Workplace Harassment and/or Hostile Work Environment
Northern and Central New Jersey Employment Law
Harassment is another form of discrimination. Even if your employer has not taken a formal employment action against you (such as firing you), it is unlawful for your employer to subject you to a hostile work environment on the basis of a legally protected status such as your age, color, ethnicity, gender (sex), disability, pregnancy, religion, sexual orientation or certain other characteristics. You have been unlawfully harassed if you suffer severe or pervasive negative workplace conduct because of your status that is legally protected by law.
Under New Jersey law, if a workplace harassment victim proves that a supervisor illegally harassed him/her, then the employer is legally responsible for damages. If you are harassed by a coworker, your employer can be held legally responsible if he/she (through any of the other employees) knew that the harassment occurred and did nothing to stop it, or should have known that the harassment was taking place, or did not have effective anti-harassment policies or training.
Employer’s Legal Obligation to Provide a Safe Work Environment
An employer’s legal obligation is to prevent workplace harassment and to address employee harassment complaints. If the harassment victim complains to her/his supervisor about being harassed, the employer’s legal obligation is to promptly investigate and take whatever measures are necessary to stop the harassment. If the employer fails to promptly investigate and take effective remedial action, then the employer may be required to pay damages to the harassment victim.
If harassment is either severe or pervasive such that it creates a hostile work environment, a harassment victim may be awarded emotional distress damages for having to endure the employer’s illegal conduct. However, under New Jersey law, a harassment victim is not necessarily entitled to damages for resigning from the workplace even if the employee can prove that the workplace conduct is illegal and creates a hostile environment. Instead, a harassment victim must prove that she/he was constructively discharged – in other words forced to resign by the very nature of the conduct.
Green, Savits & Lenzo Can Help
The attorneys at Green, Savits & Lenzo have extensive experience in federal and state trial and appellate courts representing victims of workplace harassment who have been treated differently because of the following protected characteristics:
- Age
- Ancestry
- Civil Union Status
- Color
- Disability
- Domestic Partnership Status
- Gender
- Gender Identity
- Genetic Traits
- Marital Status
- Military Service
- Nationality
- National Origin
- Pregnancy
- Race
- Religion
- Sexual Orientation
We have helped workplace harassment victims receive lucrative verdicts and settlements, and we will fight aggressively to ensure you receive the compensation you deserve.
Please contact Green, Savits & Lenzo today to schedule your initial consultation. Our workplace harassment lawyers serve clients in Northern and Central New Jersey.
Contact the attorneys at Green, Savits & Lenzo today by calling (973) 695-7777, or by visiting our contact us page.
Green, Savits & Lenzo, LLC
35 Airport Road
Morristown, NJ 07960
Phone: (973) 695-7777
Fax: (973) 695-7788
Email
Our employment law firm proudly serves all of Northern and Central New Jersey, including the communities of Morristown, Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, Elizabeth, Edison, Woodbridge, Trenton, and Princeton, and the Counties of Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren.
