Employment Discrimination: FAQ's
In an ongoing series aimed at answering frequently asked employment-law questions, here are the basics of "Employment Discrimination."
Question: What does employment discrimination mean?
Answer: While each anti-discrimination law defines what discrimination means, it is generally illegal for a covered employer to fail or refuse to hire, to fire, or to otherwise discriminate against an applicant or employee with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such person's race, sex, religion, color, national origin, or other protected category. Unless the company can establish "undue hardship," it is also unlawful for a covered entity to fail to provide a "reasonable accommodation" to an employee or applicant's religion or disability. It is also illegal to retaliate against someone for exercising rights under employment discrimination laws.
Question: How is employment discrimination proven in court?
Answer: In addition to theories based on retaliation and whistleblowing, employees rely on the following employment-law theories to prove that an employer or other covered entity engaged in employment discrimination:
Disparate Treatment, which is the simplest theory to understand, refers to a claim that an employer or other covered entity intentionally treated the employee or applicant unfavorably because of such person's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, or other protected status.
Disparate, Adverse Impact refers to a claim that the company's otherwise lawful policy has a significant adverse impact on a protected group. Examples include tests or other criteria for hiring or promotions that seem neutral on the surface but can be shown to limit the opportunities of persons based on race, sex, or other protected status.
Failure to Accommodate: Laws prohibiting discrimination because of religion or disability generally require the employer to provide a "reasonable accommodation" to the individual's religion or disability, unless doing so would cause an "undue hardship" to the company.
Stay tuned to the Employment Law Chronicle for coming entries about the many Federal, Virginia and District of Columbia laws that govern employment discrimination and the categories protected by such laws.
