Employment Discrimination

Table of Contents

Introduction (back to top)

Employment discrimination is alive and well in the American workplace.  Discrimination by sexual orientation, race and age occur on a regular basis.   There is a two step process to determine if you are victim of employment discrimination.  First, you must determine if you are part of a protected class that an employer cannot discriminate against.  Second, were you terminated or treated differently because you are a member of a protected class.  If both of these are true and can be proven you may potentially be entitled to bring an action against your former employer.

The specific categories of protected classes are spelled out in both federal and state statutes.  The following is a list of some of the protected classes and the specific issues related to them.

Age Discrimination (back to top)

Discriminating on the basis of age is illegal.  Generally, individuals under the age of forty are not protected by this law.  In other words, an employer can freely fire you if you are to young but not if you are to old (over 40).  The most typical example of age discrimination is the older worker who is terminated and replaced by a younger worker.  In these instances, older workers may be given severance agreements that inhibit their ability to bring suit for age discrimination.  If you are over 40 and being terminated it is always important to talk to attorney to protect your rights. 

Please note that it is not a prohibited practice if an employer is legitimately replacing a high wage earning individual with someone who would be compensated at a lower level.  In many instances, the real struggle in these cases is proving the motivation of the employer.

Finally, the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act requires that employers must provide the same benefits to older workers as they provide to younger workers.

Disability Discrimination (back to top)

Under the American With Disabilities Act it is unlawful for employers to discriminate against employees due to a disability. In order to make a claim for disability discrimination the individual must be a qualified to do the job in question but otherwise disabled.    For instance, an individual without eyesight would not be qualified to visually inspect items on an assembly line.  The individual must also be actually disabled.  You will be considered disabled if you have an injury, disease or ailment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.

Racial, National Origin, Gender and Sex based Discrimination (back to top)

It is illegal to make employment related decisions based on the race, ethnicity, sex or sexual orientation of an individual.  Any disparate treatment of an individual based on these factors can be actionable.  Simply put, if an employer treats you differently based on the color of your skin, your place or origin, your gender or sexual orientation you may have a claim for discrimination.

Pregnancy Discrimination (back to top)

Discrimination based on pregnancy is illegal.  This also applies to discrimination based on potential for pregnancy.  Additionally it is illegal to ask a prospective employee if they plan on becoming pregnant. 

Note, employees are entitled to 12 weeks of family medical leave every year under the Family Medical Leave Act.  Employees cannot be terminated during a family medical leave.  Most individuals use FMLA when they become pregnant to preserve their jobs.  Terminations that occur during family medical leave can be actionable.

Equal Pay Act (back to top)

Under the equal pay act and employer cannot discriminate in wages on the basis of sex.  When male and female employees perform similar jobs at a similar level or skill and effort the employer must compensate both equally.

Sexual Harassment & Employment Law Articles