Equality at Work: Know Your Rights

According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), your employer is legally prohibited from discriminating against you, or treating you less favorably based on your religion, race, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or any other protected class. While there has been significant progress in ensuring that all employees are treated fairly, regardless of their protected class, bias in the workplace continues to occur. In addition to creating a toxic and hostile work environment, this behavior can significantly limit employment opportunities and career advancement. If you believe that you have been discriminated against, or treated unfairly at any point during the employment process, there are federal and state laws that protect you from discrimination, harassment, or any other unfair treatment that is prohibited by law. A highly skilled discrimination lawyer will discuss the details of your case, ensure that your legal rights are protected, and negotiate a fair settlement.

What Are the Different Categories of Employment Discrimination?

Workplace discrimination occurs when employers treat employees, or job applicants unfairly based on their protected status. There are a number of federal and state laws that prohibit this behavior, including the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC) that protect employees who have experienced the following types of discrimination:

• Racial discrimination: This occurs when an employer treats an employee unfavorably due to characteristics associated with their race, including hair style, skin color, or certain facial features. 
• Religious discrimination: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations that allow employees to observe their religious beliefs or customs, unless doing so would cause undue hardship. 
• Sexual harassment discrimination: Employers are prohibited from engaging in harassing behavior, including unwanted sexual advances, requesting sexual favors, making offensive, gender-based comments or jokes, or leaving sexually explicit messages.
• National origin or ancestry discrimination: This occurs when an employer discriminates against an employee due to their country of origin, ethnicity, accent, ethnic background, or because of their relationships with a person of a particular nationality or ethnicity.
• Age discrimination: This occurs when an employer treats an employee or a job applicant less favorably because of their age. Depending on the age stereotype, this can affect both older and younger employees.
• Disability discrimination: If an employer treats an employee who has a physical or mental disability unfavorably, or fails to make reasonable accommodations that allow the employee to carry out their job responsibilities, this is a violation of an employee’s rights. 
• Gender/sex discrimination: This type of discrimination occurs when an employee is treated unfairly or unfavorably due to their gender, sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
• Retaliation discrimination: Employers are legally prohibited from retaliating against an employee for reporting discriminatory behavior or participating in an investigation. 
• Pregnancy discrimination: Employers may not refuse to hire, deny promotions, terminate an employee, or engage in harassing or discriminatory behavior due to pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or other related medical conditions.
• Parental status discrimination: This occurs when employees are excluded from work-related events, denied promotions, or otherwise treated unfairly because of their family responsibilities. 

What Are Examples of Discrimination in the Workplace?

The EEOC defines discrimination as “any behavior or action that treats an employee less favorably based on their protected class.” Unfortunately, discrimination in the workplace takes many forms, including the following:

• Harassing employees due to their race, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, or any other protected characteristic.
• Treating employees unfairly due to their protected class.
• Retaliating against an employee for reporting discriminatory behavior or participating in a lawsuit or investigation.
• Denying a job opportunity to a prospective employee because they are pregnant, disabled, observe a certain religion, or part of any other protected class.
• Refusing to provide reasonable accommodations for an employee who is disabled.
• Asking offensive or inappropriate questions about an employee’s medical or genetic information.
• Engaging in any conduct or behavior that coerces, intimidates, or threatens an employee’s legal or employment rights.

What Laws Are in Place to Protect Workers Against Discrimination?

If you believe that you have been discriminated against in the workplace, and you are considering taking legal action, it is important to have a general understanding of the laws that are in place to protect you. The following, are examples of federal laws that prohibit employers from engaging in discriminatory behavior and ensure that your employment rights are protected:

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: This prohibits employers from discriminating against employees based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. This specifically applies to employers with a minimum of 15 employees.
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): Employers may not discriminate against an employee based on their disability if they are able to complete their job responsibilities with reasonable accommodations. According to the ADA, a disability is “a physical or mental impairment that significantly limits one or more major life activities.”
• Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA): This prohibits employers from giving preferential treatment to younger employees over employees who are 40 or older. This applies specifically to workplaces that have 20 or more employees. This law does not prevent employees from treating older employees more favorably than younger workers.
• Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): This law covers wages, employee classification, hours, and other employment rights and obligations. It requires employers to pay non-exempts employees the federal minimum wage, provide overtime pay for hours worked over 40 hours in a week, and to obey child labor laws. 
• Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA): This protects employees from pay discrimination based on sex, race, religion, sexual orientation, or other protected characteristics. For example, an employer may not pay a male employee more than a female employee who has the same qualifications and experience. 
• Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): Employers must allow employees to take up to 12 weeks off for a qualified serious health condition. In order to qualify for FMLA leave, employees must have worked for the employer for at least 12 months, and for 1,250 hours in the 12 months prior to the leave. This protects the employee’s job and preserves their group health insurance while they are on leave. When you return to work, you must be reinstated at the same or an equivalent position.
• Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA): This was created to ensure that employers provided safe and healthful working conditions that are free of any hazards that could increase the risk of injuries or health complications.
• National Labor Relations Act (NLRA): This protects workplace democracy by ensuring that employees at private-sector workplaces have the fundamental rights to seek better working conditions without the fear of retaliation.

What Steps Do I Take if My Employment Rights Have Been Violated?

If you have been discriminated against at work due to a protected characteristic, contact the appropriate federal or state agency as soon as possible. The EEOC and PHRC have filing deadlines, so it is important that you do not delay the process. A dedicated employment lawyer will help you navigate this process, ensure that your complaint is filed well before the deadline passes, and negotiate the best possible settlement outcome. 

What Do I Need to Prove in an Employment Discrimination Lawsuit?

If your legal rights have been violated in the workplace, and you intend to file an official complaint, you must prove the following four elements in order to reach a successful outcome and recover the compensation you deserve:

1. You are a member of a protected class, and the discrimination you suffered was based on your race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or other protected characteristic.
2. An adverse employment action was taken against you. You must establish that the discriminatory behavior had a negative impact on your employment. This may include a demotion, a reduction in pay, an increase in workload, or an assigning of more difficult or less desirable work.
3. You must also prove that you had met your employer’s legitimate expectations at the time of the negative employment action. In order to disprove the reason your employer gave for taking adverse employment action against you, you must show that you were meeting, or exceeding your job requirements at the time that the action was taken.
4. You must be able to prove that you were treated differently, or less favorably than other similarly qualified employees outside your protected class. For example, if you are a female employee with young children at home, and you were passed over for a promotion that was given to a less-qualified male employee, you must be able to provide proof of this unfair treatment.  

Our Philadelphia Discrimination Lawyers at The Gold Law Firm P.C. Advocate for Clients Who Have Experienced Workplace Discrimination

If you were discriminated against, or your employment rights were violated in some way, it is highly recommended that you contact our Philadelphia discrimination lawyers at The Gold Law Firm P.C. at your earliest convenience. We will help you navigate every step of the complaint process, address any questions or concerns you may have, and negotiate the best possible settlement outcome. To schedule a free consultation, call today at 215-569-1999 or contact us online. With office locations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Pennsauken, New Jersey, we proudly serve clients in the surrounding areas.