Employment discrimination

Employment discrimination happens when an employer treats a job applicant or employee unfavorably because of a legally protected characteristic. Discrimination in the workplace can occur during any stage of the employment lifecycle, including recruiting, hiring, promotions, training, pay, benefits, scheduling, discipline or termination.

Common examples of employment discrimination include:

• Rejecting a qualified job applicant because of their age, race or gender
• Paying employees differently for the same work
• Imposing harsher discipline on employees of a certain race or national origin
• Segregating employees based on protected characteristics
• Expressing a preference for a certain race, sex, age or national origin in a job advertisement
• Making employment decisions based on stereotypes or assumptions

Whether intentional or unintentional, workplace discrimination can lead to costly complaints, lawsuits, reputational damage and significant disruption to employee morale and retention.