In a June 2014 decision, the New Jersey Superior Court’s Appellate Division ruled that an employee had been discriminated against when his employer fired him because he was going through a difficult divorce.

The plaintiff in the case was divorcing his spouse, another employee of the company, and it was reportedly due to an extramarital affair he was having with another one of his coworkers. A lower court had previously ruled that there was no employment discrimination evident, as New Jersey’s discrimination laws only deal with employment decisions related to whether a worker is married versus unmarried.

The appellate court, however, said that the employee was terminated due to stereotypes associated with people going through divorce. Specifically, the court ruled that it was unfair for the employer to assume that the plaintiff and his former spouse would have difficulty working together in the future.

It’s more common than people might imagine to face challenges related to employment before, during and after a divorce. Employees in high-profile jobs, such as corporate executives, have been terminated or asked to resign because an ugly divorce may reflect poorly on the organization for which they work.

Another common scenario involves divorcing individuals being fired from religious organizations due to the belief that divorce is morally wrong. In one recent case, a woman was let go from an organization called Intervarsity Christian Fellowship USA after seeking a divorce, as doing so violated the core beliefs of her employer. The woman was unable to claim wrongful termination because a court found it was within the organization’s First Amendment rights to take such action.

Although many New Jersey divorces are resolved amicably between the two spouses involved, others can be more difficult and create challenges for individuals’ personal and professional lives. For the legal support you need to deal with these issues, consult a skilled divorce lawyer.