Is Your Employer Discriminating Against You?
Despite legislation passed to protect workers in California, employment discrimination remains as prevalent as it is challenging to prove in many cases. The signs are often subtle and difficult for those on the outside to recognize or understand. That’s why it’s important to consult with an experienced employment discrimination lawyer if you believe you are being wrongfully targeted by your employer or management.
At Rosen Marsili Rapp LLP, our experienced and dedicated labor and employment law attorneys advocate for workers who have been subjected to unlawful discrimination in the workplace. Discrimination based on race, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation or other protected bases has no place in the workplace, and we are fully prepared to protect your rights to the fullest extent of the law.
Recognizing Subtle Signs Of Employment Discrimination
Very rarely is unlawful workplace discrimination practiced out in the open. There will likely be no written policy that distinguishes workforce roles based on age, gender, race or other protected categories. Instead, workplace biases are perpetuated through subtle but consistent trends.
The following examples are some of the signs that your company may be engaging in unlawful discriminatory practices:
- Lack of diversity: Whether conscious or unconscious, some outfits tend to hire within a certain range of demographics. This might result in a lack of racial or ethnic diversity, gender imbalances, or age bias, among others. When the workforce makeup tends to be similar, that may be the symptom of a larger problem.
- Position biases: One of the more prevalent ways to identify potential gender bias is to assess the diversity of employees within different roles at the same company. For example, if the vast majority of the secretarial pool are women while the management team are men, that could be an indication of impermissible discriminatory preference in hiring and employment decisions.
- Promotion disparities: Some organizations approach diversity through a quota method. They believe having a diverse workforce on paper insulates them from a discrimination lawsuit. If bias exists, a certain class of people may repeatedly get passed over for advancement despite strong performance. Subpar reviews are often used as a tool to justify slow advancement.
- Feeling unwelcome: Exclusion can be an indicator as well. Companies that hire a cross-section of the community may do so to demonstrate conformity with employment diversity expectations. Nonetheless, if an employee is only given undesirable assignments that will not lead to advancement, or if the company fosters a workplace culture that creates social “outsiders,” there may be a larger bias problem.