You may have taken the job at your current company without any worries about discrimination. You could tell from the moment that you came in and were hired that this wasn’t the type of place where that happened. The boss clearly was willing to give everyone an equal opportunity regardless of things like their age, gender or ethnic background.
That’s very good as a starting point, but remember that that doesn’t mean it will always be that way. Every year, around 10,000 businesses are sold in the United States. If your company changes hands, then it’s time to be extra vigilant and look for discrimination as the new owner takes over.
What does this look like?
One thing you might notice is that the new owner decides to make serious staffing changes. It’s understandable that they would want to take stock of the company and make some alterations to try to make it more profitable. This may mean letting some of the staff go and bringing on new workers.
But it’s a problem when it becomes clear that your new boss is targeting a certain type of worker. Maybe they are convinced that men are better workers than women and that the only way to make the company profitable is to fire the female employees and replace them with male employees, for example. A similar problem could crop up if the boss decides to fire all of the people of a similar ethnic background or religious persuasion.
In other words, you should expect some changes, but that doesn’t mean they’re all going to be legal. If your rights are violated, then you need to know about all of the options at your disposal.
