While workplace discrimination is against the law in California, many employees still experience discrimination every day. Some forms of discrimination involve outright harassment while other forms are more subtle and insidious. Here are some examples of the various types of workplace discrimination.
What are some of the most common forms of workplace discrimination?
One of the most common forms of workplace discrimination is harassment. This can involve insults, racial slurs, sexual comments and other unwanted remarks. Harassment is one of the most obvious forms of discrimination, but some forms are less obvious.
Workplace discrimination can involve refusing to hire someone because of their gender, race, religion, sexual orientation or another protected factor. It can also involve refusing to give an employee benefits, not promoting them even when they’re eligible, paying them a lower salary than their co-workers or refusing to let them take maternity leave.
Some businesses also discriminate by creating a hostile work environment. This can include outright harassment as well as social isolation, passive aggressive remarks and deliberately making the employee uncomfortable until they leave the company. They might also make unfair assumptions about the employee or believe in harmful stereotypes. For example, they might assume that a disabled employee can’t complete certain tasks.
What’s the best way to file a discrimination lawsuit?
Under law, it’s illegal for companies to discriminate against someone based on their gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, age or marital status. It’s also illegal to discriminate against someone who’s pregnant or disabled. If an individual believes they’ve suffered from workplace discrimination, they might be able to file a lawsuit.
Before they head to the courthouse, they might wish to hire an attorney. An attorney may be able to answer their questions and determine whether a successful lawsuit is possible. If it is, the attorney may work to gather evidence and help their client launch a case against their former employer.