Legal Question in Discrimination Law in New Jersey

Re: Harassmant, Bullying and Retalilation in a public school PT. 2

The title of your question refers to "harassment, bullying and retaliation in a public school." However, none of these issues are mentioned in your actual question. It appears you need to provide more factual detail about the situation.

It does not seem unreasonable for your employer to want you to make a written record of when you leave the office and when you return. This sounds akin to simply "signing in" and "signing out." Presumably, the employer has provided you with a notebook or set of timesheets to record your time. (Please note that lawyers are very accustomed to recording time in small increments!)

Since you are getting paid by your employer for the time spent to fill out the timesheets, then the employer has evidently decided that it is "worth it" to make you spend part of your day documenting your comings and goings.

You imply that the new time keeping method is "retaliation", referencing an EEO complaint you had made against a custodian; but again, you provide no details. I will assume that you claimed that the custodian harassed you while you were out of your normal office or work station, and there was probably a conflict over the timing of this. If that is a correct assumption, then it makes a great deal of sense for the employer to want you to document your time. That way, if there is another event of harassment by the custodian against you while you are out of the office, the employer will indeed be able to substantiate your claim that you were out of the office (and accessible to the custodian) at the time that you claimed. Of course, this is all speculation on my part.

However, if the purpose of the new requirement is simply to force you to quit, then of course you may have a legitimate legal claim. Exaggerations, such as stating that your job is "10 times more difficult", will not help you pursue any legitimate claims that you might have.

I strongly recommend that you consult with an attorney immediately so that you can explore your legal rights, obligations, and options. If you wish to discuss retaining my services, contact me at:

[email protected]

(973)-605-8995

[Disclaimer: The above comments are not intended as nor should they be relied upon as "legal advice", which can only be obtained by personal consultation with a retained attorney; at which time the specific facts and circumstances of your case can be thoroughly evaluated. This reply is provided for general informational and educational purposes only, and does not create an attorney-client relationship with the responding attorney.]