Employment

Employment Discrimination

Employment discrimination laws seek to prevent employers from discriminating against employees based on race, sex, religion, national origin, physical disability, and age. There is also a growing body of law preventing or occasionally justifying employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. Discriminatory practices include bias in hiring, promotion, job assignment, termination, compensation, and various types of harassment. The main body of employment discrimination laws is composed of federal and state statutes. The United States Constitution and some state constitutions provide additional protection where the employer is a governmental body or the government has taken significant steps to foster the discriminatory practice of the employer.

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, 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; or

• other terms and conditions of employment.

Discriminatory practices under these laws also include:

• harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or age;

• retaliation against an individual for filing a charge of discrimination, participating in an investigation, or opposing discriminatory practices;

• employment decisions based on stereotypes or assumptions about the abilities, traits, or performance of individuals of a certain sex, race, age, religion, or ethnic group, or individuals with disabilities; and

• denying employment opportunities to a person because of marriage to, or association with, an individual of a particular race, religion, national origin, or an individual with a disability. Title VII also prohibits discrimination because of participation in schools or places of worship associated with a particular racial, ethnic, or religious group.

For further information on the employment discrimination statutes contained in the United States Code, see

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 -- http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/vii.html

• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) -- http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/ada.html

• Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) -- http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/adea.html

• Equal Pay Act (EPA) -- http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/epa.html

• Civil Rights Act of 1991 -- http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/cra91.html

For further information on the rights of employees, see

• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission – http://www.eeoc.gov

• U.S. Department of Labor – http://www.dol.gov

• Frequently Asked Questions about Employment Discrimination -- http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/emp/faq.html

• Ethnic Majority -- http://www.ethnicmajority.com/ workplace_discrimination.htm

Click here to contact us if you feel that you or someone you know has suffered a violation of rights with respect to employment.