Spousal jealousy and employment discrimination law

On Behalf of | Nov 3, 2017 | Workplace Discrimination |

Like most states in the U.S., New Jersey law specifies that employment is “at-will,” which means that employees are free to quit their jobs for any reason if they have not signed an employment contract. Employers are also free to terminate employment without cause.

A recent discrimination lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania alleges that the president of a company treated an employee differently because the president’s wife did not want him to work with any other women. The president’s wife was also employed by the company and regularly attended company meetings.

According to court documents, the president of the company began avoiding the employee, and she was asked not to go into his office or meet with him directly. She was eventually terminated from her employment, and the president explained that while she was an excellent employee, his wife did not want him working with any other women.

In this case, the court determined that this situation constitutes discrimination because the president of the company was treating an entire gender differently. Other courts have held that spousal jealousy was not discrimination when it was only directed at a specific individual.

Federal law protects all employees from workplace discrimination and harassment. When an employee alleges discrimination in a wrongful termination lawsuit, he or she has the burden of proving that discrimination occurred and that the termination was not due to some other reason. Wrongful termination cases may be difficult because employers do not need a specific reason to terminate employees.

An employment lawyer may be able to help build a case in a wrongful termination lawsuit by conducting legal research, interviewing witnesses and filing pleadings on his or her client’s behalf. The attorney may also be able to provide the client with advice on how to proceed to receive compensation.

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