Federal and state law generally prohibits employers from discriminating against you because of your age, disability, gender, gender identity, pregnancy, military status, national origin, race, sexual orientation, or religion. These unlawful reasons for discrimination are known as protected classes or characteristics. Many laws against discrimination also protect you against harassment, as harassment is a kind of discrimination.
To be unlawful, discrimination generally must be based on a protected class. Discrimination can happen in many ways, but the law recognizes two general kinds of discrimination. Disparate treatment discrimination occurs when an employer targets or treats an employee less favorably because the employee’s protected characteristic. Disparate impact discrimination occurs when an employer has a policy that seems unbiased, but the policy has a disproportionately negative impact on employees of a certain protected characteristic.
Discrimination can adversely impact your compensation, hiring, promotion opportunities, job duties, work environment, or conditions of employment. In some cases, discrimination can cause you to lose your job.
To be unlawful, discrimination generally must be based on a protected class. Discrimination can happen in many ways, but the law recognizes two general kinds of discrimination. Disparate treatment discrimination occurs when an employer targets or treats an employee less favorably because the employee’s protected characteristic. Disparate impact discrimination occurs when an employer has a policy that seems unbiased, but the policy has a disproportionately negative impact on employees of a certain protected characteristic.
Discrimination can adversely impact your compensation, hiring, promotion opportunities, job duties, work environment, or conditions of employment. In some cases, discrimination can cause you to lose your job.
Harassment is a kind of disparate treatment discrimination. It generally involves offensive or intimidating conduct by an employer, supervisor, or co-worker, because of your protected class, that is so severe or frequent it creates an abusive work environment. Harassment can take many forms. It can include unwelcome advances or touching. It can also include sexually or racially offensive comments or behavior.
Harassment may, or may not, cause you to lose your job. But it can harm your physical or emotional health. And it can be against the law.
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