Introduction
Employment discrimination has become one of the most prominent areas of modern litigation. Businesses are sued more often by their employees than by any other category of litigant -- more than by competitors, customers or regulators. The great majority of those lawsuits by employees involve the allegation of employment discrimination. The threat of employment discrimination lawsuits has changed the nature of the employment relationship and caused employers to implement safeguards, procedures and technicalities they would have never considered fifty years ago. Further, discrimination has entered the popular consciousness as a legal concept much more successfully than many older legal concepts or categories. Employment discrimination
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However, to be "illegal" discrimination, your employer must be in violation of a specific state or Federal law statute, regulation, or constitutional provision. Otherwise, you are not generally protected from discrimination, however unfair or unethical it may seem. For example, if your boss is much harder on you than anyone else for no apparent reason (micro-management), while it might be unethical behavior for a boss, it 's not discrimination by law. However, if he or she is extra hard on you for a reason that 's protected by law, such as your religion, age or sex, then its illegal discrimination, especially if you suffer damage such as getting passed over for a well-deserved raise or …show more content…
To be considered in violation of Federal Employment Discrimination Laws, the discrimination must single out employees on the basis of age, creed, disability, national origin, race, color, religion, genetics or gender, in violation of Federal employment discrimination laws or other laws that have anti-discrimination provisions. Discrimination under Title VII applies to every stage of the employment process from hiring, placement, wages, benefits, training, and promotions, firing, and working conditions. Illegal discrimination also includes harassment that creates an intimidating, offensive, abusive or hostile work environment for employees. Race discrimination involves treating an applicant or employee unfavorably because of race or because of personal characteristics associated with race. Color discrimination involves treating someone unfavorably because of skin color. Religious discrimination involves treating a person unfavorably because of his or her religious