A trio of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers – all of them Black – filed a federal lawsuit recently against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security alleging a hostile work environment in which they observed the mistreatment of Black drivers at the U.S....
Workplace Discrimination
The Equality Act and its protections for LGBTQ employees
LGBTQ Americans will gain further protections as U.S. lawmakers take additional steps to stamp out discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Once again, U.S. Congress is giving serious consideration to revising the 1964 Civil Rights Act,...
Michigan county bans workplace discrimination based on hairstyle
The movement to stamp out workplace discrimination over the style of a person’s hair has begun in Michigan. In a historic move, Ingham County – where the state capital of Lansing is located – passed an ordinance on March 23, prohibiting hair discrimination against...
Anti-Asian discrimination can be based on race, national origin
As recent events have shown, bias incidents directed at the Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community and people of Asian descent have been increasing. This has been a trend since at least the advent of the coronavirus pandemic. The AAPI community and...
Can you face age discrimination for being too young?
When you are fresh out of college, you are excited to see where your career will take you. You may be willing to put in long hours and do some grunt work to rise up to a higher-level position at your company. Maybe you have a goal of being a manager before you are 30....
What constitutes national origin discrimination?
Discrimination based on national origin includes some aspects of race discrimination, but it focuses on the person’s country of origin. In the United States, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits national origin discrimination in many aspects of...
Age discrimination under cover of COVID-19
Unemployment has soared during the coronavirus pandemic for all age groups, but none faster than for workers 55 and older. The Schwartz Centre for Economic Policy Analysis says by January 2021, 3 million older Americans lost their jobs due to the pandemic. During the...
Can a company dress code be discriminatory?
Yes, under certain circumstances. Generally, employers can establish dress codes that apply to everyone, or to all employees within certain job categories. These dress codes can generally require a certain degree of formality or a uniform, and that does not make them...
Workplace protections for individuals with HIV and AIDS
It was only a few decades ago that HIV and AIDS were new, incurable and widely considered among the scariest diseases a person could have. Science and public opinion have come an amazingly long way since that time, to the point where it is somewhat rare to hear about...
Treatment in the workplace: unfair may be illegal
As an employee, you probably expect to receive fair treatment at work, but sometimes you may sense a bias toward your colleagues. Your dedicated work ethic, experience and quality performance might not merit the negative attention you receive. Human resources should...