Workplace discrimination involves unfair treatment of workers who are in a protected class. Examples of protected classes include national origin, race, age, religion, gender and more. Regardless of these inherent qualities, all workers need to be treated fairly.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen. But how do you know if you’re being actively discriminated against? Let’s take a quick look at a few actions that could indicate discrimination.
The loss of a job
First off, discrimination is often noticed in hiring and firing practices. If you already had a job and you got fired based on one of the factors noted above – such as if you converted to a new religion – then it’s discriminatory. But the same thing is true if a prospective employer decides not to hire you based on these factors.
Lack of promotions
Another thing to consider is if you have any upward mobility at your job. If you’ve applied for numerous promotions and been denied, is it because the supervisor or CEO is discriminating against you? For example, if you are a female worker and male workers get all of the promotions, you may believe that it is gender discrimination.
Changes to your job itself
Additionally, discrimination can sometimes involve negative changes to someone’s job, even if they keep that job. For instance, maybe you are constantly scheduled for the shifts that no one else wants, or perhaps your pay or hours were cut.
The issues noted above are not always discriminatory. It is legal for an employer to fire someone or cut their hours, for example. But they become a problem when these events happen due to the protected classes that workers fit into. If that’s the scenario that you have found yourself in, then it may be time to begin looking into all of your legal options.
