If you are a person of color living in the U.S., chances are that you have experienced racism throughout your life in a variety of forms. The civil rights movement was more than a half century to go, and we still have a long way to go. While no law protects minorities from another person’s racist thoughts (and in many cases another person’s racist actions or words) the same is not true in the workplace. The Civil Right Act of 1964 prohibits employment race discrimination, as does the Missouri Human Rights Act. If you have been the target of racial discrimination by your employer, an attorney with HKM Employment is here to help. We have been serving clients in employment law for more than 40 years.
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Forms of Unlawful Race Discrimination at the Workplace
Your employer is strictly prohibited from interfering in an employee’s or an applicant’s employment based on the employer’s racially charged motives. This includes the following:
- For hire advertising;
- Benefits and equal pay;
- Promotions;
- Termination or laying off;
- Apprenticeships;
- Recruiting;
- Hiring;
- Training and job placement; and
- Harassment, which includes intimidation, racial slurs, yelling, excluding, threatening, or physical or emotional harm.
Examples of Unlawful Discrimination at Work
Proving employer discrimination is challenging, and to have a valid case you must have evidence of wrongdoing. If you are black and do not get hired because you lack the experience, your employer has not violated any laws. On the other hand, if your employer hired a white applicant who was equally inexperienced or even less experienced than you, discrimination has occurred. A few other common examples of discrimination include the following:
- A Hispanic worker has been at the job for four years, has performed well, and has not been given a raise while many other white workers have been given raises in that same time frame; and
- It is standard practice for all white workers in an office building to be given keys to the front door and the alarm code, except for the one black employee.
Serving Employees in St. Louis
Racism is reaching a new high in Missouri and across the country, with employers refusing to hire or promote people of color at a surprising rate due to ingrained hatred and ignorance. If your career has suffered because of your employer’s racial bias, you need to act now and protect yourself and others from further abuse and financial damage. If you have been discriminated against it is time to contact the St. Louis race discrimination lawyers of HKM Employment Attorneys LLP today.
