If You Were Discriminated Against at Work, Take Action
America is a country built on the promise of equal opportunity for all. For over two centuries, we've been getting closer and closer to making that promise a reality, but illegal discrimination still haunts many of our workplaces.
If you have suffered the effects of unlawful discrimination in the workplace because of your race, ethnicity, religion, gender, age or disability, we can help you fight back.
The law firm of Fosbinder & Van Kampen, PLLC, is dedicated to representing employees in employment law disputes. We are never afraid to take a case to trial.
To schedule a confidential appointment with a lawyer at our Charlotte, North Carolina office, call us toll free at 1.866.899.9245 or contact us online today.
What Constitutes Unlawful Employment Discrimination?
When an employer treats one employee differently from the next, the employer is technically “discriminating” between the two. Not all discrimination is illegal: discrimination on the basis of laziness, for example, is perfectly acceptable.
Only discrimination on the basis of "protected categories" is unlawful. Protected categories include:
- Race or sex
- National origin
- Actual or perceived disability
- Having an illness or medical condition requiring time off for treatment or to care for a family member
- Real or perceived pregnancy status
- Religion
- Age (40 or older)
- Veteran status
Your employer may have broken the law if any of those categories factored into an employment decision involving:
- Hiring
- Lay-offs or firing
- Promotions or demotions
- Substantial reductions in job duties and responsibilities
- Wages, benefits, bonuses and other compensation
- Job conditions
Subtle Discrimination
Discrimination doesn’t have to be blatant or intentional in order to be real. For example, race discrimination may not affect entry-level hiring positions, but if a company largely fails to promote people of color, race discrimination may be a factor. The law looks at "disparate impact" — for example, if employees are given a job-related test and a disproportionate percentage of people of color fail that test, the test may itself be inherently biased. One may also question whether the test actually relates to the actual skills that are relevant in the job.
Act Quickly to Fight Discrimination
If you have been subjected to unlawful discrimination, you may already have a sense that you are in danger of losing your job. If possible, contact an employment lawyer while you are still employed. There may be important opportunities to gather evidence while you are still in the workplace. And there are specific measures we can take to counter a company’s attempt to wrongfully fire you or to retaliate against you.
Schedule a confidential appointment with an employment discrimination attorney at Fosbinder & Van Kampen, PLLC, today. Call us toll free at 1.866.899.9245 or contact our firm online. We're ready to help.
