Gender Discrimination Lawyer in Gloucester County

If your employer treats you differently because of your sex, gender identity, or gender expression, you may have a claim for unlawful workplace discrimination. The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD), N.J.S.A. 10:5-12, prohibits employment discrimination based on sex, gender identity, or expression, and other protected characteristics. The law can apply to decisions involving hiring, compensation, promotions, job assignments, discipline, and termination.

At Puff Sierzega & MacFeeters Law Offices, our Gloucester County gender discrimination attorneys can help employees evaluate whether a workplace decision was discriminatory, identify evidence of unequal treatment, and determine available legal options.

What Does Gender Discrimination Look Like at Work?

Gender discrimination can take many forms. An employer may discriminate when it makes an employment decision based on an employee’s sex, gender identity, or gender expression, rather than on legitimate job-related considerations. Examples may include:

• Paying an employee less because of their gender.
• Passing someone over for a promotion because of their gender.
• Assigning less desirable work based on gender.
• Applying disciplinary rules differently to employees of different genders.
• Refusing to hire or terminating someone because of their gender identity or expression.
• Allowing gender-based harassment or a hostile work environment to continue after the employer knows or should have known about it.

New Jersey’s LAD specifically prohibits discrimination in the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment. If you believe a workplace decision was influenced by gender, our gender discrimination lawyers in Gloucester County can examine the decision-making process, compare how similarly situated employees were treated, and identify evidence that may support a discrimination claim.

Can Gender Discrimination Affect Your Pay or Promotion?

Yes. Gender discrimination can affect both what you earn and your opportunities to advance. New Jersey also prohibits certain discriminatory pay disparities. The LAD prohibits paying a member of a protected class less than employees outside the protected class for substantially similar work when viewed as a composite of skill, effort, and responsibility. N.J.S.A. 10:5-12(t).

For instance, if employees performing substantially similar work receive different pay or advancement opportunities and the difference is connected to gender, the circumstances may warrant further investigation. Our Gloucester County gender discrimination attorneys can review compensation records, job duties, promotion decisions, and how comparable employees are treated to determine whether the facts support a potential claim.

What If Your Employer Retaliates After You Complain?

Reporting discrimination shouldn’t cost you your job. Retaliation may take the form of termination, demotion, reduced hours, undesirable reassignment, disciplinary action, or other adverse treatment after an employee complains about discrimination or participates in an investigation.

The timing and circumstances can be particularly important. If you receive consistently positive evaluations and are suddenly disciplined shortly after reporting gender discrimination, for instance, those events may warrant closer examination. Our gender discrimination attorneys in Gloucester County can review communications, personnel records, performance evaluations, and the timing of employment decisions to determine whether retaliation may have occurred.

What Can You Do If You Experienced Gender Discrimination at Work?

If you believe you’ve experienced unlawful gender discrimination, you can file a complaint with the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights or pursue an action in Superior Court, depending on the circumstances. Available remedies may include back pay, compensatory damages, punitive damages, reinstatement or other injunctive relief, and attorney’s fees where authorized.

Deadlines also matter. A complaint filed with the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights generally must be filed within 180 days of the alleged violation, while an LAD lawsuit in Superior Court generally must be filed within two years. The applicable deadline can depend on the circumstances, so you should act promptly and evaluate your options.

Was Your Career Affected by Gender Discrimination in Gloucester County?

A workplace decision that appears unfair may have a deeper legal issue when gender influenced how you were hired, paid, promoted, disciplined, or treated. If you believe gender discrimination affected your employment in Gloucester County, reach out to Puff Sierzega & MacFeeters Law Offices and schedule your confidential case evaluation by calling 856-845-0011 or emailing us.