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Although discrimination in the workplace has been prohibited by federal laws for decades, the sad reality is it still happens. If you feel that you’ve been discriminated against in the workplace, the only way to protect yourself and others is to speak up and take action.
Unfortunately, most organizations only care about their bottom line. That’s why the best way to tackle workplace discrimination is to hire labor lawyers to bring litigation against them. Discrimination becomes too costly to permit when large verdicts and settlements eat into an organization’s profits.
Read on to learn the four most common types of discrimination in the workplace and how to recognize them if they happen to you.
1. Discrimination Due to Race
It’s a sad fact that racial discrimination still exists – both in and out of the workplace. In fact, racial discrimination is so common that the cases make up a third of all EEOC claims every year.
Racial discrimination can happen during all employment processes. Minority groups are often passed over during the hiring and promoting phases. Racial discrimination also occurs when minority groups are wrongfully dismissed during the termination phase.
Although minorities are protected by the Civil Rights Act, race-based discrimination is still a massive problem in the workplace.
2. Discrimination Due to Disability
Discrimination due to disability is another prominent type of discrimination in the workplace. Like racial discrimination, a third of all cases brought to the EEOC involved disability discrimination. Disability discrimination can be an employer making assumptions about the employee’s abilities, unfair policies, or escalate to outright hostility.
Disabled employees have been protected by The Americans with Disabilities Act for over two decades. Disabled employees in California are given even more protection.
3. Discrimination Due to Gender
Gender discrimination is exceptionally prevalent in the workplace. It entails being treated differently or unfairly solely due to your gender. Gender discrimination can manifest in being passed over for hire, not being trained adequately for leadership roles, not getting promoted, or getting paid less for the same role as coworkers of the opposite gender.
Gender discrimination has been around since women began to join the workforce, and it’s only getting worse. Studies show that more women were fired or made redundant during the Covid-19 pandemic than men.
4. Discrimination Due to Sexual Orientation
Discrimination due to someone’s sexual orientation is something that should never happen in a professional setting, yet it still does. Employees are frequently passed over during interviews, harassed, not promoted, and made to feel unsafe in the workplace because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation.
Due to a 2020 Supreme Court decision (Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia), this discrimination is prohibited in public and private workplaces. The same Supreme Court decision also made workplace discrimination due to gender identity illegal in the United States.
Final Words
When discrimination occurs, a hostile work environment is created. Both discrimination and hostile work environments are illegal. A hostile work environment hinders employees’ performance, makes them feel unsafe at work, and can force them to leave the company.
If you feel you are being discriminated against, speak out. Hire a qualified employment lawyer to fight for your rights and shine a spotlight on discriminatory practices within your workplace.
