Did you know that you may have the right to take legal action if you are being denied a pay-raise? This is a delicate situation, so don’t rush out and hire a lawyer the first time you are denied a requested raise. Yet there are times that withholding a raise can verge on the edge of discrimination, and may be illegal by state law. If you are a worker in a company that is habitually discriminatory, ask these questions.
Have you been constantly denied a pay raise without any explanation?
Have all your co-workers received pay raises?
Do you suspect that you have been denied a pay raise because of your religious or political beliefs?
Does your company offer pay raises based on preference rather than performance?
The fact is that if you are being denied a raise for purely preferential reasons, you may be a victim of pay raise discrimination. Employers do not have the right to dole out pay raises only to those that they enjoy or those that see from their point of view. If you are devoted to a specific religion, your employer doesn’t have the right to deny you a pay raise because of your religious practices. Also, if you are of a different political stance than your co-workers, you cannot be discriminated against for your opinions.
You will want to carefully research your situation before taking action, but if things become too extreme you do have the ability to litigate against the company. Recent studies show that women and racial minorities are most often the victims of pay raise discrimination. Women still only own 77 percent of what their male counterparts earn, and college educated African-Americans only earn 78 percent of what their identically-educated Caucasian co-workers earn. Hispanics earn only about 75 percent of what their Caucasian co-workers earn. It’s sobering to admit, but the fact is that people are denied pay raises based on external factors, rather than performance, every day. If you believe that you have been withheld financial privileges based on an external factor, contact an employment lawyer today!
