New Jersey Age Harassment Lawyer
Older workers often face hostility in the workplace. Many employers have a mistaken belief that “younger is always better” and make great efforts to discourage or hold back the careers of their more experienced employees, often for financial reasons. Such conduct, however, is a form of illegal age discrimination.
Indeed, age-based harassment is just as much a problem in the workplace as sexual or racial harassment. And if you are the target of such bullying, you do not have to simply accept it. At Poulos LoPiccolo PC, our experienced New Jersey age harassment lawyers can assist you in taking legal action to put a stop to discriminatory conduct and seeking compensation for any injuries you have suffered as a result of past misconduct.
Age Harassment Is Age Discrimination
The federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) both forbid certain forms of age discrimination in the workplace. The ADEA covers workers who are at least 40 years old, while the LAD protects any employee who is 18 or older. Age discrimination includes any adverse employment action based on a protected worker’s age. For example, an employer cannot fire or refuse to hire someone based on age.
But age discrimination also encompasses age harassment. This refers to any unwelcome or offensive conduct that targets a worker–or a group of workers–based on their age. For instance, while an offhand comment about someone’s age would not normally be considered harassment, a pattern of making offensive or derogatory comments targeting older workers can rise to the level of age harassment. If the conduct is severe enough to create a hostile work environment–i.e., it negatively affects the targeted worker’s ability to perform their job–that is itself a form of age discrimination under the ADEA and/or LAD.
As with any age discrimination case, an employee who successfully brings legal action against an employer can receive a variety of monetary damages, such as compensation for their emotional distress and other pain and suffering. If the harassment was part of a larger campaign of age discrimination–say to avoid promoting older workers–the victims may also be entitled to the additional pay and benefits they would have received absent the employer’s illegal conduct.
Contact Our Age Harassment Lawyers Serving Ocean, Monmouth & Middlesex County
Workplace harassment is often excused as “just part of the job” or even innocent “hazing.” But all New Jersey employers need to understand that age harassment is against the law. And if your employer has encouraged such harassment or failed to put a stop to it, then you have the right to demand legal action. A qualified New Jersey age harassment lawyer can provide you with valuable advice and representation in this area. So if you have been the target of workplace bullying or harassment because of your age and you need to speak with someone, contact Poulos LoPiccolo PC today to schedule an initial consultation with a member of our team.
