“Do I Have a Discrimination Case?”
If you found our website then you must be searching for a lawyer because you feel you are the victim of employment discrimination, harassment or retaliation in the workplace. We speak to many people like you who feel the same way. Often we are able to help them, but sometimes we have to explain that unfair treatment is not the same thing as illegal treatment. Here are some questions we will want to ask you to determine if you have a discrimination or retaliation claim that we can assert on your behalf.
1. Have you suffered “adverse employment action”?
In other words, have you been suspended, demoted or terminated, or have you been subjected to a hostile work environment which has caused you to feel that you cannot continue to work.
If you answered “yes” to this question, then you clearly have been injured. But not every injury gives rise to a legal claim. The next question is critical:
2. Is your injury due to your protected status (such as your age, race, gender, sexual orientation or disability), or in retaliation for engaging in protected conduct (such as refusing to participate in illegal or unethical activity)?
You can only prevail in a discrimination or retaliation claim if you can establish that you have been treated badly because of some protected status or activity. In other words, if your employer is just generally mean or unfair, then although you may have been injured, you probably don’t have a discrimination claim. But if you have been singled out for poor treatment because of your age, for example, or because you are disabled, or because you have threatened to “blow the whistle”, then you may be able to recover damages for your injury.
Taking Action:
Not everything that is unfair is illegal. But if you think you may have a case, or if you want to find out more, contact us so we can talk about it with you. Zuckerman & Fisher, LLC is located in Princeton, Mercer County, New Jersey, and we have experience statewide resolving all types of discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims, whether through settlement or trial. So, contact us to set up an initial consultation. You can call us at 609.514.0514, or email us at ez@zuckfish.com (for Elizabeth Zuckerman, Esq.), or gwf@zuckfish.com (for George Fisher, Esq.). We will be happy to discuss your matter over the phone before you decide whether to schedule an initial consultation.
