If youâre struggling to address more reports of workplace discrimination recently, youâre not alone: so is the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency responsible for enforcing laws that make it illegal.
In 2024, the EEOC was bombarded with a staggering 88,531 charges of discrimination, an increase of nearly 10% from the prior year. Not only that, victims of workplace discrimination were awarded a record-breaking $700 million. While the upward trend is alarming, knowledge is power when it comes to protecting your employees â and your companyâs bottom line.
What is Workplace Discrimination?
Workplace discrimination is the illegal and unfair treatment or harassment of an employee or job applicant as a result of one of the following characteristics:
- Race
- Color
- Religion
- National origin
- Sex, including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, sexual orientation, or transgender status
- Age (40 and older)
- Disability
- Genetic information, including employer requests for, or purchase, use, or disclosure of genetic tests, genetic services, or family medical history
Under the laws enforced by the EEOC, it is also illegal to retaliate against a person because he or she reported discrimination in the workplace, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.
Top 10 Workplace Discrimination Examples
Federal law forbids workplace discrimination in every aspect of employment. But there are certain issues reported by employees that end up in court more than others.
Here, we highlight some of the most common workplace discrimination examples and offer sample scenarios to help you better understand your employees rights.
1. Firing Based on a Protected Characteristic
The scenario: Gabe, 61, is the head of the IT department at a school. He hires and trains two new employees who recently graduated college to help with his workload, then heâs let go shortly after.
Why is this classified as discrimination? No matter if an employee is fired, laid-off, or leaves voluntarily, if age discrimination is to blame, companies can be held liable. Specifically, when deciding which employees to lay off, an employer cannot choose workers because of their age.
2. Enduring Workplace Harassment
The scenario: Walter, a nurse, wore a rainbow pin on his scrubs in celebration of Pride Month last June. Ever since, he finds anonymous notes in his locker containing homophobic slurs and threats.
Why is this classified as discrimination? There are multiple types of workplace harassment which can take the form of slurs, graffiti, or offensive or derogatory comments. If any of these become so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile work environment, it is classified as illegal discrimination.
3. Failure to Receive Reasonable Accommodation
The scenario: Heather is a bank teller who usually stands on the job to speak with customers. After returning from maternity leave, however, she asks her boss if she can adjust her location so that she can sit until she fully heals from a cesarean section, but her request is denied.
Why is this classified as discrimination? A reasonable accommodation is any change in the workplace to help a person with a known limitation perform a job, which includes limitations related to, affected by, or arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.
4. Being Denied a Job During the Hiring Process
The scenario: Dale is an Asian-American and he has just applied to teach U.S. history at an prestigious university. He is denied the job after the interviewer cites his âlack of American rootsâ as a concern for his capabilities in teaching the course.
Why is this classified as discrimination? It is illegal for an employer to refuse to give a job to an applicant because of any protected characteristic, nor can they base hiring decisions on stereotypes and assumptions about a person’s national origin.
5. Unequal Terms and Conditions
The scenario: Kelsey and Matt work as accountants, however, their manager, Tony, allows Matt to take Friday afternoons off so that they can âhit the linksâ together since they both like to golf. When Kelsey asks to receive the same hours off, she is denied.
Why is this classified as discrimination? It is illegal for employers to discriminate in how an employee is treated on the job, including pay, hours, access to tools, granting breaks, or setting any other term or condition of employment, however small.
6. Asking for Prohibited Medical Information
The scenario: Austin wears prescription glasses with transition lenses. While interviewing for a job as a data analyst, the employer asks if he has vision problems since his glasses are darker than average. When Austin says no, they demand he take an eye exam before making a job offer.
Why is this classified as discrimination? The EEOC restricts employers from asking job applicants to answer medical questions, take a medical exam, or identify a disability to protect them from ADA discrimination.
7. Unequal or Unfair Disciplinary Action
The scenario: Robert, a Black employee at a tech startup, is written up for being 5 minutes late to work one morning, but his white colleagues who arrived at the office even later arenât disciplined for the same behavior.
Why is this classified as discrimination? Unequal or unfair disciplinary action (warnings, write-ups, suspensions) applied more harshly to certain protected groups.
8. Different and Inconsistent Wages
The scenario: Julia has been working as a financial planner for three years when she discovers she earns 20% less than Ethan, her male coworker with the same title and experience.
Why is this classified as discrimination? It is illegal for an employer to discriminate against an employee in the payment of wages or employee benefits on the basis of a protected characteristic. Employee benefits include sick and vacation leave, insurance, access to overtime pay, and retirement programs.
9. Being Passed up for a Promotion or Demoted Due to Bias
The scenario: Andres and Elliot work as waiters at a Mexican restaurant. When a managerial role opens, they both apply, however, Andres, who is Hispanic, gets the job because his manager thinks patrons and staff will identify more with him than Elliot, who is Black.
Why is this classified as discrimination? Lowering someone’s job rank or responsibilities due to discriminatory reasons. Similarly, being denied advancement due to bias â such as race, gender, age, or retaliation.
10. Constructive Discharge
The scenario: Winona works as an on-air news anchor. Every morning before she goes into hair and makeup, three male employees make fun of her âpaleâ and âuglyâ natural appearance. She reports them to HR, but HR does not investigate the issue so it continues until Winona quits.
Why is this classified as discrimination? Discriminatory practices under the laws EEOC enforces also include constructive discharge or forcing an employee to resign by making the work environment so intolerable a reasonable person would not be able to stay.
Responding to Workplace Discrimination: A Step-by-Step Checklist
Whether it’s an issue of being subjected to unfair treatment, harassment, or retaliation, employers should take the following steps when made aware of workplace discrimination to avoid litigation:
- Acknowledge every discrimination complaint promptly and apply interim safeguards to protect your employees where needed.
- Investigate by conducting an impartial, well-documented examination of the situation.
- Enforce consistent disciplinary action if warranted.
- Monitor for retaliatory behavior.
- Review and refine discrimination policies and training programs postâcomplaint.
How EVERFI Helps Prevent Workplace Discrimination
Do you know your employee’s legal rights? Getting familiar with prohibited employment policies and practices is step one in preventing workplace discrimination. The next step is creating a safer and more inclusive work environment through employee training that is proven to make an impact and help learners apply prevention strategies and practice bystander intervention techniques through a series of realistic, thought-provoking scenarios. Learn more about how you can help create a safer work environment for your employees by requesting a demo of our Preventing Harassment and Discrimination in the Workplace suite of courses.