What is Employment Discrimination and How does it Affect You?

It is illegal to discriminate in hiring, promotions, termination, or any other reward or punishment in employment on the basis of a person’s race, religion, sexual orientations, national origin, disability, or age. It is also against the law to retaliate against an individual for opposing these discriminatory practices, or consulting an attorney or the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) about the matters.

If you feel you have experienced employment discrimination you will want to seek the counsel of an employment discrimination lawyer. An employment discrimination lawyer can help you in a number of different areas depending on the nature of your specific case.

Here are some areas that employment discrimination lawyers are versed in:

• Wage and Hour Issues
• Workplace Safety Rights
• Sexual Harassment
• Cases that involve age, race, national origin, or disability discrimination issues, or harassment based on one of these protected classes of people.

When should I Call an Employment Discrimination Attorney?

If your rights have been violated by an employer or potential employer, or if you have been discriminated against, harassed, mistreated on the job, passed over for employment that you were qualified for, did not receive a promotion you were most qualified for, or are not receiving fair and equal compensation, an employment discrimination attorney can help. If in doubt, give an attorney a call. They can walk you through the entire process and help you decide if legal action is right for you.

What is a Discriminatory Practice in the Workplace?

Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), it is illegal to discriminate in any aspect of employment. There are a number of ways a person can be discriminated against including:

• Hiring and firing
• Compensation, assignment, or classification of employees
• Transfer, promotion, layoff, or recall
• Job advertisements
• Recruitment
• Testing
• Use of company facilities
• Training and apprenticeship programs
• Fringe benefits
• Pay, retirement plans, and disability leave
• Conditions of your employment

Other discriminatory practices covered by the law include:

• Harassment or ill treatment solely because of your race, color, age, disability status, national origin, or sex
• Retaliation against a person for filing a charge of discrimination on their employer
• Retaliation for participating in a harassment investigation, or openly opposing discriminatory practices in the workplace
• Employment decisions that are based on stereotypes about the abilities or potential performance of a person because of their disability, sex, age, race, national origin, etc.
• Denying an employment opportunity due to the fact that the person belongs to a protected class or are married to someone from a protected class
• Title VII also prohibits discrimination because of participation in schools or places of worship associated with a particular racial, ethnic, or religious group

An employment discrimination lawyer can help identify if you have a case under any of these laws. Employment discrimination is taken very seriously and should not be something you sweep under the rug. If you feel you have been discriminated against, but don’t know where to turn, consider talking to an employment discrimination attorney to see what they can do for you.