Legal Question in Discrimination Law in New Jersey

What should we do as customers being discriminated against?
My friend and I (both age 17) have
recently been experiencing
problems at a local bookstore. We
are told by the manager that we
are only allowed to look at a single
book between the two of us. We
were yelled at and called ''rude,
disrespectful, little kids'' because
we look at more than one book at a
time, and we leave them in neat
piles (after being told not to re-
shelf books).

We finally told the manager this
was age discrimination, and the
manager admitted to it (using the
word ''discrimination.'')

We are furious about how we are
being treated, and we would like to
take action. We understand that
we are minors, but we will definitely
enlist the aide of our parents and
whomever else it requires.

We are wondering what the
appropriate action to take would
be.

Thank you!

Asked on 9/20/08, 11:48 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Fred Shahrooz Scampato Law Office of Fred Shahrooz Scampato

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Re: What should we do as customers being discriminated against?

The first step in asserting your rights is to find out what your rights are in NJ regarding age discrimination. Here's a flyer that is put out by the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights on the issue:

http://www.nj.gov/oag/dcr/downloads/fact_age.pdf

I would suggest you and your friend contact the Division on Civil Rights and see if they would file a complaint on your behalf. Here is their website information about filing a complaint: http://www.nj.gov/oag/dcr/filing.html

They may very well tell you that you do not have a case, but, at the very least, it will be a learning experience for the both of you and you will learn what it takes to assert your rights for anything that comes up in the future.

Answered on 9/21/08, 8:56 am

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