What are the Required Elements of a Workplace Sexual Harassment Claim in New Jersey?
The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace. An employee who was sexually harassed was, by definition, subject to sex-based discrimination. This raises an important question: How do you bring a successful sexual harassment claim? The short answer is that there are certain requirement elements that you must establish. In this article, our Monmouth County sexual harassment lawyer provides an overview of the required elements of a sexual harassment claim in New Jersey.
The Harassment Must Be Based on Sex
The employee must first establish a causal connection between the challenged conduct and the employee’s sex. Stated differently, the employee must show that the harassment would not have occurred if the employee’s sex had been different. Notably, both women and men are protected by law against workplace sexual harassment in New Jersey. Both forms of sexual harassment, quid pro quo and hostile work environment, meet this standard.
The Harassment Must Have Been Severe or Pervasive
Next, an employee must prove that the conduct was sufficiently severe or sufficiently pervasive. These are alternative standards. It is important to clarify that a worker is not required to prove that the conduct was both severe and pervasive. In New Jersey, courts evaluate the totality of the circumstances, including the conduct’s frequency, seriousness, duration, physical or threatening character, humiliating nature, and effect on the workplace. The identity and authority of the harasser may also matter because misconduct by a supervisor can have a greater workplace impact than comparable conduct by a co-worker.
A Reasonable Person Would Have Felt Hostile Treatment
The LAD applies an objective standard. The question is whether a reasonable person belonging to the same protected class as the employee would find the conduct sufficiently severe or pervasive to create a hostile, intimidating, or abusive working environment. The employee’s personal sensitivity does not control the analysis. Conduct is not actionable merely because the particular employee found it offensive if a reasonable person in the employee’s position would not view the environment as hostile. Remember, the key point is that it is an “objective” standard. A worker who claims sexual harassment must have been subject to an environment that a reasonable person would also view as sexual harassment.
The Harassment Must Have Adversely Affected the Conditions of Employment
Finally, the sexual harassment must be serious enough to alter the employee’s working conditions and make the workplace hostile or abusive. The employee does not have to prove a discharge, demotion, reduction in pay, denial of promotion, or other tangible employment action. The LAD protects the employee’s right to work in an environment that is not discriminatorily hostile.
Call Our New Jersey Workplace Sexual Harassment Lawyer Today
At Poulos LoPiccolo PC, our New Jersey sexual harassment attorney provides solutions-focused guidance and support to clients. If you have any questions about a workplace sexual harassment claim, please do not hesitate to contact us today. With an office in Monmouth County, our firm provides sexual harassment representation throughout New Jersey.
Source:
njoag.gov/about/divisions-and-offices/division-on-civil-rights-home/know-the-law/njlad/
