Workplace Discrimination
Discrimination means unequal treatment through prejudice by an employer. Title VII of The 1964 Civil Rights Act (Public Law 88-352) states that no person employed or seeking employment by a business with more than 15 employees may be discriminated against due to his or her color, national origin, race, religion, or sex. It guarantees equal opportunity for an individual in employment.
Employment discrimination occurs when an employer treats an applicant or worker unfairly with one or more of the protected characteristics of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Anyone who expe- riences discrimination at work or is retaliated against for exercising his or her employment rights can seek legal protection.
Federal and state laws prohibit discrimination in the workplace. State laws may provide different solutions than federal laws. They may, in certain circumstances, be favored over federal laws. The types of employment discrimination are listed here:
● Age: The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) provides that no person shall be discriminated against because of his or her age. If an employer terminates an individual at a certain age and the termination appears to be for no other reason than the employee’s age, the former employee may have a valid complaint against
the employer for age discrimination under this law.
● Color: It is unlawful to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment based upon skin color with regard to compensation, hiring, job training, promotion, termination,
or any other term, condition, or privilege of employment.
● Disability: Title I of the Americans Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) removes the barriers pre- venting qualified individuals with disabilities from being employed, and provides transportation, communication, and cultural events that are available to persons without disabilities. It is unlawful for an employer with 15 or more employees to discriminate when recruiting, hiring, promoting, training, laying-off, paying, firing, assigning jobs, giving leave, and/or
providing other benefits because of an employee’s disability.
● Gender: The Equal Pay Act of 1963 prohibits
the paying of uneven wages for men and women if they hold the same position in the workplace. Paying a salary to men and women of the same qualifications, responsibility, skill and position,
employers are forbidden to discriminate on the ba- sis of gender. Pregnancy-based discrimination is illegal. Employers are required to handle pregnancy as a temporary condition that requires special consideration.
● National Origin: Treating someone less favorably because they or their ancestors are from a certain place or belongs to a particular national origin group is prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. It also prohibits discrimination against a person associated with an individual of a particular national origin.
● Race: Under Title VII of the Civil Rights
Act, it is unlawful to discriminate against any employee or applicant because of his or her race; the act also prohibits employment decisions based on stereotypes and assumptions about abilities, traits, or the performance of individu- als of certain racial groups. Title VII is also vio- lated when minority employees are physically isolated from other employees or from customer contacts.
● Religion: It is illegal for employers to discriminate based on an individual’s religious beliefs. Employ- ers are required to reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs, as long as doing so does not have excessive negative consequences on the workplace.
Under federal laws, employers are prohibited from treating employees unfairly or discriminating against employees based on the characteristics that are legally protected. It is also illegal for an employer to retaliate against an employee who has filed a discrimination complaint or who has participated in an investigation regarding a discrimination complaint.
Remember that not all unfavorable treatment is discrimination. If an employee believes that he or she has experienced workplace discrimination, the employee can file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Questions
1. What is workplace discrimination?
2. What does title VII of the civil rights Act protect?
3. What types of discrimination does title VII prohibit in the workplace?
4. From what types of things does the federal law protect an individual who files a discrimination complaint?
5. With whom does an individual file a discrimi- nation complaint?