Discrimination

There are many laws enforced by the federal government that prohibit discrimination in the workplace, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. In addition, both Missouri and Illinois have Human Rights Acts that protect workers in these state from unlawful discrimination. Workplace discrimination can take many forms and the best way to determine whether your rights have been violated is to have an experienced discrimination attorney at Kilo Flynn evaluate your individual circumstances.

Discrimination is illegal if the bias is based on any of the protected factors under the law, which include the following:

• Race
• Color
• Sex (including pregnancy and childbirth)
• Religion
• National origin
• Ancestry
• Disability
• Age (over 40)
• Genetic information
• Citizenship status
• Military status
• Sexual orientation and gender identity (Illinois only)
• Victims of domestic violence or Orders of protection (Illinois only)
• Arrest record (Illinois only)
• HIV and AIDS (Missouri only)
• Off-duty tobacco use (Missouri only)

Discrimination can exist based on any of the above factors in nearly every aspect of employment, including interviewing, hiring, promotion/demotion, job assignments, and termination. Harassment is also a common type of discrimination in the workplace and most commonly, sexual harassment. It is unlawful to discriminate or harass someone at any stage of employment and victims deserve to recover compensation for any losses they suffered as a result of discrimination.

Not only is the discriminatory conduct against the law but so is any type of adverse employment action taken if an employee complains of discrimination or harassment. Taking adverse action following such a complaint constitutes unlawful retaliation, which can include refusal to hire, demotion, discipline, unfavorable job assignments, denial of promotion, or any other unfair conduct.

If a person is fired because of discriminatory or retaliatory reasons, they may also bring a claim for wrongful termination. Through this type of claim, you can seek reinstatement to your job if you wish and/or monetary damages for any income you lost as a result of the wrongful termination.

Employment discrimination claims can be complicated since an employer will often try to deny any wrongdoing. You need to be represented by an experienced discrimination lawyer who has specific experience handling this type of case. At the law firm of Kilo Flynn, our legal team protects the rights of employees in the Missouri counties of St. Louis, St. Charles, Lincoln, Jefferson, Franklin and Crawford, and the Illinois counties of Madison, St. Clair and Monroe. Call today at 314-647-8910 to learn more about how we can help you.