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Discrimination

Discrimination is the unequal treatment of parties who are similarly situated. Discrimination occurs in the employment context when an employer treats one or more employees less favorably than others because of their race, color, religion, national origin, sex, actual or perceived sexual orientation, age, disability, or in retaliation for a complaint made against the employer (“whistleblower”).

Note that acts of sexual harassment may also constitute sex discrimination. These include unwanted physical touching, lewd comments, dirty jokes, pornographic pictures, etc.

In order to prove that you have been discriminated against, you will need evidence that:

1. you belong to a protected class,
2. you were treated unfavorably as a result of your membership in that class, and
3. you incurred damage, injury or loss as a result of the disparate treatment.

Examples of discrimination may include:

• Derogatory statements made by supervisory personnel, or made by co-workers and overheard by, or reported to, supervisory personnel;
• The employer’s past conduct in similar situations with regard to other employees;
• Statistics about the kinds of people which comprise your work environment;
• The existence of signs, photographs, or other items in the workplace which portray members of your protected class in a negative light

Evidence of discrimination may include:

• Your good work history, showing that unfavorable treatment, which a supervisor may claim is warranted because of your misconduct, is not truly because of any misconduct on your part;

• Eyewitness testimony of other employees, customers, clients and other people at the workplace who heard comments or witnessed discriminatory events

• Documentation (notes, e-mails, correspondence, personnel records, company policies and procedure manuals, etc.);
• Physical evidence (photographs, dolls, signs and other items which appeared in the workplace and which portray members of your protected class in a negative light).

Legal action should be taken as soon as possible, as there are specific statutes of limitations that could bar you from pursuing your case in the future.

For more information on Discrimination cases, contact our offices to speak to a Foote-Meyers attorney who specializes in this area.