Examining The Employment Law: Common Types Of Discrimination In Workplace

Nearly all businesses have some form of employment law. Employment law governs the relationship between the employer and the employee. Employer-employee relations are governed by employment law if a business employs more than one person. It covers many subjects that all have the common goal of protecting workers’ rights. These laws apply to employees:

• Prevent discrimination
• Promote safety and health
• Set a minimum level of economic support
• Avoid work disruptions caused by disputes between management and labor

You will need employment lawyers to assist you in navigating the many legal issues you may face at work.

Common Types of Workplace Discrimination

Discrimination at work is still illegal, even though it has been banned for many decades. It is possible to end workplace discrimination by speaking out, bringing lawsuits, and exposing discriminatory practices. Companies care about their bottom line, and they won’t stop discriminating if there are large settlements or verdicts. Here are some most common forms of workplace discrimination.

Gender Discrimination

Gender discrimination, or sex discrimination, is when an employer treats an applicant or employee for a job differently based on their gender. Gender discrimination laws address a variety of issues employees face in the workplace. These include sexual harassment, equal pay issues and stalled promotions or career development based upon gender, pregnancy discrimination.

Pregnancy Discrimination

Pregnancy discrimination refers to discrimination against pregnant women or new mothers. Employers may refuse to hire women who are pregnant or have plans to become pregnant. Employers may also make excuses for terminating employees or disciplining them if they find out they are pregnant.

Employers can also make excuses to terminate employees or eliminate them from their jobs while they are on leave. Employers sometimes don’t know their obligations to give leave to pregnant employees or retaliate against them for exercising their right to leave.

Pregnancy discrimination can also include discrimination against mothers returning to work who need an accommodation to breastfeed or pump. These accommodations are available to new mothers. No woman should have to choose between her job and her children’s well-being. The law does not require that you do so.

Discrimination Against Disability

This form of discrimination may take many forms. It may include comments made about a disability by co-workers or managers, along with adverse employment actions like failing to promote, offering less favorable working conditions, layoff, termination, or disciplinary proceedings.

Sometimes, disability discrimination can be defined as refusing to offer or discuss reasonable accommodations to the employee to enable them to carry out their job duties.

Illegal Retaliation

The most common discrimination form complaint is retaliation. Retaliation is when employees are subject to tangible consequences for exercising their rights at work. This includes demotion, termination, and cuts in hours or pay.

Racial Discrimination

Some cases of racial discrimination are apparent (e.g., being fired or demoted for racially related reasons, being denied a fair wage, denied equal treatment at work, refusing employee training or benefits, or being harassed because of racial reasons). This is especially true if it is part of an ongoing pattern of behavior.

Your Religious Beliefs

Employers can’t discriminate against you based on your religion. The Civil Rights Law, which dates back to 1964, outlines the framework in which employers must accommodate religious beliefs and practices.

While there are some limitations, your religious beliefs should not be viewed as too burdensome for your employer when you make these allowances. However, the employment law exists to ensure you are treated fairly.

Parental Status Discrimination

Employers cannot ask applicants about marital status or children. This is a well-known fact. It may surprise you to know that discrimination based upon parental status is not illegal. Parental status discrimination can often be a violation of other anti-discrimination laws. For example, an employer might believe that women with children don’t prioritize work while men with children are more likely to work harder.

An employer might also decide that a woman can take maternity leave but punish a man who takes baby bonding leave. These prejudices are rooted in gendered assumptions about “mothers” and “fathers” and could both support discrimination claims. During the pandemic, discrimination against parents has become more common as people with childcare obligations may need to work on different schedules or require other accommodations.

Age Discrimination

Age discrimination – discrimination against someone over 40 years old – is one of the fastest-growing examples of discrimination in the workplace today. There are a few patterns to age discrimination. It’s harder for job seekers who are old to be hired. They need to apply for more positions and are often unemployed for more extended periods than younger workers. They are also subject to harassment by younger bosses and may be forced to resign or retire. They may also be wrongfully fired: Statistics show that over half of those over 50 are forced to quit their job before they are ready to retire.

Final Words

Eliminating workplace discrimination will be difficult. However, you should know that employment laws provide ample protection for your rights if you feel that you have been treated unfairly for any reason.