Helping Employees Fight Discrimination
Civil rights laws reflect our nation’s commitment to basic human rights and freedoms. When unlawful conduct affects an individual’s employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment, the Law Firm of Jerome W. Matthews, Jr., LLC can help recover compensation.

The Different Types of Employment Discrimination
According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, these are various types of discrimination that are prohibited by the law:

• Age – According the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), discrimination is illegal for anyone over the age of 40. Although some states do have their own set of laws against discrimination of younger workers, it is not illegal for an employer to favor an older worker over a younger one.
• Disability – This type of discrimination occurs after an employer treats a qualified employee with a disability unfairly because of that disability.
• Equal Pay – The Equal Pay Act requires men and women to be given the same pay for equal work.
• Genetics – According to Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA), no employee or applicant can be discriminated against because of genetic information, which means any disorder or disease found in your genes.
• Harassment – According to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, harassment is defined as unwelcome conduct based on an employee’s race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), age (40 or older), national origin, disability or genetic information.
• National Origin – This type of discrimination involves employees who are treated unfairly because they are from a different country or because of their ethnicity.
• Pregnancy – The Pregnancy Discrimination Act forbids any type of discrimination against a pregnant employee. This includes hiring, firing, promotions, and job assignments.
• Race – If you are treated unfairly because your skin color or race, this is a form of race discrimination. In addition, you can claim race discrimination if you are treated unfairly because you are married or associated with someone of a certain race or color.
• Religion – This type of discrimination means you are treated unfairly because of your religious, ethical, or moral beliefs.
• Sex – If you are treated unfavorably because of your sex or gender identity, this is in violation of Title VII.
• Sexual Harassment – Sexual harassment can include unwelcome sexual advances, requests of sexual favors, or other types of verbal or physical harassment.

• that occurs before employment begins, such as discriminatory hiring practices;
• during employment, such as discrimination in compensation, promotions, or other terms and conditions of employment;
• resulting from the taking of protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act or comparable state and local laws; and
• leading to the end of employment, such as constructive discharge or wrongful termination.