Understanding Employment Discrimination

Understanding Employment Discrimination

What Is Employment Discrimination?

Employment discrimination is the unfair, unjust, or less favorable treatment of a job applicant or employee, because of that individual’s race, color, sex, religion, national origin or disability.

Types of Discrimination in the Workplace

Employment discrimination can take on various forms, as follows:

Hiring Discrimination: Hiring discrimination occurs when an employer refuses to hire or consider an applicant because of the applicant’s race, color, sex, religion, national origin or disability, rather than the applicant’s qualifications and abilities.

Race Discrimination: In the workplace, race discrimination occurs when employees are subjected to negative actions, practices, or policies solely because of their race or ethnic background. Race discrimination can manifest in various ways, both overt and subtle, and can happen in different contexts.

Examples of race discrimination in the workplace include:

Hiring Bias: When an employer refuses to hire or considers race as a determining factor in making employment decisions, such as recruitment or selection.

Promotion Bias: When employees of a particular race are denied opportunities for advancement or promotion compared to equally qualified individuals of other races.

Unequal Pay: When employees of a specific race are paid less than their counterparts performing the same job with similar qualifications and experience.

Racial Harassment: When an employee is subjected to racial slurs, derogatory comments, offensive jokes, or other forms of racially-based harassment in the workplace.

Retaliation: When an employer takes adverse actions against an employee who complains about or opposes race discrimination in the workplace.

Unequal Treatment: When an employer enforces policies or practices that disproportionately disadvantage employees of a particular race, such as denying training opportunities, assigning less favorable shifts, or providing inferior working conditions.

Religious Discrimination: Religious discrimination is the adverse or unfair treatment of employees by the employer because of the employee’s religious beliefs and practices. Companies are required to make reasonable accommodations for employees who need time, space, or other amenities to observe their religious practices.

Wage Discrimination: Wage discrimination occurs when an employer pays or compensates employees differently for performing the same job, on account of the employee’s protected characteristics, such as gender or race.

Wrongful Termination: When an employee is unjustly fired or terminated based on their protected characteristics, rather than their job performance.

By understanding the various forms of employment discrimination, both employers and employees can take proactive measures to prevent and address these issues, fostering a fair and inclusive work environment.