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Westfield, NJ 07090
Phone: (908) 301-9095
Fax: (908) 301-9790
Do I have a Race Harassment Case?

Name:     		 E-mail: 

  1. Currently, the following is true about you:
a. I am employed in the same company with the race harasser. The incidences just occurred and I am in a position to get legal advice right now.
b. I am employed with another company doing a similar type of job after being terminated or resigning from the company where the harassment took place. The termination or resignation occurred less than a year ago.
c. I have been unemployed ever since I was fired from the company where the harassment occurred. I was fired more than a year ago but less than two years ago.
d. I am unemployed because I resigned from the company where the harassment occurred. I haven't been able to discuss the harassment with anyone for the past year.
  1. At the present time you can say the following about witnesses to the race harassment:
a. I have several eyewitnesses to the harassment and they will testify to witnessing the harassment that I was subjected to as well as their own stories of harassment.
b. I have several eyewitnesses to the harassment and they are still employed and I am pretty sure that they will be willing to testify for me.
c. There are several eyewitnesses to the harassment who are still employed at the company where the harassment took place but they are fearful about getting involved.
d. There are no eyewitnesses to the harassment because the harasser was very careful to act in private
e. There are eyewitnesses to the harassment whom are still employed at the company and will all side with the harasser's version of the story.
  1. At the present time the following can be said about written or tape-recorded proof of the harassment:
a. One or more of the following are true: (1) I have one or more racially offensive written correspondences or tangible items that the harasser sent me or to other employees regarding me, or (2) I have one or more of the originals, copies, or computer files containing racially offensive photographs, cartoons, cards, etc., or (3) I have one or more copies of audio or video tape cassettes containing the harasser caught in the act of making racially offensive comments or admitting to prior acts of racial harassment.
b. All written or tape recorded proof of the harassment is in the hands of a friend who is still employed at the company where the harassment took place and that friend promised me that he/she would be sending me that proof in the near future.
c. All written or tape recorded proof of the harassment is in the hands of the company where the harassment took place.
d. I have no written or tape recorded proof of the harassment.
  1. At the present time the following can be said about the company's written policies and procedures which cover the issue of harassment complaints and discipline:
a. I have the company's employment handbook or manual and (1) it does not have a disclaimer at the front of the book stating that employment is at-will and the policies of the book were not intended to create a contract or binding obligations on the company and (2) the handbook provides a set number of reasons why an employee can be terminated and the reason they gave for firing me was not one of them.
b. I have the company's employment handbook or manual and it has a small or insignificant disclaimer at the front of the book stating that employment is at-will and the policies of the book were not intended to create a contract or binding obligations on the company.
c. I have the company's employment handbook or manual and it does have a big and obvious disclaimer at the front of the book stating that employment is at-will and the policies of the book were not intended to create a contract or binding obligations on the company.
d. There is no employment handbook or written policies of any kind.
  1. While employed at the company where the racial harassment took place the following was true:
a. I was a full-time employee and either had a collective bargaining agreement or an employment contact guaranteeing me the right to grieve any sort of disciplinary action brought against me.
b. I was a full-time at-will employee with full-benefits.
c. I was a part-time employee without any benefits.
d. I was an independent contractor/consultant or worked for a recruiting agency that placed me at the office and I was not provided with company benefits.
  1. The following most closely describes the type of offers that you were given by a supervisor or manager in an employment setting or business function or trip:
a. Made comments that either directly states or strongly suggests that your race is genetically inferior. When the harasser realized what he/she had done, the harasser warned you that if you complained to anyone, then you would be fired.
b. Demands that you do menial jobs (such as cleaning the office), which other non-minority employees are not required to do, and tells you that you will be fired if you refuse to do it.
c. Does not socialize after work with non-minority employees of your race.
d. The supervisor or manager has been very careful not to make any racial comments of any kind to me.
  1. If you answered either c or d to question 6, then skip this question and proceed to question 8. When you declined to keep quiet about the harassment, the following thing happened:
a. You were fired within the next several months.
b. You were demoted or you were passed over for a promotion within the next several months.
c. You were fired, demoted or passed over for a promotion a year or more after you declined the warnings.
d. There were no consequences to your declining the supervisor or manager's warnings.
  1. The following types of conduct occurred which support your belief that you were a victim of a hostile work environment:
a. Any of the following occurred: (1) A co-employee or supervisor mimics the way I talk or walk with the obvious intent to make fun of my race or nation of origin; or (2) racially offensive jokes were told to me or others in my presence or sent to me by e-mail; or (3) drawings of racially offensive scenes (e.g. KKK lynchings, Nazi atrocities, racially offensive cartoons) which would be either be given to me personally or sent to me by e-mail or openly placed in view so that all employees of the department would have to see them during the course of the day; or (4) a co-employee or supervisor would use racially offensive language such as using derogatory names for members of a minority race or a term which is offensive to one's nation of origin.
b. Any of the following occurred: (1) A co-employee or supervisor mimicked the way you talk or walk with the obvious intent to make fun of your race or nation of origin but would then say that he/she was only joking and that you should grow a "thicker" skin; or (2) racist jokes were not told to me but they were continued if I happened to walk into the room and once in a while a racially offensive joke would be carelessly e-mailed to me by mistake; or (3) racially offensive drawings would be exchanged by co-employees and/or supervisors though not sent to me directly. Little or no effort would go into trying to hide these pictures if I entered the room or (4) a co-employee or supervisor would use curse words which would suggest that he/she is using them as derogatory names for members of a minority race or name calling due to the person's nation of origin.
c. Any of the following occurred: (1) A co-employee or supervisor would make a comment which I personally took to be racial in nature because I know this person, but other people who do not know him, might not think it was racial in nature; or (2) I believe that racially offensive jokes or drawings were being exchanged because when I would walk into the room, everyone would stop talking and I saw smirks on the employee's faces; or (3) a co-employee or supervisor cursed at me using non-racial comments. This co-employee or supervisor cursed at everyone in this way.
d. None of the above apply as I was not a victim of a hostile work environment.
  1. The following is true about the sexual conduct that took place at the workplace:
a. All of the following is true: (1) The racially offensive conduct would not have occurred if I was a member of another race; (2) the racially offensive conduct took place over a long period of time and it happened almost every single day that I worked there; (3) not only did I think that the racially offensive conduct was severe, but so would any other member of my race think so if they were going through it; and (4) as a result of the conduct, my work environment was so bad that it significantly affected the performance of my job to the point that I realized that I was being mistreated and abused.
b. All of the following is true: (1) It is more likely than not that the racially offensive conduct would not have occurred if I was a member of another race; (2) the racially offensive conduct took place over a long period of time and occurred once every several weeks while I was working there; (3) Most members of my race would probably conclude that the racially offensive conduct that I was subjected to had been severe; and (4) as a result of the conduct, my work environment was so bad that it significantly affected my performance to the point of that I felt very uncomfortable.
c. All of the following is true: (1) The conduct that I believe to be racial in nature might have been motivated because of my race; (2) The racial conduct took place sporadically in isolated incidences over a long period of time; and (3) I don't know if others would agree with me, but I thought that the racial conduct was severe; and (4) as a result of the conduct, my work environment was so bad that it was starting to affected my work performance.
d. The harasser treated all employees in an equally harassing manner.
  1. Which of the following most accurately depicts what happened to you emotionally as a result of the race harassment:
a. I became so emotionally ill that I went to see a psychologist and psychiatrist and was placed on anti-anxiety or anti-depressant medication for over six months. I have applied or I intend to apply for disability benefits from the Social Security Administration.
b. I became so upset that I sought the aid of a counselor to deal with the stress and memory of the harassment. My medical doctor also kept me on anti-depressants for a couple of months.
c. I am planning on seeing a counselor to treat me for my stress but I have not found the time to do so yet.
d. I was not emotionally damaged by the harassment, but I wish to pursue a lawsuit because of the principle of it.
e. I was not damaged emotionally or economically by the harassment, but I wish to pursue a lawsuit because of the principle of it.
  1. Which of the following most accurately depicts what happened to you economically as a result of the race harassment:
a. I was a corporate executive, was out of work for over a year, and my combined loss of salary and benefits exceed $250,000.
b. I was in middle management, was out of work for a year, and my combined loss of salary and benefits exceed $150,000.
c. I was not in management but I was a full time employee who was out of work for a year and my combined loss of salary and benefits exceed $30,000.
d. I either: (1) obtained another position making an equivalent amount of money within a couple of months; OR (2) was a full or part-time employee in a modest paying job; AND (3) my loss of income was less than $30,000.
  1. When you initially realized that you was being racially harassed which of the following steps did you take:
a. I contacted upper management or human resources and promptly informed them of the harassment and asked them to take prompt measures to stop it.
b. I contacted my immediate supervisor or manager and asked her/him to take prompt measures to stop the harassment.
c. I didn't contact management or human resources because they all knew about it already because they were active in the race harassment themselves as it was a situation that pervaded the entire office.
d. I didn't contact management or human resources because I'm sure that they all knew about it already but didn't seem interested in doing anything about it. But I did talk about it with co-employees.
e. I didn't talk about it with anyone because I was too afraid to do anything about it because I feared that I would lose my job.
  1. If you answered either b, c or d to question 12, then skip this question and proceed to question 14. As a result of your complaints of race harassment, the company that you were working for did the following:
a. The upper management or human resources person you talked to just scoffed at you and thereafter actively engaged in conduct promoting and encouraging the unlawful harassment. Within a short period afterwards you were wrongfully terminated.
b. They admitted that the harassment was going on but that the harasser was too important to the company to get rid of, so they took no action at all. Within a short period afterwards you were wrongfully terminated.
c. They took no action at all and advised you to keep quiet if you were interested in retaining your employment. Within a year, they either: (1) demoted you; (2) transferred you to a significantly less desirable job, (3) kept a promotion away from you, or (4) fired you.
d. They conducted a complete investigation and found that the harasser had not committed any violations of their anti-race harassment policy.
e. They conducted a complete investigation and promptly fired the harasser.
  1. Prior to the harassment commencing, the company that you worked for had the following policies and procedures in place:
a. No anti-harassment policies or procedures of any kind. No information as to how to file a harassment complaint or who to complain to. No anti-harassment training programs.
b. Anti-harassment polices and procedures are mentioned in the old employee handbook, but that handbook is no longer being used because a new handbook will be coming out in the next year or two.
c. Anti-harassment and discrimination policies and procedures in the company's current handbook.
d. Well-publicized and enforced anti-harassment policies. Effective and prompt formal and informal complaint procedures available on-line or by confidential toll-free. Regular anti-harassment training programs which were mandatory for all employees.
  1. If you believe that you were wrongfully terminated as a consequence of either resisting the race harassment or for complaining about it, then which of the following reasons were given by your company for your termination:
a. Company management or human resources told you that they had to either get rid of the harasser or you and they picked you because the harasser was too important for the company to fire. You have some proof of that conversation either in the way of a witness who will testify as to it or by way of a tape recording of the conversation.
b. The company fired you for poor work performance even though every evaluation prior to your termination had been good or excellent.
c. Company management or human resources told you that they had to either get rid of the harasser or you and they picked you because the harasser was too important for the company to fire. You don't have proof of this conversation, but do have a witness who will testify that this was the reason that was circulated at your workplace after you were fired.
d. The company gave you no reason.
e. You were part of a company-wide reduction in force that resulted in your position actually being eliminated.
  1. The last incident of race harassment occurred:
a. Within the past 90 days.
b. Within the past one year.
c. Within the past two years.
d. More than two years ago.
  1. The following is true about your work history at the time when the sexual harassment commenced:
a. I had been working at this company for more than five years and had received excellent evaluations with my past managers. I had a good professional relationship with these past managers.
b. I had been working at this company between one to five years and I never had a problem with any of my past managers. They, likewise, didn't have a problem with me.
c. I had been working at the company for less than one year, never cared that much for management and just tried to keep a low profile.
d. I have filed more than five formal or informal harassment or discrimination complaints at one or more jobs over the course of my work history.
  1. I feel the following way about the person(s) who harassed me:
a. I will have no problem confronting the individual(s) who harassed me, in fact, I am eager to do so.
b. I would prefer not to be in the same town as the individual(s) who harassed me, but I will do whatever it is necessary for the success of the lawsuit.
c. I want to sue the person(s) who harassed me, but just as long as I don't have to see the person(s), because I'm not sure if I could be in the same room with him/her/them.
d. I want to sue the person(s) who harassed me, but just as long as I don't have to see the person(s) because there's no way that I could be in the same room with him/her/them.
  1. Which of the following is true about your relationship with the person who harassed you:
a. I have a real clear recollection of each incident of harassment, including what was said and who was present at the time of each incident. I wrote extensive notes about the incidents within 24 hours of each of them occurring.
b. I remember each of the incidents of harassment and can paraphrase what was said. Sporadically, I wrote notes.
c. I remember the gist of what happened, but it happened too quickly for me to remember much.
d. I have a mental block of certain events and do not recall large periods of time.
  1. Which of the following is true about your recall of the events:
a. I only sought to have a professional relationship with the harasser.
b. The person who harassed me and I were initially acquaintances and used to talk about non-business subject. This changed as soon as the mood changed and the harassment began.
c. Prior to the harassment starting, I was an acquaintance of the person who harassed me. We talked during business social functions and occasionally saw each other personally. Once the harassment started, I stopped having contact with the harasser.
d. I used to trade racially offensive insults, jokes or stories with the person who harassed me prior to our friendship turning sour for other non-race connected reasons.

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