New Jersey Employment Lawyer Blog
A few years ago, a team from Carnegie Mellon University completed a study and found that Muslim job candidates faced particularly high levels of discrimination in the hiring process if the employer was located in one of the so-called “red states,” such as in the high plains, the northern Rockies and the southeast. More recently, though, incidents have occurred that raise the specter of anti-Muslim discrimination far away from places like Alabama or Idaho. These incidents demonstrate that, even here in New Jersey, Muslim workers face very real threats of religious discrimination, and that’s especially true in industries like engineering and information technology. If you’ve been harmed as a result of religious discrimination, you have the right to seek compensation in court, so you should reach out to a knowledgeable New Jersey employment discrimination attorney right away.
The most recent potential incident involved an information technology (IT) services company based right here in New Jersey. In late November, news reports began surfacing that exposed an email for an application developer position.
InsiderNJ reported that, at the top of the email, which was addressed to a recruiter, the listing said, “please do not submit Muslim candidates for below position.” The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations called on the firm to undergo a full investigation and discipline all those involved in wrongdoing.
While the Carnegie Mellon study from eight years ago pointed to the very real problem of anti-Muslim discrimination in less diverse areas, Muslims in New Jersey, especially those involved in engineering and tech work, face a different problem. New Jersey is an area where there is great diversity. One of the byproducts of that is a high number of companies in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields whose decision-makers are non-white, including IT employers where the decision-makers are South Asian.
How political shifts overseas have impacted Muslim workers here
That has created its own set of challenges for Muslim employees and job seekers in the STEM fields. Sources have begun reporting on the rise of certain Indian “nationalist” groups and their impact on U.S.-based technology and engineering businesses. Specifically, according to justiceforall.com, the problem centers around supporters of certain nationalist political parties and movements, who have begun gaining “ground in US IT circles.” Back in late 2019, CNN also reported on the increasing degrees of conflicts between certain Indian groups and Muslims.
In the past, much of the focus in this country, when it comes to discrimination in STEM fields of employment, has been on bias against groups like women or older employees, and justifiably so. However, these recent incidents point to Muslims facing their own set of problems in these workplaces.
If you suffer job-related harm in New Jersey because of your Muslim faith, you may be entitled to substantial compensation under the Law Against Discrimination, but to do that, you’ll need an experienced legal team that can help you put together a persuasive case backed up by significant quantities of powerful proof.
Whether you are a Muslim, a woman, an older worker, an immigrant or an LGBTQ+ person, you should be able to pursue whatever job you desire without facing adverse action based on your religion, gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc. When that doesn’t happen, reach out to the skilled employment discrimination attorneys at Phillips & Associates to help. Our attorneys have spent many years helping New Jersey workers just like you to get justice through the legal system. Contact us online or at (609) 436-9087 today to set up a free and confidential consultation to discuss how we can help.