steps you can take.

A sexual harassment case from Hudson County allegedly involved a distinct example of this kind of workplace in action. The plaintiff, S.M., was a female officer with the Emergency Services Unit (ESU) of a local police department.

The harassment allegedly began when a lieutenant began stating that the officer’s direct supervisor was her “boyfriend.” According to the complaint, after S.M.’s protestations, the lieutenant’s harassment only got worse. Other officers told S.M.that the lieutenant had also made comments to the supervisor, asserting that the lieutenant “hoped” S.M. was providing “real good” sexual favors.
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Published on: October 8, 2021

The Important Role the Right New Jersey Legal Team Plays in Ensuring Your Discrimination Lawsuit Meet All of the Law’s Procedural Requirements

by Phillips & Associates

If you’ve encountered disability discrimination in your job, you’ve likely suffered significant harm. You may have lost earnings; you may have lost your job entirely. You’ve suffered enough; you don’t need to suffer the loss of your discrimination lawsuit before it even gets off the ground because you didn’t have the tools you needed for success. Before you start, make sure have all the resources you need, including an experienced New Jersey disability discrimination lawyer.

The reasons that the right legal representation is so important are many. On TV shows, during the pretrial process, you see attorneys digging through stacks of documents or interviewing potential witnesses. You don’t see all that goes into, say, making a proper demand for the production of documents or correctly noticing a deposition.

Many procedural details potentially can trip up your case. Take, for example, Y.R., an office manager at a dermatology practice. The manager allegedly had peptic ulcers. The employer allegedly failed to accommodate the manager’s disabilities that stemmed from those ulcers. Eventually, in early 2018, the employer fired the manager after nearly 15 years on the job, so Y.R. sued for disability discrimination.