Have you experienced unfair treatment by your supervisors or managers that appears to be based on your race, religion, gender, or age? Sometimes, hostility or disparate treatment at work may constitute discrimination that violates Pennsylvania’s employment laws. Knowing how to identify discrimination in the workplace can help you protect your rights by pursuing a discrimination claim against your employer.
What Counts as Workplace Discrimination in Pennsylvania?
Under Pennsylvania law, workplace discrimination occurs when an employer takes adverse employment actions against an employee or treats them differently from other similarly situated workers based on one or more protected characteristics. State and federal employment laws recognized various forms of protected characteristics, such as:
- Race
- Color
- National origin
- Religious belief
- Sex
- Gender identity
- Sexual orientation
- Age (over 40)
- Disability
- Pregnancy
- Ancestry
- Genetic information
Examples of adverse employment decisions that can form the basis of a workplace discrimination claim include:
- Refusal to hire
- Refusal to promote
- Denials of pay raises or bonuses
- Termination
- Exclusion from meetings or workplace activities
Workplace discrimination can also occur when an employer treats similarly situated employees differently based on protected characteristics, such as when an employer disciplines employees of one race for misconduct but does not discipline other employees of other races for the same conduct.
Common Signs of Workplace Discrimination
Employers rarely create direct evidence of workplace discrimination, such as admitting to making employment decisions based on protected characteristics. Instead, employees who suffer workplace discrimination must watch for signs that indicate when discrimination has occurred, such as:
- Workers who share a specific protected characteristic get passed over for jobs or promotions in favor of less-qualified workers with a different characteristic
- Job postings use “coded” language (e.g., “looking for youthful energy”)
- Employees with identical roles and qualifications receive different pay or benefits based on their protected characteristics
- Managers, supervisors, or co-workers make offensive jokes, comments, or use offensive slurs tied to protected characteristics
- Co-workers or supervisors make unwelcome romantic or sexual advances
- Employers impose discipline or stricter punishment on workers who commit the same behavior as workers of different characteristics who receive less or no punishment
- Employers terminate workers who become pregnant or request accommodations for disabilities
- Employers pressure older workers to retire or remove duties from an older worker’s purview
How to Distinguish Between Workplace Discrimination and General Conflicts with Co-Workers
Courts recognize a distinction between illegal workplace discrimination and personal conflicts between co-workers or between employees and managers. In many cases, a court will focus on whether an employer had a discriminatory animus based on a protected characteristic that motivated the actions against the employee. Workers can better show that the adverse conduct they experienced at work resulted from unlawful discrimination rather than personal conflicts by carefully documenting incidents of suspected discrimination or harassment to prove a discriminatory intent.
Steps to Take if You Suspect Discrimination
Actions that you should take if you suspect you may have experienced unlawful discrimination at work include:
- Document all discriminatory or harassing behavior, including dates, witnesses, and descriptions of incidents.
- Report suspected discrimination to human resources or company management.
- Gather copies of your pay records if you suffer discrimination in pay or a discriminatory denial of a promotion or termination.
- Speak with an employment law attorney as soon as possible to discuss your options, since you have limited time to file a claim with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission or the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Contact an Employment Law Attorney Today
If you have experienced unfair treatment or hostility at work based on a protected characteristic, you may have a discrimination claim against your employer under Pennsylvania and federal employment laws. Contact Ramage Lykos, LLC, today for a confidential consultation with an employment law attorney. We’re ready to discuss whether you may have suffered discrimination at work and explain your legal options for seeking accountability and justice.