What are the main ways employers engage in discrimination in Denver?
Workers should be aware that they have certain rights regarding how and why an employer can terminate them or discipline them. While neutral reasons for doing this such as financial issues and corporate restructuring are allowed, certain employers retaliate against workers for exercising their rights or try to end their employment based on a protected characteristic. This is illegal and it may be a situation where an employment attorney can help you receive payments for lost wages and other problems related to their illegal actions.
The main forms of employment discrimination
According to career surveys, retaliation is actually the most common form of employment discrimination. This means that many employers do actually take retaliatory measures against employees for things like asking for proper wages to be paid for overtime, requesting time off for permitted reasons, and any other actions that are well within an employee’s legal rights. This means that workers should be especially vigilant if their employer starts to treat them differently after taking one of these actions.
Another one of the more common forms of discrimination in workplaces is related to race. Employers are supposed to create workplaces that allow for diversity and all workers to be treated equally based on merit rather than their race or any other protected characteristic. If someone feels like they are being ostracized or mistreated at work due to their race, this may be a problem and grounds for a lawsuit.
Age is also becoming a growing source of discrimination in many companies. Older workers sometimes find that they are laid off and replaced with younger workers who earn less. If these actions are done merely because of a person’s age, then that is illegal. This may be proven through a pattern of adverse actions taken against older employees or multiple workers being terminated as they reach a certain age. Just like race and gender, age is another protected characteristic.
Religion is also an issue for many, especially because certain religions may require holidays off or other times when individuals cannot work that are during normal business hours. This often becomes a source of contention because most employers have the mentality that employees simply need to work when they are told without asking questions or making excuses. However, religion is another protected trait and employers are required by law to make some effort to accommodate their employees’ beliefs.
Remedies for violations
The main remedy for any of these violations is to file a civil lawsuit. After you speak with an employment attorney they can tell you the possible value of your case based on things like lost wages and other factors such as the level of deviance your employer has engaged in. There is also a procedure to file formal complaints with a local or federal equal employment opportunity commission that may be required. Your attorney can guide you through this process.
Get help from an employment discrimination lawyer
If you believe that your employer has discriminated against you in any way, contact Anderson Barkley Attorneys at Law. They specialize in all kinds of employment law cases in the Denver area and nearby parts of Colorado.