While we may have made a lot of progress in the past few decades in terms of equality in the workplace, that doesn’t mean that problems don’t persist. Recent studies have shown that workplace discrimination is still alive and well in various forms, despite laws outlawing this kind of behavior.
If you think you’ve been discriminated against at the workplace, you may have a legal right to justice. However, it can be difficult to prove a discrimination case, so you’ll want to ensure you get the help of a discrimination attorney.
When is the right time to reach out, and how might you be sure you have a case? Read on, and we’ll walk you through what you need to know.
Understanding Discrimination Laws
There are many employment and labor laws in place to protect workers against unfair treatment based on race, color, sex, religion, and so forth.
The federal law states that ‘discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment is firmly against the law. If you can prove that the actions an employer took against you were rooted in some element of your protected status, then you might have a case.
This can be more easily said than done, of course. Most employers won’t come out and admit to discrimination, of course. They will hide behind other excuses. You’ll need to work hard to determine if you have the evidence needed to bring forward a case.
Evidence of Discrimination in the Workplace
Without evidence, you won’t be able to file charges against your employer. What sort of elements should you be looking out for that you can bring to an attorney’s attention?
First, you’ll need to prove your own protected status. This can be easy enough. It may be as simple as proving that you identify as a member of a certain religion and some demonstration that your employer was aware of this, for example.
The more difficult portion of the job will prove that this identification drove your employer to a certain action or behavior.
It may end up having to be a combination of things. An attorney may procure witness statements, documents, videos, and more to help support the idea that an employer took certain actions with the intent to discriminate.
You’ll need a strong and experienced discrimination lawyer to help you build this sort of case.
Evidence of Damages
As a person does in any civil lawsuit, you will also need to prove your damages. That means you need to have suffered some loss due to the discriminatory action to bring a lawsuit forward.
Were you fired from your job based on your identity? This is an easy case to prove, as you could point towards the wages you lost due to losing your employment.
If you can’t point to any losses you’ve endured due to the discrimination, it can make it difficult to bring a case forward.
Hiring a Discrimination Attorney
Once you’ve taken the time to understand the above information, you should be ready to reach out to a discrimination attorney. If you believe you have the needed evidence to support such a case, an attorney can walk you through the process from there.
Need more legal advice? Keep scrolling our blog for more.
Rene Bennett is a graduate of New Jersey, where he played volleyball and annoyed a lot of professors. Now as Zobuz’s Editor, he enjoys writing about delicious BBQ, outrageous style trends and all things Buzz worthy.
