Suing for Damages in a Personal Injury Case

The list of discrimination is, surprisingly, ever lengthening. Rather than just a few of the more common discriminatory practices, like race and sex, several more have been added to the list since the '70s, and more recently, a couple more on top of that. Perhaps that is why a discrimination attorney loves his/her job so much; this branch of law is always changing and always trying to make life better for others. If you think you have been a target or victim of discrimination, but you are just not sure, check out some of the newer forms of discrimination listed below.

Pregnancy

In the '70s and part of the '80s, pregnant women who told their bosses that they were pregnant were often fired. That seems shocking by today's standards since pregnant women are still capable of doing most jobs while they are pregnant and since no one would think of firing anyone who was pregnant. Still, there are some "old school" employers out there who will fire pregnant women, ask women in interviews if the women intend on becoming pregnant, and/or refuse to hire obviously pregnant women.

If you feel that your employer acted this way toward you because you were pregnant, or someone refused to hire you because you were pregnant or they thought you might become pregnant, that is discriminatory, and you can sue.

Genetic Information

If you have been out of the workforce for a while now, and you are just about to get a new job, you might be surprised by the fact that pre-employment drug screenings are now limited to just urinalysis. This is because genetic testing may be conducted on blood and hair, which some employers in the past have used to deny employment to applicants. To stop the unlawful genetic tests and to prevent future discrimination against anyone based on the genetic tests, discrimination laws were written against genetic testing of personal fluids and hair.

If your employer requests blood, spit, hair, or anything else from which a genetic test may be conducted under the guise of drug testing, refuse and provide urine only. If you are refused employment, sue, as this employer may still be conducting illegal genetic testing on job applicants.

Equal Pay Act

Additionally, men and women are supposed to be paid the same for the same job content and responsibilities. If you were hired at the same time as a male applicant, and you have equal credentials and do the exact same job, you should be paid the same. It is very difficult to find out if a male peer is paid more since most companies require a "code of silence" on the topic of paychecks. You will need some help from a lawyer to find out for sure.