DIVORCE IS NO GROUNDS FOR FIRING

New Jersey High Court Warns Against Employer’s Retaliation for Divorce. The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled on June 21 that employers cannot retaliate against their workers because they are separated, contemplating divorce, or even if the breakup turns ugly is contentious. Unanimously, the court said the state’s Law Against Discrimination, (LAD), precludes retaliation based on a worker’s marital status. “We hold … that marital status is not limited to the state of being single or married,” wrote Appellate Division Judge Mary Cuff, temporarily assigned, in Smith v. Millville Rescue Squad. “Rather, the LAD protects all employees who have declared that they will marry, have separated from their spouse, have initiated divorce proceedings, or have obtained a divorce from discrimination in the workplace. “The LAD prohibits an employer from imposing conditions of employment that have no relationship to the task assigned to and expected of an employee,” Cuff said. “It also prohibits an employer from resorting to stereotypes to discipline, block for advancement, or terminate an employee due to a life decision, such as deciding to marry or divorce.”