The Team To Help You FIGHT Discrimination
Have you been the victim of unfair treatment by your employer? Has your employer discriminated against you? Has your employer retaliated against you for complaining about discrimination or harassment? If you answered yes to these questions, you have likely experienced unlawful workplace discrimination.
Our attorneys at Wilson Melton, LLC, have substantial experience representing former and current employees and job applicants who have been discriminated against by their employers because of their race, gender/sex, pregnancy, religion, disability, age, military status, or complaints of harassment or discrimination. If you have suffered a wrongful employment action at the hands of your employer, then you should contact us for help in righting the wrongs caused by your employer.
What To Know About Unlawful Discrimination
Workplace discrimination can be devastating to employees and their careers. The federal government has enacted laws prohibiting numerous forms of workplace discrimination, including discrimination based on:
- Race;
- Gender;
- Age;
- National origin;
- Religion;
- Disability;
- Pregnancy; and
- Military status
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”), the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (“EPA”), and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 (“PDA”) prohibit such unlawful discrimination. Employers cannot generally take wrongful employment actions against their employees because of their protected characteristics without violating federal anti-discrimination laws.
The EPA protects both men and women against pay discrimination and requires most employers to pay both male and female employees the same wages when the jobs they are performing require substantially equal skill, effort, and responsibility and are performed under similar working conditions within the same workplace. The PDA protects pregnant employees from discrimination because of their pregnancies in most workplaces. Title VII, the EPA and the PDA protect employees from retaliation when they have complained or objected to discriminatory practices to their employers, the government, or a court.
Military members should not have to decide between fighting for their country and protecting their nonmilitary jobs. We, at Wilson Melton, LLC, actively and aggressively fight to protect service members from unlawful discrimination and wrongful termination by unscrupulous civil employers. Our attorneys have handled many claims under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) and continue to help service members understand their rights. If you are a service member and are being denied your USERRA rights, we may be able to help you. If your employer has discriminated against you while on military leave or upon your return, we can help you hold your employer responsible.
Do You Have Questions For Us?
It is common to feel overwhelmed by the questions you have if you believe you are experiencing discrimination at work. Our team members have responded below to some of the questions we hear most frequently from our clients. We hope these answers help you by providing some of the knowledge you need.
What are examples of unlawful discrimination?
A few specific examples of unlawful discrimination include:
- Making comments that a woman belongs in the kitchen
- Denying a job or promotion to an employee because the employee is pregnant
- Denying a job offer to an African American job applicant who is as qualified as the Caucasian applicant that was hired
- Refusing to allow Muslims prayer time throughout the day
- Denying Christians the right to attend church services
- Firing an employee because of sex, race, gender, national origin, religion, pregnancy and color
- Sending emails with racist jokes to coworkers
- Demanding that employees always speak English, even if it has nothing to do with their job
- Demoting or firing an employee because he complained about unlawful discrimination or harassment
- Paying male janitors more money than female janitors
- Firing older employees to retain younger employees
- Refusing to reinstate active-duty military members from military leave
- Segregating African-American nurses with African-American nursing home patients while Caucasian nurses can work with all patients
- Firing an employee because he reported unlawful discrimination to the employer or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- Refusing to work with an Indian employee because that employee is too dark
These are only a few of the examples of discrimination that we have seen in our practice.
What if an employee is experiencing discrimination?
Try to document as much of the discrimination as you can in a journal. If you report this to your supervisor and your employer still does nothing to end it, you need to consider your legal options. In some cases, you can recover financial compensation for lost wages, legal fees, compensatory damages and punitive damages.
What is retaliation at work?
You have a right to complain about unlawful discrimination or harassment to your employer. An employer cannot retaliate against you because you have complained about unlawful discrimination or harassment. Retaliation is when your employer takes adverse action against you for reporting an employment law violation.
What does an employment discrimination lawyer do?
Employment discrimination attorneys fight for workers who have been discriminated against by their unscrupulous employers, wrongfully discharged, denied a reasonable accommodation for religious practices, denied equal pay for equal work or retaliated against as a result of complaining about unlawful discrimination or asking for a reasonable accommodation. They assist employees who have been wrongfully and unlawfully punished, demoted, paid less or fired by their employers.
Get Help From An Employment Law Attorney
Stand up for justice. Let the experienced team of Wilson Melton, LLC, guide you. Contact us to get the process of justice started. You can set up a free initial consultation by calling 317-827-8302 or by using our online contact form.