Arizona Workplace Discrimination
Employment discrimination is against the law in the United States, and there are antidiscrimination laws at both the federal and state level that make it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against or treat an employee or applicant differently on the basis of a protected characteristic, such as age, race or gender, and offer civil remedies for victims of discrimination in the workplace. If you believe your employer in Arizona has discriminated against you because of your membership in a protected class, or has retaliated against you for reporting workplace discrimination, contact a knowledgeable employment law attorney today discuss your legal options. You may have grounds to file an Arizona workplace discrimination claim against your employer for damages such as lost wages due to a discriminatory discharge from employment.
Types of Discrimination in the Workplace
The Arizona Civil Rights Act makes it illegal for an employer to discriminate against an employee based on the following protected characteristics: religion, color, race, age (40 years or older), gender, physical disability (excluding current drug or alcohol use), national origin and pregnancy. Some common types of discrimination in the workplace include:
- Engaging in or tolerating harassment because of a protected characteristic
- Failing or refusing to hire applicants for discriminatory reasons
- Firing or demoting employees for discriminatory reasons
- Segregating jobs or work sites based on protected characteristics
- Pregnancy discrimination
- Failing to provide a reasonable accommodation for disabled persons
- Treating employees differently because they have complained about discrimination (retaliation)
- Treating an employee less favorably because of the results of genetic testing
- Providing employees with different pay, benefits or other terms or conditions of employment
- Failing to take corrective action when harassment or retaliation is reported
Filing a Discrimination Claim in Arizona
Victims of workplace discrimination in Arizona can file a claim either with the federal administrative agency, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), or with the state, through the state attorney general’s Civil Rights Division (CRD). While federal antidiscrimination laws only cover employers with 15 or more employees, there is also an antidiscrimination statute in Arizona that covers some smaller employers not governed by federal law for sexual harassment claims only. If your workplace has between one and 14 employees, and you have a claim for sexual harassment on the part of an employer or supervisor, you should file your claim with the CRD. If your workplace has 15 or more employees, your claim can be filed with either agency, as they have a work-sharing agreement and cooperate with one another to process discrimination claims.
Contact an Arizona Discrimination Lawyer Today
For victims of workplace discrimination, it’s important to file a claim as soon as possible, as you’ll have only 180 days from the date you were discriminated against to file with the CRD, and only 300 days from the date you were discriminated against to file with the EEOC. Whatever agency you file with, it’s a good idea to consult an experienced Arizona discrimination lawyer before filing your claim, in order to ensure that you understand your rights as an employee and learn what remedies you may be entitled to. For example, Arizona state law limits the damages recoverable for a discrimination claim, and this is important, because your lawyer may choose to file your discrimination case in state court using federal law. If you have been the victim of workplace discrimination in Arizona, contact a knowledgeable employment law attorney today for legal help.
