Age Discrimination

Age discrimination involves treating someone (an applicant or employee) less

favorably because of his age.
Disability discrimination occurs when an employer or other entity covered by the
Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended, or the Rehabilitation Act, as amended, treats
a qualified individual with a disability who is an employee or applicant unfavorably
because she has a disability.
Harassment is a form of employment discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, (ADEA), and
the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, (ADA).
Harassment is unwelcome conduct that is based on race, color, religion, sex (including
pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information.
National origin discrimination involves treating people (applicants or employees)
unfavorably because they are from a particular country or part of the world, because of
ethnicity or accent, or because they appear to be of a certain ethnic background (even if
they are not).
National origin discrimination also can involve treating people unfavorably because they
are married to (or associated with) a person of a certain national origin or because of their
connection with an ethnic organization or group.
Pregnancy Discrimination
Pregnancy discrimination involves treating a woman (an applicant or employee)
unfavorably because of pregnancy, childbirth, or a medical condition related to pregnancy
or childbirth.
Pregnancy Discrimination & Work Situations
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) forbids discrimination based on pregnancy
when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job
assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits, such as leave and health
insurance, and any other term or condition of employment.
Race discrimination involves treating someone (an applicant or employee) unfavorably
because he/she is of a certain race or because of personal characteristics associated with
race (such as hair texture, skin color, or certain facial features). Color discrimination
involves treating someone unfavorably because of skin color complexion.

Race/color discrimination also can involve treating someone unfavorably because the
person is married to (or associated with) a person of a certain race or color or because of
a persons connection with a race-based organization or group, or an organization or
group that is generally associated with people of a certain color.
The Equal Pay Act requires that men and women in the same workplace be given equal
pay for equal work. The jobs need not be identical, but they must be substantially equal.
Job content (not job titles) determines whether jobs are substantially equal. All forms of
pay are covered by this law, including salary, overtime pay, bonuses, stock options, profit
sharing and bonus plans, life insurance, vacation and holiday pay, cleaning or gasoline
allowances, hotel accommodations, reimbursement for travel expenses, and benefits. If
there is an inequality in wages between men and women, employers may not reduce the
wages of either sex to equalize their pay.
Retaliation
All of the laws we enforce make it illegal to fire, demote, harass, or otherwise retaliate
against people (applicants or employees) because they filed a charge of discrimination,
because they complained to their employer or other covered entity about discrimination
on the job, or because they participated in an employment discrimination proceeding
(such as an investigation or lawsuit).
For example, it is illegal for an employer to refuse to promote an employee because she
filed a charge of discrimination with the EEOC, even if EEOC later determined no
discrimination occurred.
Retaliation & Work Situations
The law forbids retaliation when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring,
firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits, and any other
term or condition of employment.
Sex-Based Discrimination
Sex discrimination involves treating someone (an applicant or employee) unfavorably
because of that person's sex.
Sex discrimination also can involve treating someone less favorably because of his or her
connection with an organization or group that is generally associated with people of a
certain sex.
Discrimination against an individual because that person is transgender is discrimination
because of sex in violation of Title VII. This is also known as gender identity

discrimination. In addition, lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals may bring sex
discrimination claims.
Disparate Treatment: Also known as differential treatment, disparate treatment claims are
ones in which the plaintiff alleges he or she is the victim of intentional discrimination on
the part of the employer. Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods., 530 U.S. 133, 153 (2000).
To be considered a victim of intentional discrimination, the complaining employee must
show he or she is treated less favorably because of a statutorily protected characteristic such
as age, sex, race or other prohibited discriminatory factor, and that the differential treatment
is the result of a discriminatory motive or intent. See Ricci v. DeStefano, 557 U.S. 557, 57778 (2009).
Disparate Impact: Disparate impact claims involve employment practices that are facially
neutral in their treatment of different groups but in fact fall more harshly on one group than
another. Smith v. City of Jackson, 544 U.S. 228, 239 (2005); Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters v.
United States, 431 U.S. 324, 335 n.15 (1977). Unlike disparate treatment claims, disparate
impact claims do not involve intentional discrimination, i.e., the plaintiff is not required to
prove that he or she is the victim of discriminatory motive or discriminatory
intent. See Raytheon Co. v. Hernandez, 540 U.S. 44, 52 (2003);Puffer v. Allstate Ins. Co.,
675 F.3d 709, 716 (7th Cir. 2012).

Disparate treatment occurs when .

Disparate impact occurs when

employment practices (e.g., hiring,

an employee claims that the employer firing, promotion, pay or other
treated him/her differently than other employment
decisions)
have
a
employees who were in a similar situation. statistically greater impact on one group
than on another.