Discrimination in the workplace happens when you or someone you know is treated differently than others based on protected characteristics. These include race, age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, national origin or disability. The treatment may affect an individual’s firing, hiring, salary, promotions, training or job assignments, and is often illegal in most states.
Direct discrimination: This is when an employer actively mistreats a person because of their protected characteristics, which could be their age, gender, or religious beliefs. It also includes indirect discrimination, which occurs when a company’s policies and practices discriminate against people who share a protected characteristic.
Indirect discrimination is usually less obvious than direct discrimination and can occur when a company’s policies and practices create disadvantages for people based on their protected characteristics, which can be their gender, religion, or race. Examples of indirect discrimination include having a policy that focuses on hiring and promotion based on gender, paying equal salaries to men and women who have the same level of experience in the same job, or giving different benefits or perks to employees with certain protected characteristics.
Retaliation
If you’ve been the victim of workplace discrimination, you can file a claim with the federal or state agency in charge of enforcing employment discrimination laws. These agencies include the EEOC and the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR).
You can also file a lawsuit in court. However, this is a lengthy process that can take months or years to resolve. It’s important to consult a lawyer who specializes in employment law before you start the process of filing a discrimination lawsuit.
To file a complaint, you can visit the EEOC’s website, call the agency toll-free, or file an online form. The EEOC will then assign an investigator to look into your case. Once the investigator finds out if there was discrimination, they will give you and your employer a letter of determination. This will tell you if there is reasonable cause to believe discrimination occurred, and they will invite you and your employer to try to settle the matter through mediation or another resolution mechanism.
Taking notes and writing down all the events that you’re able to remember helps you build a strong case in the event of litigation. It’s also important to keep copies of documents and electronic evidence relating to your discrimination claim.
Your employment discrimination lawyer can help you collect all of the evidence that you need to prove your case. This can include any statements you’ve made to your employer, documents related to any demotions or fines that you’ve received, and other statements from witnesses who have alleged discrimination at work.
Then, you’ll need to gather evidence that can show that the alleged discrimination was the result of an unfair and unjust practice by your employer. This can be difficult, because most cases are not obvious, and your employer will have their own attorneys.
To ensure that you’re protected from retaliation, report all of the alleged discriminatory actions immediately to a decision-maker in your employer’s organization. If you fail to report the discrimination and it continues, you can lose your legal rights to pursue a claim against your employer.
