No worker in the United States should fear discrimination based on their identity. Although it is against federal law, some companies use tactics to avoid charges and hire certain people that fall into specific demographics.
If you believe you faced discrimination during any policies or practices put in place by your company or your potential company, you want to speak with an experienced employment attorney. He or she will aid you in collecting evidence and building a case for which you can obtain significant compensation for your time lost and damages. As a worker in the United States, you have the right to an equal opportunity to secure employment, and a court will work to rectify the decisions made by unethical businesses.
EEOC discrimination laws
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) maintains that no employee should face discrimination for their:
- Age
- Disability
- Genetic information
- National origin
- Pregnancy
- Race/Color
- Religion
- Sex
- Sexual orientation
When working adults think of acts of discrimination in the workplace, they may think of harassment or a lack of opportunities presented to those facing discrimination. Yet many organizations use discriminatory tactics before potential employees enter the organization.
Illegal before-hire practices
It is illegal for companies to make hiring decisions based on any of your identifiers, but it is also illegal to subtly avoid certain demographics before accepting applications. The EEOC provides three examples of ways that companies may act illegally during job application processes.
- Job Advertisements: When promoting specific jobs, companies may not call out specific demographics to apply for the position. Ethnicities and gender prove the most common identifiers cited in illegal hiring practices because enticing different groups to apply excludes potential applicants from other demographics. Even advertising a job using terms such as “recent graduates” may imply that a company hopes to hire young people, and excluding age groups is against the law.
- Recruitment: If companies rely on recruiting tactics that involve only advertising in certain areas where a job opening will only touch a specific demographic, the company may be engaging in illegal behavior. For example, if an organization spends large amounts of money on advertising to only wealthy, white neighborhood teens, a court may find that they engage in discrimination because their efforts to hire do not expand to other demographics.
- Application & Hiring: Excluding individuals based on their disability or national origin may exemplify itself during the application process. Unless speaking a specific language is needed to complete a job or having the ability to write is required to succeed in the position, companies may not exclude applicants from applying. Perhaps an organization fails to provide an interpreter or create the application in another language, or perhaps the company does not give someone with a disability the option of filling a form out with the help of another individual.
Before filing a claim against a potential employer, speaking with an attorney is essential. You need to ensure that your experiences signified discrimination, and he or she may aid you in obtaining evidence and testimony. If you were not hired directly due to any of your demographics, you have a right to compensation.
