Job and employment discrimination is the unfair and illegal treatment of a job applicant or employee based on who they are, rather than their skills or performance. It is a core area of civil rights liability, meaning employers can be held legally and financially responsible for violating these fundamental protections. This isn’t about minor slights or poor management; it’s about systemic barriers and decisions that punish people for characteristics they cannot or should not have to change.
The primary law governing this area is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This federal law makes it illegal for employers with 15 or more employees to discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. “Sex” has been broadly interpreted to include pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Other crucial federal laws fill in the gaps. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act protects workers 40 and older. The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities and requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations. The Equal Pay Act mandates equal pay for equal work regardless of gender.
Discrimination can happen at any point in the employment relationship. It starts with hiring: rejecting a qualified applicant because their name sounds ethnic, because they are over 50, or because they use a wheelchair. It continues in the workplace through unfair assignments, denial of training or promotion, harassment, or a hostile work environment. It culminates in wrongful actions like demotion, unfair discipline, or termination based on a protected characteristic. Pay discrimination, where women or minorities are paid less for substantially similar work, is another common and illegal form.
A critical concept is that discrimination is not always overt. It often operates in two ways. Disparate treatment is the most direct form: intentionally treating someone worse because of their race, age, religion, etc. The infamous “help wanted” signs specifying a preferred gender are a historical example of overt disparate treatment. More common today is disparate impact. This occurs when a seemingly neutral policy disproportionately harms a protected group and is not job-related or necessary. For example, a blanket requirement that all warehouse workers must lift 50 pounds could screen out many women or individuals with certain disabilities, even if the job’s essential functions rarely require that. If the policy isn’t a true business necessity, it creates illegal disparate impact.
Harassment is a pervasive form of discrimination. It involves unwelcome conduct based on a protected characteristic that is severe or pervasive enough to create a hostile work environment. This includes offensive jokes, slurs, physical intimidation, or unwanted advances. A key point of liability for employers is that they are responsible for preventing and correcting harassment, especially by supervisors. Failing to act on a credible complaint can lead to significant legal consequences.
When discrimination occurs, the affected employee can file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency that enforces these laws. The EEOC investigates and may sue the employer on the employee’s behalf. More commonly, after the EEOC process, the employee receives a “right to sue” letter and can file their own lawsuit. The stakes for employers are high. Liability can include back pay, front pay, compensatory damages for emotional distress, punitive damages to punish egregious conduct, and payment of the employee’s attorney fees. Beyond the financial hit, the reputational damage from a proven discrimination case can be severe.
Ultimately, job discrimination laws exist to enforce a simple, powerful principle: employment decisions should be based on merit, qualifications, and performance. When employers deviate from this principle to judge people by their race, gender, age, disability, or faith, they violate civil rights and incur serious legal liability. It is a preventable risk that no responsible business should take.
