Is This Discrimination?

“That’s discrimination” and its many permutations can be heard every day in offices and at work sites across the country. But people tend to exaggerate and in many cases, the perceived slight an individual faces at work is not discriminatory at all.

If you are unsure about whether you are facing discrimination in your workplace, ask yourself the following questions. These questions can not answer your question for you, but they can help you gain a better understanding of the situation and your legal options. The next step is to contact an experienced employment attorney to discuss your experience and determine whether taking legal action against your employer through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the Florida Commission on Human Rights is the right course of action for you.

Discrimination is defined as the unequal treatment of a specific individual or group based on a characteristic that he or she cannot change, such as his or her race, ethnicity, sex, national origin, or disability.

Were you Qualified for the Position you Did Not Receive?

Whether you were not hired or you were not promoted, the reason behind the company’s choice could be discrimination. Look at who was hired or promoted – is that individual a member of a majority group or, as can also be the case, the same class as all or nearly all of the individuals at the company or at a specific level of the company?

Who Replaced you?

If you were terminated, look at who the company chose to replace you. Is this individual significantly younger than you or a member of a majority group?

Are There Marked Differences in the Individuals in Certain Positions?

In other words, is every supervisor the same race or sex? Are female employees expected to perform different duties than male employees in the same positions or are employees of one race segregated into one department or one branch of the company?

How Were You Treated?

Sometimes, discrimination is more subtle and is acted through derogatory names and off-hand comments. Take note of how your colleagues speak to and about you, both in person and through email.

Keep in mind that being terminated or not getting a job at a company does not automatically mean you faced discrimination. To successfully file a discrimination claim, you need to prove that the discrimination you faced was solely due to one of the characteristics listed in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and not your job performance or fitness for the position. This is why documentation of any alleged discrimination is critical – you need to prove that it actually happened and fits with the applicable state and federal laws.

Employment Attorneys in Winter Park

If you answered “yes” to one or more of the questions above, you could be a victim of workplace discrimination. Contact our team of experienced Winter Park employment attorneys at Hornsby Law Group today to determine this for sure during your free legal consultation with our firm.