Labor Law Center Blog » Blog Archive » Discrimination in the Work Place

Discrimination in the Work Place

September 28th, 2006 Posted by Nicole

Discrimination in the work place has been taking place for thousands of years. At one point or another nearly everyone has felt that they are the victim of some form of discrimination in the workplace or another. In fact, many people believe that discrimination in the workplace is the reason that they have been denied a job promotion, a job hiring or another benefit of employment.

Discrimination in the workplace generally occurs when an employer holds a certain prejudice against an employee based on reasons that are generally considered to be superficial. For example, an employer might not like the fact that an employee or potential employee has black skin. In such cases, the employer might not hire a person or, once hired, the employer might not let that person have the same level of opportunities as other employees.

When it comes to discrimination in the workplace, it is important to note that all forms of workplace discrimination are illegal. The Civil Rights Act of the 1960s states that discrimination in the workplace cannot occur against people base don race, sex, religion, sexual orientation or any other superficial features.

Since the implementation of the Civil Rights Act, there have been many other acts and laws put into place in order to curtain discrimination in the workplace. Depending on need, the acts function differently. For example, the Family Medical Leave Act helps people leave their employment for up to six weeks in order to have a family or tend to the medical needs of their family without discrimination.

All places of work are required to have a labor law poster that outlines all labor laws that are pertinent to a particular place of work. Labor law posters must be posted in a place that is accessible by all employees.