Do I have grounds or a cause of action for divorce?

Under New Jersey law, you have grounds and a cause of action for divorce if you satisfy any one or more of the following criteria:

• Adultery
• Willful and continued desertion for a period of 12 months or more, meaning that cohabitation as husband and wife has ceased for that uninterrupted period of time
• Extreme cruelty which has been defined to include any physical or mental cruelty which endangers the safety or health of the complaining spouse or makes it improper or unreasonable to expect the complaining spouse to continue to cohabit with their spouse – as the complaining spouse, a complaint for divorce should not be filed within a period of three months of the last act of cruelty complained of in the complaint
• Separation which means that husband and wife have lived separate and apart in different habitations for a period of at least 18 months and there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation (also more commonly known as a “No-Fault Divorce”)
• Voluntary induced addiction or habituation to any narcotic drug or habitual drunkenness for a period of 12 or more consecutive months to marriage and preceding the filing of the complaint
• Institutionalization for mental illness for a period of 24 or more consecutive months subsequent to marriage and preceding the filing of the complaint
• Imprisonment of the non-complaining spouse for 18 or more consecutive months after marriage, provided that where the action is not commenced until after the non-complaining spouse’s release, the parties have not resumed cohabitation following such imprisonment
• Deviant sexual conduct voluntarily performed by the non-complaining spouse without the consent of the complaining spouse
• Irreconcilable differences which have caused the breakdown of the marriage for a period of 6 months and which make it appear that the marriage should be dissolved and that there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation

If you are seeking a divorce and are uncertain as whether you have satisfied at least one or more of the above criteria for divorce, contact this office directly by telephone or by e-mail at our “ Contact Us ” page.

How can I nullify my marriage?

Under New Jersey law, you may obtain a judgment nullifying your marriage if you satisfy one or more of the following criteria:

• Either of the parties has another wife, husband, partner in a civil union couple or domestic partner living at the time of a second or other marriage
• The parties, or either of them, were at the time of marriage physically and incurably impotent, provided the party making the application shall have been ignorant of such impotency or incapability at the time of the marriage, and has not subsequently ratified the marriage
• The parties, or either of them, lacked capacity to marry due to want of understanding because of mental condition, or the influence of intoxicants, drugs, or similar agents; or where there was a lack of mutual assent to the marital relationship; duress; or fraud as to the essentials of marriage; and has not subsequently ratified the marriage
• The demand for such a judgment is by the wife or husband who was under the age of 18 years at the time of the marriage, unless such marriage be confirmed by her or him after arriving at such age

If you are seeking an annulment of your marriage and are uncertain as whether you have satisfied at least one or more of the above criteria, contact this office directly by telephone or by e-mail at our “ Contact Us ” page

What is sexual harassment?

Sexual harassment has been defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.  Sexual harassment has been found to occur when an employer, supervisor or superior has requested either expressly or implicitly that submission to any of the aforementioned conduct be a term or condition of an employee’s employment.  Sexual harassment has also been found to have occurred in instances where the submission to or rejection of such aforementioned conduct by an employee is used by the employer as a means and basis for making employment decisions that affect the employee’s position within the workplace.  Sexual harassment has also been found when the aforementioned conduct was used by an employer for the purpose of unreasonably interfering with the employee’s work performance or implementation of such aforementioned conduct is designed and calculated to create or subject the employee to an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment.

What is quid pro quo sexual harassment?

Quid pro quo sexual harassment has been defined to mean a form of sexual harassment that may include, but is not limited to unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors or other verbal or physical conduct which is gender oriented as it relates to subject employee.  In these instances, the employee is subjected to submitting to such explicit or implicit offending conduct as a term or condition of his or her employment.  Additionally, quid pro quo sexual harassment has been found in instances where the employee’s submission or rejection of such explicit or implicit offending conduct is used by the offending individual as a basis for making and shaping employment decisions concerning the subject employee.  More to the point, no employee of a company or business entity shall use his or her authority to make any sexual advances toward another employee over whom he or she has authority to make, recommend or otherwise influence personnel actions.  Similarly, no employee with authority over another employee shall grant, recommend or refuse to take personnel action on the basis of an employee’s gender or sexual orientation or in exchange for sexual favors.

What is hostile work environment sexual harassment?

Hostile work environment sexual harassment is a form of harassment that may include unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and other verbal or sexual conduct of a sexual nature designed or carried out with the purpose of interfering with an employee’s performance of his or her work.  Such conduct may also be designed or calculated to subject or create an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment for the subject employee.  It should also be noted that gender-based harassment may give rise to a claim of a hostile work environment regardless of whether sexual activity or language is involved so long as its primary purpose is to abuse, devalue or subordinate members of one sex and it adversely impacts an employee’s employment opportunities.

What is third party sexual harassment?

Third party sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome behavior of a sexual nature or based on sex that is not directed at an individual but is a part of an employee’s work environment.

What are some examples of sexual harassment?

The following is a nonexhaustive listing of behavioral examples that may constitute sexual harassment:

• Remarks and comments that expressly gender-based
• Unwanted physical contact such as intentional touching, grabbing, pinching, intentionally brushing against another person’s body or an individual who purposely places himself or herself in front of another individual to block or impede their movement
• Verbal or written sexually suggestive or obscene comments, jokes or propositions including letters, notes, e-mails,invitations, gestures or inappropriate comments about an employee’s clothing
• Visual contact such as leering or staring at an employee’s body, gesturing, displaying sexually suggestive objects, cartoons, posters, magazines or pictures of scantily-clad individuals
• Explicit or implicit suggestions of sex by a supervisor or manager in return for a favorable employment action such as hiring, compensation, promotion or retention
• Suggesting or implying that failure to accept a request for a date or sex would result in an adverse employment consequence with respect to any employment practice such as performance evaluations or promotional opportunities
• Once an objection to any of the aforementioned conduct has been raised by the subject employee, the offending individual continue to engage in such conduct

If you are uncertain whether you are being subjected to some form of sexual harassment, contact this office directly by telephone or by e-mail at our “ Contact Us ” page.

What are some examples of workplace discrimination or harassment?

The following is a nonexhaustive listing of behavioral examples that may constitute workplace discrimination or harassment:

• Discriminating against an individual with regard to terms and conditions of employment because of that individual’s race, gender, age, religion, disability, affectional or sexual orientation, place of origin, or his or her ancestors’ place of origin
• Treating an individual differently because of race, gender, age, religion, disability, affectional or sexual orientation, place of origin,or his or her ancestors’ place of origin, or because an individual has the physical, cultural or linguistic characteristics of a racial or national origin group
• Treating an individual differently because of marriage to or association with persons of a racial, religious or national origin group; or due to membership in or association with an organization identified with the interests of a racial, religious or national origin group; or because an individual’s name or spouse’s name is associated with a racial, religious or national origin group
• Calling another by an unwanted nickname which refers to one or more of the above characteristics, or telling ethnic jokes which harass an employee or create a hostile work environment
• Using derogatory references regarding any of the above characteristics in any job-related communication
• Engaging in threatening, intimidating, or hostile acts, in the workplace, based on the foregoing classifications
• Displaying or distributing material in the workplace that contains language or images that are derogatory or demeaning, based upon any of the foregoing classifications

If you are uncertain whether you are being subjected to some form of workplace discrimination or harassment, contact this office directly by telephone or by e-mail at our “ Contact Us ” page.