Instructions on how to file a complaint can be found in our Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action (EEO/AA) section of our website.

You can file a complaint with any of the following:

Your employer's Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action officer or the employee who is responsible for Equal Employment Opportunity

• US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
• New Jersey Division on Civil Rights

Click here to view instructions on how to file a complaint.

There is no specific timeframe for filing an internal complaint with an appointing authority's EEO Officer. However, you should make every effort to file your complaint promptly. Delays in filing may hinder a proper investigation and may allow the situation to continue.

Both the Federal and state anti-discrimination laws and the New Jersey State Policy Prohibiting Discrimination in the Workplace prohibit retaliation against anyone who files a discrimination complaint, participates in a complaint investigation or opposes a discriminatory practice. If you think that you are being retaliated against for submitting a discrimination complaint, you should file an additional complaint with your employer's Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Officer, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights.

There is a confidentiality provision in the New Jersey State Policy Prohibiting Discrimination in the Workplace which specifics that all complaints and investigations shall be handled in a manner that will protect the privacy interests of those who are involved in the process.

All complaints and investigations shall be handled in a confidential manner to the extent possible. To the extent practical and appropriate under the circumstances, confidentiality will be maintained throughout the investigative process. In the course of an investigation, it may be necessary to discuss the claims with the person(s) against whom the complaint was filed and other persons who may have relevant knowledge or who have a legitimate need to know about the matter. In order to protect the integrity of the investigation, minimize the risk of retaliation and protect the important privacy interest of all concerned, all persons who are interviewed or otherwise advised of a complaint will be requested not to discuss any aspect of the investigation with others, unless there is a legitimate business reason.

New Jersey State Confidentiality Form (pdf)

Each individual who participates in the process is required to sign off on the above form.

Under State and Federal laws, the definition of employment discrimination is based on specific protected categories. If the supervisor's actions cannot be linked to one of the protected categories, the actions will not be considered employment discrimination. In that case, you should report them to the Human Resources director or the Employee Relations manager.

State and federal laws protect individuals or groups from differential treatment based on the following characteristics or categories: race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, marital status, religion, familial status, affectional or sexual orientation, atypical hereditary cellular or blood trait, genetic information, liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States, or disability. See the New Jersey State Policy Prohibiting Discrimination in the Workplace for an outline of the protected categories.

No. Under state and federal law, a person with a disability cannot be denied employment unless the disability prevents his or her performance of essential job duties, or could cause serious personal harm or harm others.

• Under the federal Americans With Disabilities Act, an individual is considered to have a "disability" if he or she:
  
  • has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities;
  • has a record of such an impairment or
  • is regarded as having such an impairment.
  Some examples of impairments which substantially limit major life activities include: seeing, hearing, speaking, walking, breathing, performing manual tasks, learning, caring for oneself, and working. Temporary impairments of short duration are not covered.
• Under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, a disability is defined as a:
  
  
  • physical disability, infirmity, malformation or disfigurement;
  • physical illness or disease;
  • mental, psychological or developmental disability that results from conditions which prevent the normal exercise of any bodily or mental function or which can be shown to exist through accepted clinical or laboratory diagnostic tests.

Some examples of impairments which constitute a disability under the state law, include but [is] are not limited to: paralysis, amputation, epilepsy, visual or hearing impairments, speech impediments, AIDS, HIV infection, sickle cell trait and other atypical hereditary cellular or blood traits, deafness, blindness, obesity, diabetes, and multiple sclerosis.

This state law also extends to protect persons who are perceived or believed to be [suffering from a disability] disabled, whether or not the medical conditions from which they suffer have in fact made them disabled.

No. Employers should select the best qualified individuals for appointment, promotion, and other favorable personnel actions regardless of disability. Under state and federal law, employers may not make employment decisions based on disabilities.

A reasonable accommodation is any modification or adjustment to a job or work environment that will enable a qualified applicant to participate in the hiring process, or will enable a qualified employee to perform essential job functions. Reasonable accommodations may include making facilities accessible to individuals with disabilities; restructuring a job; modifying work schedules; modifying equipment; acquiring assistive devices; providing readers or interpreters; and modifying examinations, training programs, or other employee programs. A reasonable accommodation may mean re-assigning disabled employees to vacant positions for which they are qualified when they can no longer do their original jobs even with a reasonable accommodation. Employers are not required to lower quality or quantity standards in order to make an accommodation.

Yes. CSC may need to make accommodations to make sure that exams measure a person's actual ability to do the job instead of reflecting limitations caused by a disability. When testing people who have sensory, speaking, or manual impairments, CSC should use a format that does not require the use of the impaired skill unless it is a job-related skill that the test is designed to measure.

Your employer can establish attendance and leave policies that apply to all employees, regardless of disability. Employers generally may not refuse leave needed by an employee with a disability if the employer allows employees without a disability to use leave time when needed. It may be necessary for an employer to make adjustments in its leave policy as a reasonable accommodation for an employee with a disability. The employer is not required to provide additional paid leave, but may allow flexibility in the use of leave time and/or unpaid leave as reasonable accommodations.

Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that violates Federal and State laws and the New Jersey State Policy Prohibiting Discrimination in the Workplace. There are three types of sexual harassment: (1) "quid pro quo" harassment involves unwelcome advances or requests for sexual favors in exchange for an employment action e.g. promotion, time off, etc.; (2) "Hostile work environment" harassment may include unwelcome advances or other conduct which has the purpose or effect of interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment; and (3) third-party sexual harassment which involves situation in which a third party is exposed to sexually explicit or offensive materials in the workplace. This may include overhearing inappropriate comments, or exposure to inappropriate e-mails, posters, etc.

Yes. A sexual harassment victim can be either male or female. The victim does not have to be a different gender from the harasser. Victims may include both the person who is being harassed and anyone else who is affected by the offensive conduct (third-party sexual harassment - hostile environment).

An employer may not discriminate against an employee on the basis of religion or creed. Employers must give reasonable accommodation to an employee's religious beliefs unless the accommodation creates an undue burden on the employer. Employees may wear religious clothing unless it has a negative impact on workplace safety or efficiency.