Workplace Discrimination

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Workplace Discrimination

Discrimination occurs when an employee suffers from unfavorable or unfair treatment due to their race, religion, national origin, disabled or veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. Employees who have suffered reprisals for opposing workplace discrimination or for reporting violations to the authorities are also considered to be discriminated against. Federal law prohibits discrimination in work-related areas, such as recruiting, hiring, job evaluations, promotion policies, training, compensation and disciplinary action. (employeeissues.com, 2006)

Aside from the obvious, unfair treatment does not always equal unlawful discrimination. Treating a person differently from others violates Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws only when the treatment is based on the presence of a protected characteristic, rather than on job performance or even on something as arbitrary as an employee's personality. Discrimination claims can sometimes be highly subjective. (employeeissues.com, 2006)

Discrimination accusations are best avoided by following the law which requires only that you extend the same employment opportunities and enforce the same policies for each employee.

DISCRIMINATION LAWS

Discrimination laws exist to prevent discrimination based on race, sex, religion, national origin, physical disability, and age by employers. The main discriminatory practices identified today are bias in hiring, promotion, job assignment, termination, compensation, and various types of harassment. The following paragraphs outline the most common anti-discrimination laws today. (allbusiness.com, 2006)

The Equal Pay Act amended the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1963. The Equal Pay Act only prohibits payi...

... middle of paper ...

...nequal pay, sexual harassment, seniority and maternity leave. The antidiscrimination laws that exist today and the cases that are successful because of them create an awareness that no employer will go unaffected if a discrimination suit is brought forth. (Jennings, 2006)

References

AllBusiness.com. (2006). Understanding Workplace Discrimination. All Business Human Resources: Work, Health & Safety.

Cornell Law. (2006). Employment Discrimination. Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute.

EEOC. (2006). Discrimination by Type. US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

EmployeeIssues.com. (2006). Discrimination. Employee Issues.

Human Rights Campaign. (2006). GLBT Workplace Issues. HRC Workplace Discrimination.

Jennings, Marianne. (2006). Business: Its Legal, Ethical, and Global Environment. USA:

Thomas/South Western Publications.

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