Employment Law - Unlawful Discrimination Based on Pregnancy, Race, Gender, Religion, Age, Disability, National Origin & Ancestry

Lawyer David Neel | Top Attorney Discrimination

Discrimination in employment is unlawful.  Employers cannot base decisions on race, color, religion, sex, military status, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry.  Legislation is pending in Congress and Ohio’s General Assembly to prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.  If passed into law members of the LGBT community will be protected against discrimination by employers.

Employment Law - Who Are Considered "Employers"?

Federal anti-discrimination law (Title VII) applies to employers with at least 15 employees. Ohio anti-discrimination law covers employers with 4 or more employees.  Under Ohio law supervisors are considered employers.  This means that supervisors can be held liable for employment discrimination along with the company.

Employment Law - How is Discrimination Proved?

The question to be asked in a discrimination case is always “why” – Why did the employer make the employment decision?  The successful discrimination plaintiff is able to prove that the employer made its decision because of the protected characteristic (race, religion, sex, etc.)

Proving the reason for an employer’s decision is difficult because it requires getting into the mind of the employer. For example, most employers are not so dumb that they will tell an employee they are being let go because of their race.  The employer (or its supervisors) rarely makes comments that show a discriminatory motive.  Most discrimination cases are, therefore, based on circumstantial evidence. Recognizing the difficulty employees have in proving discrimination circumstantially, the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973 set forth the basic elements of a circumstantial case.   We lawyers call this the prima facie (Latin for “at first sight”) case.  Proof of these elements eliminates most non-discriminatory reasons for the employer’s decision.  The elements are (1) the employee is a member of one of the protected classes (e.g., race, religion, gender, etc.); (2) the employee was qualified for the job; (3) the employee suffered an “adverse employment action”; and (4) a “similarly-situated” (comparable) employee who is not a member of the same protected class was treated more favorably.  This forces the employer to state the reason for its decision.  The plaintiff-employee must then offer evidence that the employer’s stated reason is not worthy of belief.

Experience Matters in Employment Law

Success in an employment law discrimination case requires an experienced litigation attorney with knowledge of applicable laws, rules and regulations.  If you have any questions you should feel free to call me at 216-522-0011.  I offer a no-charge consultation and will tell you whether, in my opinion, you have a case.

The above statements are quite general and should not be relied upon as legal advice.  The intent is to paint a picture of the legal landscape.  Again, just give me a call to get more information about your situation.