No employee should ever have to deal with employment-related decisions being made on personal factors that don’t play a part in the business. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as well as some other laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), set some clear legal standards for employees regarding discrimination.
The anti-discrimination laws cover a host of employment actions and situations. These include various things from the hiring to the termination of employees. None of the following actions can be made based on a protected status:
- Hiring decisions
- Disciplinary measures
- Termination
- Promotions or demotions
- Pay increases or decreases
- Training program inclusion
There are several statuses that are considered protected under the law, including Title VII and other laws. These include:
- Religion
- Race
- National origin
- Gender
- Age, if over 40 years old
- Disability or pregnancy
Employees who think that they have been discriminated against can take legal action. The primary concern in many of these cases is stopping the atrocious behavior. Workers deserve to have a work environment that isn’t hostile.
Another factor that must be considered is that discrimination doesn’t come only from a supervisor or business owner. It can also come from co-workers, clients, vendors and anyone else the employee comes into contact with during their job duties.
One thing that employees do need to watch for is retaliation. There is a chance that an employer will take negative employment actions against an employee who files a complaint of discrimination. Retaliation in those cases is illegal and can also be the basis for the legal complaints.
