Union, New Jersey, Legal Blog

Despite there being laws that prohibit employers from discriminating against women because of pregnancy, that sort of discrimination remains a problem in New Jersey and across the country. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reportedly received 2,790 pregnancy discrimination complaints in 2018 alone, and a staff attorney for the Women's Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union said that figure likely underestimates the number of workers who are impacted by pregnancy discrimination.

The ACLU staff attorney also pointed out that the number of complaints for pregnancy discrimination increased by almost 50% from 1997 to 2011. According to an estimate by the National Partnership on Women and Families, as many as 250,000 pregnant women annually do not receive the accommodations they are entitled to under the law. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act was passed in 1978, amending the already-existing Civil Rights Act. Under the PDA, it is illegal for employers to discriminate against a worker due to childbirth, pregnancy or a medical condition related to childbirth or pregnancy.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released an article that described which types of relief it can provide for victims of federal workplace discrimination. The EEOC is responsible for handling discrimination claims in New Jersey and around the country. When they order relief, their goal is to give the victims compensation that makes them whole or as close as possible to whole.

According to anti-discrimination laws, the EEOC is allowed to provide both financial and equitable relief for discrimination victims. They can order back pay and compensatory damages as well as training, reinstatement, and even appointment to a new position. Relief is ordered on a case-by-case basis according to the circumstances of the discriminatory action. Victims can also be compensated for attorney's fees and costs.

Employers create internal policies to manage employee behavior and promote productivity. Enforcement of these policies, however, might appear inconsistent, especially to workers in New Jersey who suspect that their gender, race, sexual orientation, age or ethnicity prompted managers to single them out for punishment or termination. A court case involving the dismissal of an openly gay man has established the precedent that uneven enforcement of company rules does amount to discrimination.

The circumstances that led to the case involved a heterosexual married woman and a gay man. The employer hired them at the same time, but only fired the gay man for violating the prohibition on personal use of the internet at work. The woman had also used a company computer to send personal emails, but she did not lose her job. The court concluded that the man had been a victim of workplace discrimination.

New Jersey workers can face racial discrimination and harassment in a variety of settings, including in the high-pressure environment of airport security. In the baggage screening area at one international airport, a makeshift noose was discovered. As a result, two Transportation Security Agency (TSA) workers were suspended with pay while an investigation is pursued. The discovery comes following repeated complaints of harassment and racism on the job for TSA employees. Officials described the noose as an "offensive display", and it was found in an employees-only area that was closed to passengers and the public.

TSA employees are not alone in complaining about being treated differently because of their race on the job or harassed with racist remarks or slurs. In June 2019, one black worker at a Boeing plant in South Carolina sued the aerospace firm. He also reported finding a noose near his desk and said that other workers at the plant urinated near his chair and desk in an attempt to harass him and force him from the job. He says that after he complained about the racist abuse, he faced retaliation from the company. Earlier in the year, in March 2019, a group of 19 UPS workers said that they also found a noose at the distribution center in Ohio where they worked.