Articles Posted in Sexual Harassment

In the age of the #metoo movement, sexual harassment is in the news now more than ever. Various employers are taking a renewed look at how to eliminate harassment and abuse in their workplaces. With regard to the law in New Jersey, there are actually multiple different ways that you can be a victim of sexual harassment at work. One way involves someone at work basing your employment treatment (such as promotions/demotions, raises, or continued employment) on whether or not you provide sexual favors to that person.

Another form of harassment occurs when behaviors toward you, which might possibly include groping, touching, comments not appropriate for work, explicit or vulgar jokes, insults, epithets, or pornography, become so extreme or extensive that they would make any reasonable person feel intimidated or threatened. This latter form of harassment is called hostile work environment, and it can be the basis of a valid sexual harassment lawsuit under both the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination and federal law. If you have suffered sexual harassment so hostile that it altered the conditions of your job, you should reach out right away to a New Jersey hostile work environment attorney.

In order to have a winnable claim of hostile work environment sexual harassment, you have to demonstrate to the court that the harassment you endured was either “severe or pervasive.” It is possible to have a valid hostile work environment claim based upon only a single incident if that single event was sufficiently extreme and offensive. A federal court last year decided that two African-American men had a valid harassment case based upon a supervisor’s single use of the “n-word.” While that wasn’t an incident of sexual harassment, the workers’ success in court illustrates how a plaintiff can succeed with only evidence of isolated acts if those acts (or single act) were adequately egregious.

If you’re familiar with Latin words used in the law, you’ve probably heard the phrase “quid pro quo.” Quid pro quo is a Latin phrase that basically means “something for something.” Quid pro quo sexual harassment is a situation in which someone offers improper employment benefits in exchange for sex, or, more commonly, an employee suffers harm on the job as a result of refusing sexual advances. This can be one of the most intimidating forms of sexual harassment, since it places you in fear of losing your income. If you’ve suffered from quid pro quo harassment at work, you should reach out right away to a knowledgeable New Jersey sexual harassment attorney.

One employee whose case was an example of this type of harassment was Rochelle, an employee of a major auto parts store. The harassment of Rochelle began only two months after she started a sales representative position at the chain’s Newark location. Nicola began telling others that Rochelle was a prostitute. Rochelle complained, but Nicola retaliated by increasing Rochelle’s workload. The store manager also allegedly suspended Rochelle for complaining about the harassment.

Eventually, Rochelle complained to human resources, and they transferred her to the Irvington store. There, the parts sales manager made unwanted sexual advances toward, and contact with, Rochelle. After Rochelle rejected the man’s sexual advances, he retaliated against her at work. When the corporate headquarters learned of the harassment at Irvington, they transferred Rochelle to the East Orange store. The employer also, however, transferred Rochelle’s harasser from Irvington to East Orange. At East Orange, the man retaliated against Rochelle for not giving him sex by cutting her hours from 40 per week to 32. Rochelle also alleged in her lawsuit that she was denied a promotion because she complained to human resources about the harassment.

Most people in the country have, over the last several weeks, become familiar with the Harvey Weinstein story. Multiple accusers have alleged that the Hollywood producer sexually assaulted or harassed them. Some were actresses, while others were assistants who worked for the producer. Several of these allegations date back to the early to mid-1990s. Some have asked why the producer’s alleged victims waited years, and even decades, to speak out. While there are numerous reasons why a victim might delay in speaking out publicly, for some, there was a very black-and-white one:  they reached a settlement of their legal claims against the producer, and one of the terms of those agreements was their silence. If you are a victim of New Jersey sexual harassment or sex discrimination, potential settlements are one area in which an experienced attorney can be invaluable. Your experienced counsel can help you assess whether a settlement is in your best interest and, if you were to sign, exactly what your contractual obligations would be under that agreement.

A non-disclosure term is a common clause in almost any settlement agreement that resolves the potential legal claims one party might have against another party. The potential defendant pays the potential plaintiff a sum of money, the plaintiff forever gives up her right to sue, and both sides agree never to discuss the confidential details of the agreement. If a bill currently under consideration in the New Jersey legislature becomes law, that process may change in this state when it comes to sexual harassment and discrimination cases. State Sen. Loretta Weinberg proposed SB 3581, a bill that would prohibit employers from using non-disclosure provisions to keep victims of workplace sexual harassment from speaking up, according to an nj.com report.

The bill, as proposed, would not only bar employers from setting up such non-disclosure agreements when the victim was one of sexual harassment, but also apply to any situation in which the employee was a victim of a violation of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. The bill would clarify the law to establish explicitly that a non-disclosure agreement in this type of scenario is against New Jersey public policy and, as a result, is unenforceable.

It is that time of year again. The holidays are upon us. For many working individuals, the holidays will also mean holiday parties held by their employers. While holiday parties can be a fun and festive time, they can also be a source of problems for both employees and employers if an employee, perhaps fueled by an abundance of alcohol, crosses the line and engages in sexual harassment. Unfortunately, holiday party-related sexual harassment happens too often, and, if it happens to you, you should promptly reach out to an experienced New Jersey sexual harassment attorney to help you protect your rights.

In many instances, employees are less inhibited at holiday parties than they are in a conventional business setting. Sometimes, this is a result of alcohol. Other times, even without alcohol, the mere presence of the party atmosphere and removal of the office setting influences improper actions. These two factors mean that holiday parties can be, as one New Jersey employment attorney speaking to clevelandwomen.com called them, “a breeding ground for sexual harassment claims.”

There are several ways that employers can be pro-active to reduce the risk of potential cases of sexual harassment at a holiday party. The employer could, for example, eliminate alcohol from the party or could seek to limit consumption. (For example, Huffington Post reported on changes at the Vox Media party in Brooklyn, where that employer decided that it would “ramp up the food and cut down on the drinks.” That new practice included giving each person two drink tickets instead of having an open bar.) The employer could also eliminate practices like “gag gift” exchanges, since some gag gifts could be inappropriate.

An important New Jersey sexual harassment ruling from the federal Third Circuit Court of Appeals is useful for employees who may have been victims of sexual harassment at work. The new ruling highlights who can qualify as a “supervisor” for the purposes of triggering employer liability in a sexual harassment case. The new ruling concluded that a foreman who handed out work assignments did qualify, and the woman he allegedly harassed was entitled to pursue her case.

The case involved Michelle, who, in 2011, obtained work as a substitute custodian with the Atlantic City schools. That meant that Michelle performed work on a “fill-in” basis but was not guaranteed a certain amount of work, or any assignments at all. Interested in increasing her volume of work, Michelle introduced herself to several custodial foremen. One foreman allegedly engaged in multiple acts of harassment. There was unwanted groping, invitations to the foreman’s office where the foreman was sitting unclothed, and promises of favorable work assignments in exchange for sex, according to the woman.

Allegedly fearing that her job was in jeopardy, Michelle had sex with the foreman once, but she consistently rejected his advances after that. Following her rejection of the foreman, the custodian believed that the foreman began treating her differently. She notified Human Resources, which investigated and concluded that the custodian did not suffer from sexual harassment or discrimination.

Sometimes, when an employee is a victim of sexual harassment, the employer may respond quickly and appropriately, following well-established procedures and policies that it created in advance. Many other times, though, that’s not the case, and that latter scenario is something that may give rise to a sexual harassment lawsuit. Your New Jersey sexual harassment attorney can help you analyze your case and decide what a good manner to proceed may be.

One case recently decided by the Appellate Division involved an employee working for a chain of convenience and food stores. When the employee started in 1999, the employer gave her a copy of its employment handbook, which included the business’ anti-sexual harassment policies. At an awards dinner in 2010, one of the company’s loss prevention employees allegedly sexually harassed the woman repeatedly.

The woman reported the harassment on a survey related to the dinner. The employer investigated and reprimanded the loss prevention employee, including a formal written admonishment, mandatory attendance at a sexual harassment training session, and prohibition from future contact with the alleged victim.