Work Discrimination Lawyer Serving the El Paso, TX Area
If you believe you’re being discriminated against at your job, a work discrimination lawyer in El Paso, TX residents trust at Davie & Valdez, P.C. may be able to help. Dealing with this type of treatment at work can increase anxiety and depression and make your life more difficult. However, you don’t have to put up with it forever.
A Few Signs You’re Facing Workplace Discrimination
- Denied promotions: If you have been working very hard and have the experience and skills to succeed in a new position, but are always passed over, you may be facing discrimination. This may be especially true if someone less qualified always receives a promotion instead of you.
- Unjust disciplinary action: Sometimes employees have to be disciplined for bad behavior. However, if you’re disciplined when you actually haven’t done anything wrong, you may be facing discrimination. It’s possible that your employer is starting a paper trail to support your termination.
- References to your age: It’s illegal to discriminate against a person at work due to age. However, that doesn’t mean it never happens. If your coworkers constantly make comments about your age or your employer creates new policies that negatively impact older adults, you’re likely being discriminated against based on your age.
- Unequal pay: Another common type of discrimination in the workplace is unequal compensation. If a coworker of the opposite gender has the same amount of experience and qualifications as you, the two of you should be paid the same. However, if your coworker gets paid more, it may be a form of discrimination.
- Failure to accommodate religious beliefs: While companies impose dress codes on their employees, they should make reasonable accommodations for workers’ religious beliefs. For instance, a Muslim may request for an accommodation to wear a head scarf. If a company refuses to make these accommodations for your religious beliefs, you should speak to a TX work discrimination lawyer in El Paso right away.
- Favoritism: If a certain group of people at your workplace have better offices or constantly receive better job assignments, there may be something up. The supervisor may be giving them preferential treatment based on discrimination.
What To Do Next
If you believe you have been the victim of workplace discrimination, there are steps you can take immediately to protect your best interests. As lawyers, we know that many people are afraid to take action because they don’t want to lose their jobs or create an even worse workplace environment for themselves. However, do not forget that these laws are in place for a reason, and those who violate the rights of others should be held accountable. You may be entitled to receive compensation that allows you to move on and find other work when you are ready.
Steps To Take If You Were Discriminated Against In The Workplace
- Create a record: If you are experiencing discriminatory behavior, or aren’t still aren’t sure, it’s a good idea to write them down in a journal for reference. Notes must include the date, time, location, description of the incident, and names of those who witnessed what happened. This journal can prove influential if your case moves forward.
- Take the emotion out of it: To make your case as strong as possible, it will be important that you remove emotional elements and try to focus on the facts, details, and specific issues related to the discriminatory event. It may not be enough to have a hunch that your boss or other workers don’t like you. You will have to show how you have suffered from discrimination, and concrete facts will be paramount.
- Report the discrimination: When discriminatory events happen, we may be tempted to wait it out and hope that we misinterpreted what occurred. But by waiting to report the discrimination, it can be easy to forget certain details and then not take any action at all. When an employer receives a complaint about discrimination, they have a duty by law to investigate it within a reasonably time frame.
- Hire a lawyer: After reporting the discrimination, it is imperative that you hire experienced legal representation to watch out for your best interests. The highest percentage of cases related to workplace retaliation are against workers who filed a complaint. Trust us when we say that having a lawyer to turn to at this time can make all the difference in the outcome of your case.
Common Myths About Work Discrimination
Unfortunately, work discrimination still occurs in this day and age. It’s up to you as an employee to protect your own rights. Here are some common myths about discrimination a work discrimination lawyer in El Paso, TX doesn’t want you to believe.
- My boss must have a good reason to fire me: In a perfect world, your boss would need a legitimate reason to fire you from your ojb. Unfortunately, the world doesn’t work this way. Your employer is legally allowed to fire you for no cause at all. However, if you believe your termination resulted because of your race, ethnicity, religion, gender or other protected class, you may have a wrongful termination case on your hands.
- It’s fine for employers to ask job applicants about disabilities: This is completely untrue. Employers are actually prohibited from questioning job applicants about their physical and mental disabilities. If the employer has hired an employee, he or she can inquire about disabilities so that he or she can reasonably accommodate that person.
- It’s possible to file a discrimination claim against a mean boss: If your boss is intentionally mean to you at work, it can definitely make it more difficult to go in every day. However, that doesn’t mean that you can file a discrimination against your boss. It isn’t against the law for an employee to be mean spirited towards employees. However, if the meanness has impacted your civil rights, you should speak to a work discrimination lawyer in El Paos, TX. For instance, if your boss has made offensive jokes about your ethnicity, you may have a discrimination case.
- Employees have to make an official complaint for discrimination: Some employers may tell their workers that they must make an official complaint before they can take action for discrimination. However, this isn’t true. If there’s even a rumor going around that an employee is being discriminated against at work, it’s an employer’s responsibility to investigate it.
- Employees don’t have much power with discrimination: Although some employers might like to make workers think that they don’t have power when it comes to discrimination, it isn’t the case. If you’re being treated unfairly at your job because of your gender, age, religion, race or ethnicity, you can take steps to stop it. You should start by talking to an experienced work discrimination lawyer in El Paso, TX.
Four Categories of Work Discrimination
1. Discrimination Based on Age
According to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), it’s illegal to discriminate against people who are 40 or older. This could be relevant in a variety of settings. For example, if the employer only hires younger employees, despite the existence of qualified older candidates, that is illegal age discrimination.
Another way age discrimination can show up is in mandatory retirement ages. With medical advances, people are living far longer than ever before, and may want to work into their 70s or even 80s. The CDC says that the average life expectancy in the United States is almost 79 years. That means half the population is going to live longer than that. A work discrimination lawyer in El Paso, TX, from Davie & Valdez, PC can help you determine whether you’re the victim of age discrimination.
2. Discrimination Based on LGBTQIA Status
LGBTQIA stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual. A 2020 Supreme Court ruliing determined that under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), discrimination against anyone who identifies as LGBTQIA is illegal if your employer has more than 15 employees. This type of discrimination frequently shows up as “jokes” about sexual orientation and identity. It can also be a sudden firing of someone who identifies as LGBTQIA. Prospective, current, and former employees are all covered; independent contractors generally are not. A work discrimination lawyer in El Paso, TX, can help you determine if you have a discrimination case against the company.
3. Discrimination Based on Parental Status
Executive Order 13152, written by President Clinton in 2000, makes discrimination based on parental status illegal. This applies if you are a biologica, adoptive, foster or step-parent. It also applies if your adult child has special needs and you are their primary caregiver.
Discrimination against parents often appears as hours being cut, projects being handed off to other people or refusing to hire or promote women with children. Speak with a work discrimination lawyer in El Paso, TX, such as Davie & Valdez, PC to determine if you’ve been discriminated against because you’re a parent.
4. Discrimination Based on Religious Beliefs
Title VII prohibits discrimination based on an employee’s religious beliefs. It spells out accommodations that must be made to allow the employee to freely practice their religion. Allowing specific clothing, such as a yarmulke or hijab, or permitting a refusal to wear pants or miniskirts is required if it is related to religious, moral, or ethical beliefs. Schedule requests for religious holidays should be approved. Time allowed for day-to-day rituals such as Muslims praying five times a day should also be allowed.
Consulting With A Lawyer
If you’re being discriminated against in the workplace, it may be difficult to go to work every day. We can understand how discrimination can cause anxiety, stress, and turmoil for victims. You deserve to be respected and work in a comfortable environment. A skilled lawyer can help you file a discrimination lawsuit against your employer and stand up for you. Schedule a consultation with a work discrimination lawyer in El Paso, Texas, contact Davie & Valdez P.C., today.
Even though discrimination in the office has actually been unlawful for decades, it still occurs. The only way to stop workplace discrimination is to speak out about these incidents, bring suits, and shine a light on inequitable practices. Many companies appreciate the bottom line– and they will only stop discriminating when big verdicts and settlements make discrimination too pricey to permit. Below is a guide to the most typical kinds of office discrimination and how to find them. Consult with a work discrimination lawyer in El Paso, Texas, contact Davie & Valdez P.C., if you have further questions.
- Race Discrimination
It is no secret that racial discrimination exists both in society and in the workplace. Racial discrimination is so typical that more than a third, of claims to the EEOC each year are based upon racial discrimination. Certain minority groups are frequently passed over at all stages of the employment procedure – they aren’t worked with, they aren’t mentored, they aren’t promoted, they’re subjected to coded and unfair analysis, and then, in many cases, they’re wrongfully terminated (specifically when they complain about it). One research study discovered that this discrimination cost the US economy $16 trillion over the past 20 years.Even though the Civil liberty Act has actually protected minorities from race discrimination considering that the 1960s, race-based discrimination still is a significant factor in the modern-day work environment, as we’ve blogged about in the past.
- Impairment Discrimination
Impairment discrimination has turned into one of the most typical forms of discrimination claims made before the EEOC. For example, in 2019, a 3rd of all discrimination declares supposed special needs discrimination or failure to accommodate a special needs. This kind of discrimination can take the kind of assumptions about a handicapped person’s ability to do the task, straight-out hostility, or unreasonable policies (for instance, so-called “no-fault attendance policies”) that have a disparate impact on disabled workers.The Americans with Disabilities Act has actually safeguarded workers with disabilities for over twenty years, and California law supplies even more robust securities for disabled workers.
- Pregnancy Discrimination
Pregnancy discrimination is discrimination versus anticipating or new moms. Some employers decline to hire a lady if she prepares to conceive or is already pregnant. Other companies make excuses to discipline or end employees when they discover they are pregnant. Employers also “get rid of” positions while a pregnant staff member is on leave or rejects them leave completely. Often, companies aren’t familiar with their obligation to offer leave or retaliate against females for working out the right to leave.Pregnancy discrimination can likewise take the form of discrimination versus brand-new moms who return to work and need lodgings to breastfeed or pump. New moms can these accommodations.No woman ought to have to pick in between their job and their children, and the law does not require you to: you can a work environment free of discrimination and retaliation. Schedule a consultation with a work discrimination lawyer in El Paso, Texas, contact Davie & Valdez P.C., today.
- Gender Discrimination
Gender discrimination occurs when you are treated differently because of your gender, and the evidence shows that it’s widespread in the labor force. Gender discrimination takes lots of types: it can be failure to hire, but more frequently, females aren’t trained for management, they aren’t promoted, they are sidelined when they have kids, they’re paid less, or they are punished for being “aggressive” or “relentless”– characteristics that most managers like in their male staff members. To see that gender discrimination is alive and well, one only needs to take a look at the nation’s biggest business to see that less than 5% of their CEOs are women. Gender discrimination is likely to be an even bigger problem going forward. A study shows that ladies, specifically females of color, were more likely than males to be furloughed or fired throughout the pandemic. Other women felt pressured to go back from work to look after their kids throughout school closures since they earn less than their partners– an issue that remains in part due to the wage gap and the fact that women are frequently underpaid for the same work.
How To Identify Age Discrimination At Your Workplace
The age of retirement is not what it used to be, and with people living longer, many Texas residents choose to keep working well past the age of 65. However, with age may come age discrimination in the workplace, and you may wonder if the words and actions of your employer and fellow employees falls under this description. A work discrimination lawyer in El Paso, TX, can help you identify whether you are being targeted and what you can do to retain your rights as an older employee.
Only Young Employees Receive Large Projects
If your employer continuously passes large or challenging projects to young employees and offers you jobs that do not match your work experience, this may fall under age discrimination. Your employer may try to rationalize this in several ways, including:
- Smaller projects allow you to “take it easy”
- Believing that younger employees have more energy
- Remarking that larger projects are too stressful for older employees
Speaking to a Texas law firm like Davie & Valdez can help give you better insight on discriminatory actions and whether your employer is liable for his or her words and actions.
Ageist Language
While most employees take action against racial and gender slurs, ageist language is sometimes more acceptable to some because it does not seem as inflammatory. However, when younger workers or your young boss makes jokes and comments about your age, this is just as unacceptable. Your co-workers may also attempt to give you age-based nicknames, even if you ask them to refrain from doing so. If you are unsure of whether their remarks are discriminatory, a work discrimination lawyer in El Paso, TX, can assist you.
Pressure To Retire
Many Texans retire in their 60s, but you may choose to remain at your job to save for retirement or because you simply feel it is not time to leave. If so, listen carefully to how your employer speaks to you about retirement and whether he or she may be trying to pressure you to retire. A new influx of younger employees may signal that the company is trying to attract a new generation, but this does not give anyone the right to push you out of your position. If you feel pressured to retire, you can turn to a work discrimination lawyer in El Paso, TX, to inquire about laws that might protect you.
If you feel targeted by age discrimination, reaching out to a Texas attorney like Davie & Valdez can help you decide how to move forward and protect your rights at the workplace.
Call a work discrimination lawyer in El Paso, Texas, contact Davie & Valdez P.C., today.