Workplace Discrimination and Rights of an Employee

America has got laws in place that ensure that workplace discriminations do not occur. What constitutes workplace discrimination? Not hiring a person or awarding a promotion based on the person’s sexual orientation, adoption, paternity, parental, marital status, race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, nationality, citizenship, or disability can be termed as workplace discrimination.

As an employee you should be aware of what workplace discrimination is and what your rights are. Here are some workplace discriminations and rights of an employee:

• All workplaces have to have equal opportunities. This also means that a woman or a black employer cannot discriminate based on gender or color of an employee. In addition, just because an employer belongs to a dominant group, he cannot hire unsuitable people from the same group or hire only minorities. Every individual has to be given a fair chance to prove himself or herself.
• Any form of segregation, ethnic or racial, is unlawful and can be deemed as workplace discrimination.
• Workplace harassment based on a person’s sexual orientation, belief, ethnicity or race is not just workplace discrimination. It is also considered to be a criminal offence.
• If an employee or a potential candidate is refused a position because of his age, it can be termed as age discrimination.
• If your employment contract has a clause for maternity, paternity, adoption or dependent leave, then you are entitled to it whether you are married or in a partnership.
• Equal pay is your right and there cannot be discrimination in this. It is not essential that two employees have to have identical jobs for equal pay. Just similar work is sufficient to demand equal pay.

These are some of the workplace discriminations that are practiced sometimes. However, there are many more but the above ones are the most commonly heard of.