Gender / Sex Discrimination

At Rabner Baumgart Ben-Asher & Nirenberg, our New Jersey gender discrimination lawyers enforce the rights of women and men at work.

If your employer has discriminated against you because of your gender, your legal rights have been violated. In New York and New Jersey, gender discrimination (also known as sex discrimination) can include discrimination based on negative stereotypes about women and other forms of negative behavior toward women (or men) because of their sex rather than based on their skills, experience and qualifications for the job. Gender discrimination violates the law in New Jersey, New York State and New York City.

Repeated studies have shown that companies routinely pay women less than their male counterparts for performing the same work. Not only is this unfair, but it also is illegal.

Women with comparable skill, education, knowledge and experience are entitled to be paid comparably to men who perform the same jobs. Unfortunately, both past and present discriminatory practices frequently lead to women receiving unequal pay for the same work.

Fortunately, New Jersey has an extremely strong equal pay act that protects employees who are paid less because of their gender.  For more information, please read our article: New Jersey Enacts Stronger Equal Pay Law.

In some companies, women are blocked from promotions above a certain level. For example, an employer might not allow women to reach Vice President or Director-level positions. This often is referred to as a “glass ceiling” because it is an invisible barrier that prevents women from rising to higher levels in the organization. Unfortunately, glass ceilings are a fairly common form of gender discrimination.

The New Jersey gender discrimination attorneys at Rabner Baumgart Ben-Asher & Nirenberg, P.C. are experienced at fighting back against employers that have created glass ceilings for women. For more information, or to schedule an initial consultation, please call us at (201) 777-2250.

Sexual harassment occurs when someone is harassed because of his or her gender. While it often is sexual in nature, sexual harassment does not have to be sexual in nature for it to violate your rights as long as it is directed at you because of your gender.

Sexual harassment is legally actionable if it is severe or occurs frequently enough that it would have a significant negative impact on a reasonable woman’s work environment.

While typically women are the ones who experience sex discrimination at work, occasionally a company or a supervisor favors women over men. Reverse discrimination against men is illegal in New Jersey, New York City and New York State.

Related Claim: Pregnancy Discrimination

Pregnancy discrimination often is associated with gender discrimination. It occurs when an employer treats pregnant women less favorably than their non-pregnant coworkers based on biases, assumptions or stereotypes, rather than based on facts.

Related Claims: Sexual and Affectional Orientation Discrimination

In many instances, gender discrimination can go hand in hand with sexual orientation or affectional orientation discrimination. For example, discrimination based on gender stereotyping is common toward lesbian, gay and bisexual employees who do not fit their employer's prejudiced expectations. 

While it is not always a form of gender discrimination, New Jersey law protects victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse from discrimination for taking time off from work for reasons related to the violence or abuse.

In both New York and New Jersey, gender discrimination is unlawful. If you have been subjected to sex discrimination at your job, or if you would like to learn more about your legal rights in the workplace, please contact one of our New Jersey gender discrimination lawyers.

We have the knowledge and experience to provide the legal representation you need, and the compassion and understanding to appreciate and understand how difficult it is to live through discrimination at work. We look forward to the opportunity to meet with you and help protect your legal rights. Our telephone number is (201) 777-2250.

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