Workplace Harassment in New Jersey: Illegal or Just Mean?

Employees may experience workplace harassment by being humiliated and verbally abused at work.  However, only some certain types of abuse are considered illegal pursuant to the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.  Abuse is illegal in New Jersey only when it is based on a characteristic protected by the Law Against Discrimination, i.e. sex, race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, age, national origin, marital status, gender identity, or ancestry.  Harassment in the workplace that is not based on one of these protected characteristic is unfair and hurtful, but it is not yet illegal.

The New Jersey Healthy Workplaces Act, New Jersey Assembly bill A-673, is pending in the New Jersey legislature.  The Healthy Workplaces Act will outlaw other forms of abuse or bullying. Unfortunately, the Healthy Workplaces Act has only sixteen co-sponsors will most likely not become law.  Until the Healthy Workplaces Act is passed, the "bully boss" is free to abuse subordinates so long as the boss avoids doing harassing the employee based on a protected characteristic.

Please contact Castronovo & McKinney if you have any questions regarding your rights and visit our blog for additional information.