Gender discrimination is illegal in New Jersey, but it still occurs in workplaces throughout the state. This type of discrimination can occur at any phase of employment from recruitment, interviewing, and onboarding to job termination. While women have long demonstrated that they are equally able to perform at their jobs as men, gender discrimination still continues to impact their ability to progress in their careers. While sex discrimination predominantly affects women, it sometimes is also directed towards men. The attorneys at Swartz Swidler represent people who have been the victims of workplace sex discrimination and other types of prohibited discrimination.
What is gender discrimination?
Gender discrimination occurs when people are treated differently than their coworkers based on their gender. It can affect any aspect of employment, including recruitment, interviewing, hiring, benefits, pay, promotions, bonuses, training opportunities, layoffs, discipline, and terminations.
While gender and sex are works that are used interchangeably, they have slightly different meanings. Sex refers to an individual’s anatomy as female or male, while gender refers to the characteristics that collectively are associated with being male or female. Workplace discrimination is illegal when it is based on a person’s sex, gender, or both.
Examples of unlawful sex or gender discrimination
Discrimination in hiring, firing, and promotions
Discrimination in hiring might happen when someone applies for a job for which they are highly qualified and experienced but is denied employment because some of the company’s clients prefer to deal with men. It can also happen in recruitment and advertising when a restaurant advertises a server position and states that it prefers women to apply.
Discrimination in firing might happen when a company chooses a disproportionate share of female employees for layoffs or when it terminates a woman after she becomes pregnant and gives birth to a child.
Promotion discrimination based on sex is fairly common. This might happen when a woman who has a greater level of education and experience for a supervisory position is turned down for a promotion in favor of a substantially less-qualified and less-experienced man.
Discrimination in job classifications
Job classification sex discrimination might happen when a woman or man is placed in a lower-level position with less pay than coworkers of the opposite sex. For example, if a woman works at a company for several years and works a large number of hours of overtime has her position reduced to a lower level with less pay after returning from having a baby, this could be an indication of sex discrimination. If the woman tells the employer that she cannot work as many hours of overtime after returning, but male coworkers are allowed to cut back their overtime hours without job penalties, the woman may have grounds to file a sex-based discrimination claim.
Discrimination in benefits
Benefits discrimination is another common area of sex discrimination. For example, if a company provides better benefits packages to male workers than it does to female workers, it is an example of illegal sex discrimination.
If any of these types of situations have affected you at work, you might have been the victim of sex discrimination. This type of discrimination might also be accompanied by other types of unlawful discrimination, including discrimination based on race, age, disability, religion, color, or national origin. Sexual harassment and pregnancy discrimination are other types of sex discrimination that frequently occur in the workplace.
Federal laws covering gender and sex discrimination
People are protected against employment discrimination based on their sex or gender under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its amendments. Under this law, it is illegal for employers to discriminate against employees and applicants in all of the terms and conditions of employment based on sex and other protected characteristics.
Most states have similar laws that make sex and gender discrimination illegal. For example, the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination prohibits sex- and gender-based discrimination in workplaces within the state.
There are also specific laws to protect federal contractors’ employees from sex discrimination. For example, federal contractors who receive contracts worth $10,000 or more each year are prohibited from discriminating against workers on the basis of color, sex, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, or national origin under Executive Order 11246. Under Executive Order 13655, federal contractors’ employees are also protected from discrimination in inquiries about compensation, discussions about compensation, or disclosures about compensation.
Executive Order 11246 is being updated by the U.S. Department of Labor to make the regulations more consistent with current law. The new rule includes express protections against hostile work environments, pay discrimination, pregnancy discrimination, and discrimination based on stereotypes, gender identity, and transgender status.
Who is covered by Title VII?
Educational institutions, local and state governments, and private employers are covered by Title VII if they employ 15 or more workers. It also covers employment agencies and labor organizations. State laws may provide broader protection. For example, the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination applies to all employers in the state, including those employing fewer than 15 workers.
Applicants and current employees are equally protected under Title VII. Workers who are not hired because of their sex are protected as are workers who are fired or not given equal pay or training opportunities as members of the opposite sex.
While sex discrimination more commonly targets women, it is important to recognize that men are also protected under the law. For example, if a business refuses to hire a man for a position that is traditionally held by a woman, the man could have a claim for sex discrimination.
Get help from a gender discrimination attorney at Swartz Swidler
If you believe that you have been the victim of illegal sex discrimination at your job, you should talk to the experienced discrimination lawyers at Swartz Swidler. We can help you to determine whether you might have a claim and discuss the rights that you might have. Contact us today at (856) 685-7420.