Constructive Discharge

Employees sometimes find themselves in a working environment that is so hostile and harassing that they cannot take it any longer and feel as though they were forced to quit or resign. Under certain circumstances, an employee who quits or resigns the job may have the basis for legal claims against the employer if they have been subjected to unlawful discrimination or other conduct in the workplace which caused them to resign. This is known as constructive discharge and allows the employee to file a lawsuit and sue the employer as if they had actually been terminated.

Not every employee who quits or resigns has the basis for bringing a legal claim against their employer. Rather, an employee only has the basis for a legal claim if their legal rights have been violated which generally occurs when the employee has been subjected to a hostile or harassing working environment on account of some legally protected characteristic such as their race, gender, age, ethnicity, national origin, pregnancy or other legally protected characteristic or where the employee has been subjected to unlawful discrimination or retaliation.

In those circumstances, even if the employee has not actually been fired, the employee may have the basis for pursuing a legal claim where the working environment was so hostile or harassing that it would cause a reasonable person under the circumstances to quit or resign.

To speak with an experienced New Jersey Employment Law Attorney, contact the Law Offices of Gregory S. Schaer, LLC, conveniently located in Monmouth County, New Jersey.