Hiring & Discrimination Lawsuits
- The Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, color, sex or national origin, but that's only one of the laws employers must obey. Other laws make it illegal to discriminate based on age -- if an individual is older than 40 -- disability or genetic information about a person. Some states extend a broader umbrella of protection, banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and making age discrimination against under-40s illegal as well.
- The federal government doesn't just ban discrimination in hiring. It's also illegal to target employees for firing or layoffs based on reasons such as race, religion or gender -- including stereotypes or myths about particular groups -- or to promote workers or assign job responsibilities for those reasons. Giving better pay or fringe benefits to one class of people or offering them different training opportunities is also illegal. Employers also must make a reasonable effort to accommodate their employees' religious strictures, such as taking a holy day off.
- Only an individual who believes he's been discriminated against in hiring can file a lawsuit against the employer. Even if you witnessed an act of discrimination, you can't file a lawsuit if you're not the victim. Before suing, an individual must file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. If the EEOC believes the complaint has merit, it may file a lawsuit as well as authorizing the individual to sue. Even if it doesn't find any merit, the individual can still sue on her own.
- To minimize the risk of lawsuits, take a look at your hiring and other personnel policies -- including how you advertise job openings -- and make sure there are no problems. Invite staffers of different races, genders and faiths to participate in the review to see if they spot something you don't. Make it very clear to everyone involved in employment decisions that you have a no-discrimination policy and check that your staff lives up to this.