Most of us can think of times when we felt discriminated against in some way. Workplace discrimination presents unique difficulties because of how dependent our well-being is upon our current employment, which makes it not only more necessary to call out but also more stressful. This blog post will explain what constitutes workplace discrimination and how you can report it. If you believe you have been discriminated against at your job, do not wait and contact an Atlanta employment discrimination attorney today.
Understanding Workplace Discrimination in Georgia
Most workplace discrimination in Georgia (and many other states) is based on federal regulations. If your employer has 15 or more employees, it is illegal for them to discriminate on the basis of disability, genetic information, ethnicity, national origin, race, color, pregnancy, religion, sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation. If your employer has 20 or more employees, it is illegal for them to discriminate based on age against employees or applicants 40 or older.
Discrimination as understood by the statute is negative and differential treatment, due to the above-listed categories. Employers cannot discriminate in any aspect at all of your employment, whether hiring, training, job assignments, pay, promotion, benefits, layoffs, or firing. Similarly, they are forbidden from harassing you because of a protected category.
Employers also aren’t allowed to make an end-run around the rules by claiming that their policies or practices were not intended to be discriminatory. Any policy or practice that negatively affects the protected groups more than other, comparably more privileged groups is cause for you to file an employment discrimination case.
Some protected groups have one or more specific additional considerations under federal anti-discrimination laws.
For example, disability discrimination protections include not just protection against differently and negatively tailored policies and practices, but also refusals to make reasonable accommodations.
Religion discrimination protections also include organized religions as well as any sincerely held religious, moral, or ethical belief. Just like disability discrimination protections, religious discrimination protections require employers to make reasonable accommodations for the observation of religious obligations.
Ethnic and national origin protections include that employers cannot force employees to only speak English unless it is necessary for safety and efficiency. Pregnancy discrimination protections mean that employers must treat employees who are temporarily disabled because of pregnancy or childbirth just like any other employee with a temporary disability, such that all temporarily disabled employees must have the same options for leave.
Finally, it is prohibited for employers to punish you because you reported discrimination or harassment. You are always allowed to engage in protected activities like filing a complaint, appearing as a witness, inquiring about workplace discrimination at your job, refusing a sexual advance, and protecting another employee from a sexual advance, among others.
This would be retaliation, and includes actions like bad performance reviews, verbal or physical abuse, or treating badly a family member or friend of yours who is also their employee.
How Do I Report Workplace Discrimination?
If you’ve experienced workplace discrimination, your first course of action should be to talk over what happened with an employment discrimination lawyer. The process of filing a claim can be complex, and an employment discrimination lawyer will help make sure you avoid further stress.
You will need to file with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, whether online or in person.
If you file online, you will be contacted later for an interview with a staff worker to get more details about your case. You can find the necessary forms on the “Complaints” page of the Georgia Commission on Equal Opportunity (GCEO) website.
If you file in person, the interview may occur right away. After your interview, the staffer will give you instructions on how the case will continue.
