Virtually all employees suffer from some form of discrimination at some point in their careers.

“Discrimination” is actually defined as “treatment or consideration based on class or category rather than individual merit.” (Citation.) In other words, any situation where one person treat another person differently without a good reason is technically considered discrimination.

However, not all discrimination against employees is illegal. In fact, most of of it is not. For example, nepotism (favoring employees who are members of one’s family over other employees) is common, but generally is not illegal (unless you are a federal employee, have a collective bargaining agreement or under other limited circumstances).

Only discrimination based on an employee’s membership (or non-membership) in a “protected class” is illegal. These “classes” are defined by state and federal law.

Only discrimination based on an employee’s membership (or non-membership) in a “protected class” is illegal. Illegal discrimination also includes harassment based on protected classes.

These “classes” are defined by state and federal law and the most common are outlined below.

Federal Protections

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (commonly referred to simply as Title VII) is the primary federal employment discrimination law. It prohibits discrimination in employment based on race, color, religion, gender, or national origin. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 was later passed to include pregnancy discrimination, which is actually a form of gender discrimination, in the Title VII prohibitions.

Additionally, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) prohibits discrimination on the basis of an employee’s age, if the employee is over 40 years old.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) generally prohibits two things: (1) discrimination based on an employee’s disability, and (2) failure to accommodate an employee’s disability.

Related to the ADA is the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Where the ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of an employee’s disability, the FMLA prohibits discrimination against someone who takes a medical leave for a “serious health condition.”

The distinction between a “disability” and a “serious health condition” is important, because not all conditions that are “serious health conditions” are covered by the ADA and not all leaves for “disabilities” are protected by the FMLA.

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on an employee’s membership in the armed services.

California Protections

In California, the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) prohibits employment discrimination. In addition to the protectections provided by federal law, the FEHA prohibits discrimination based on membership in other protected classes, including:

• Sexual Orientation,
• Arrest Record, and
• Marital Status

The California Family Rights Act (CFRA) is California’s state law equivalent to the federal Family Medical Leave Act. In many cases, it provides for greater protection than its federal counterpart.

If you believe you have been discriminated against based on membership in a protected class, we invite you to contact us today for a free consultation to discuss this and any other employment law questions you might have.