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In Massachusetts an employer cannot discriminate against you when hiring to fill a position, when firing, or when determining your pay or the conditions or privileges of your employment. An employer must not discriminate against you because of age (being over 40), race, national origin, ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, or genetic or medical information. Under federal law an employer must not:
Recognizing and proving discrimination can be difficult. In today's society it is unacceptable to display your contempt for people of a different race, color or creed; therefore, these viewpoints are often well hidden. False reasons for the firing may have been given, and for this reason, direct proof of discrimination can be hard to get. If you feel you are being discriminated against, you should pay particular attention to the reasons your employer has given for disciplinary actions. Remember the 300 Day Rule and see your employment lawyer as soon as possible. You do not need to be fired to bring a claim of discrimination. If an employer creates job conditions so bad or intolerable that "any reasonable person" would quit, or if your pay is reduced, or expected bonuses and privileges are eliminated in order to force you to quit, that could be considered, in court, to be illegal if related to a protected class, for example, age, race or sex. If you can prove discrimination from your employer's actions or from evidence of false statements, you may be eligible for wage compensation, punitive damages and coverage of your attorney's costs and fees. We cannot emphasize enough that if you feel you have a legitimate claim of discrimination on the job you should contact an employment lawyer as soon as possible. Age Discrimination In Massachusetts, the Fair Employment Practice Act (for companies with 6 or more employees) and the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (for companies with 20 or more employees) prohibits job discrimination because of age. It is generally applied in situations involving employees who are 40 years or older. Signs of age discrimination can include: not being hired because the employer had a younger person in mind for that job
You may encounter other signs of age related discrimination. Some companies when terminating an older employee will ask you to sign a waiver of your age discrimination rights in exchange for a severance package. By law it is supposed to be voluntary on your part, you are supposed to be informed of your rights, advised to consult an attorney, among other requirements, and you must also be given 21 days to consider it. Sexual or Gender Discrimination By law a company cannot discriminate against a person because of their gender. While this law is most often seen to be for the benefit of women, there are also situations where men are discriminated against because of gender. Issues covered by this area of the law include sexual stereotyping in employment decisions, dress, grooming issues, pregnancy and marital status. You have the right to equal pay for equal work. By equal work it means that if a job requires the same skill level, the same effort, the same responsibility and is performed under similar conditions, then those jobs are generally the same and should be compensated equally regardless of gender. What constitutes "equal" or "the same" requires an analysis of the facts related to the work and does not by definition mean identical. Once again, contact an employment lawyer if you feel you have been discriminated against. Discrimination because of Race, Color, Ethnicity or Religion Under federal law an employer must not discriminate based on color, race, religion, sex or national origin (according to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964). As stated earlier, recognizing and proving discrimination can be difficult. Discrimination can also involve abuse in the form of a hostile work environment created through the use of ethnic or racial jokes, demeaning name calling, intimidation, or demanding you do humiliating work or suffer humiliation at the hands of fellow employees with or without the consent of the employer. If you are forced to leave a job because of intolerable conditions, such as these, you may have the right to file a claim based upon discrimination in employment. If you feel you are being discriminated against, remember the 300 Day Rule and see your employment lawyer as soon as possible. Disability Discrimination Under Massachusetts and federal laws an employer cannot discriminate against a qualified individual with a disability on the basis of that disability. To be a qualified individual with a disability, you should be able to safely perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation. "Reasonable accommodations" might include altering the floor plan or workstations, modifying equipment, adding ramps, or other accommodations that would enhance your performance or allow you to do the job more easily. Generally, an employer must provide reasonable accommodation to a disabled employee unless doing so would cause undue economic hardship on the employer. A disabled person is generally described as a person who has a physical or mental impairment or condition that substantially limits one or more of his or her life activities. The definition may include people who have a record of the impairment or who are regarded to have the impairment.
Law Office Of Michael O. Shea, P.C. • Attorneys At Law
The information presented in this website is not nor was it ever intended to be considered legal advice. Viewing this website does not create an attorney-client relationship. We have taken various Massachusetts and federal laws, interpreted them and written in simple English so that you can determine if there is a possibility that your rights have been violated or you have suffered some form of discrimination or other wrongful employment action. If after reading the information contained in this site you feel you have a legitimate claim, please contact our law office or an attorney of your choice for specific advice. |