How to Prove Workplace Discrimination

All people have the right to work in a safe environment where they are treated fairly. Unfortunately, it is common for someone to be discriminated against at the workplace. This can cause significant stress and make upward mobility difficult. If you have been discriminated against in the workplace, pursuing legal remedies with the support of an employment lawyer could be a good option. When hiring an employment lawyer New Jersey residents will learn more about the background of discrimination, what constitutes workplace discrimination, and how it can be proven.

What is Employment Discrimination?

When hiring employment lawyers New Jersey residents will learn much more about what constitutes employment discrimination in the workplace. Discrimination is essentially when you are treated less favorably than other people based on a variety of factors. The EEOC has identified that you cannot be treated unfairly on the basis of your race, gender, religion, color, national origin, disability, age or some other factors. If you are treated unfairly based on any of these protected classes, pursuing legal action could be in your best interests.

What Types of Discrimination Exist?

There are several forms of discrimination that continue to be common in the workplace. The three most common forms of discrimination are as follows:

• Discriminatory Treatment — This form of discrimination takes place when someone in the workforce is treated unfairly or poorly because the employee is a member of a protected class. This form of discrimination is often intentional by a manager or other person in a leadership position.
• Disparate Intent — Another form of discrimination that is not as clear and obvious is disparate intent. This form of discrimination occurs when an employer creates rules or policies that could discriminate against certain people that are a member of a protected class.
• Retaliation From Employer — If you do file a discrimination claim at work and word gets out, the employer is still required to treat you fairly. If you are being retaliated against or suddenly experience a more hostile work environment due to a discrimination claim, the retaliation itself is another form of discrimination.

How Can Discrimination be Proven

When working with employment lawyers New Jersey residents and discrimination victims will want to understand how it can be proven. While discrimination is clearly a violation of the law, proving it can be more challenging. While it can be difficult to prove in some cases, there are a few different ways that someone can go about proving discrimination existed.

Provide Direct Evidence

When working with employment attorneys in NJ, the first thing that they will look for is any direct evidence that discrimination took place. Examples of this can include if a supervisor, leader or other member of the company said or wrote anything that was clearly discriminatory. This evidence can come in the form of verbal statements confirmed by a source, emails, memos or other written documents.

Circumstantial Evidence

While direct evidence is the easiest way to support your claim, circumstantial evidence is often used as direct evidence can be hard to come by. Some examples of circumstantial evidence can include if your employer has a history of showing bias, if you were fired or demoted and replaced with someone that is not in your protected class, or if there is evidence that certain groups of people are treated better than others.

When looking for an employment lawyer New Jersey residents should reach out to Ashton E. Thomas. Whether they have been directly discriminated against or work in a hostile work environment NJ residents and employers will learn much more about what their options are in terms of pursuing a discrimination claim. Ashton E. Thomas can then handle all aspects of your claim to ensure your rights are properly represented.