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DISCRIMINATION
WHETHER YOU ARE YOUNG OR OLD, EMPLOYERS HAVE NO RIGHT TO USE THAT AS A DECIDING FACTOR IN EMPLOYMENT DECISIONS.
You have the right to have any employment decisions made on the merits, what you bring to the table, and your personal experiences. Some factors tied closely to age – such as experience – can be bona fide requirements employers can look at, but many quick judgments and decisions are examples of illegal age discrimination.
The Passaic County age discrimination attorneys at The Law Offices of Usmaan Sleemi represent employees who have been harmed or wrongfully terminated because of age discrimination in the workplace. If you or a loved one lost your job, was demoted, or suffered other adverse employment decisions because of your age, contact our law offices today to begin exploring your options for compensation and potential reinstatement. Our phone number is (973) 453-4060.
EXCEPTIONS TO AGE DISCRIMINATION RULES IN NEW JERSEY
First, the LAD only protects against age discrimination between the ages of 18 and 70. Employers are allowed to refuse to hire children for their jobs, and they can also treat underaged workers differently if they have a good reason to do so. Additionally, older workers over the age of 70 might need modified tasks or may be refused employment because of real risks in the workplace. However, where New Jersey law might allow discrimination in some of these situations, federal law may still prohibit certain forms of discrimination, even for workers over 70.
Aside from the protected age ranges, there are other areas where New Jersey’s discrimination laws might not protect you. You should always have an attorney review your case to determine whether your employer is properly taking advantage of an exception to discrimination rules. Many discriminatory decisions are made under the pretense that they are following the rules for exceptions, but they still abuse employee rights in illegal ways.
Employers may be permitted to set “bona fide” standards that include age. For instance, if an employer is hiring actors for certain roles, it may be a bona fide requirement that an actor is a believable age for the part. This does not equally justify employers seeking to hire people for physical labor jobs to set age caps on their applicants in an attempt to get more physically fit applicants.
Other requirements for job positions may try to pass as bona fide job requirements, but they could ultimately discriminate against people of certain ages anyway. For instance, a requirement that you must be able to lift 100lbs might be unnecessary for the job in question and merely aims to weed out older workers.
WHAT QUALIFIES AS AGE DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORKPLACE IN NEW JERSEY?
The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) is a powerful law that protects workers throughout the state from various types of discrimination in the workplace. One of the features the LAD protects is age so that you cannot be discriminated against because of your age. However, unlike discrimination based on religion, for example, age sometimes does play into the bona fide requirements for a job. Our age discrimination attorneys break down the NJ LAD and explain exactly what constitutes age discrimination in New Jersey.
“Discrimination” for the purposes of the Law Against Discrimination includes any time that an employer uses illegal criteria to make an employment decision. Age is one of these illegal factors, which means that it is discrimination if age is used in any employment decisions, such as deciding…
- Not to hire you,
- To fire you,
- Not to promote you,
- To pay you less,
- To revoke employment benefits,
- To modify your job tasks,
- To transfer you,
- To force you to retire, and other employment decisions.
In addition to employment decisions, your supervisors and coworkers are not permitted to use your age as a factor in how they treat you. Professionalism – and anti-discrimination laws – dictate that an employee or a co-worker should be treated equally regardless of age, sex, or other factors. Along with this, it is illegal for an employer to perpetrate or tolerate harassment, bullying, or mistreatment in the workplace based on age. That means that if co-workers belittle you for being “too young” or “too old,” they could be committing acts of age discrimination.
REMEDIES FOR AGE DISCRIMINATION
If you were the victim of age discrimination, you might be entitled to any back pay (with interest), missed benefits, and other payments you missed out on because you had to take another job or because you were out of work. You may also be paid damages for the emotional distress you faced. The at-fault employer may also be made to pay your legal fees. On top of this, your employer may be fined and forced to pay additional damages to the State of NJ.
PASSAIC COUNTY, NEW JERSEY AGE DISCRIMINATION ATTORNEYS
If you or a loved one was discriminated against on the basis of age, talk to an attorney today. The Passaic County age discrimination lawyers at The Law Offices of Usmaan Sleemi represent victims of age discrimination and fight to get them the compensation they need for lost wages and emotional distress after facing age discrimination in the workplace. For a free consultation on your discrimination case, contact our law offices today at (973) 453-4060.