There is a common misconception about gender discrimination in the workplace, that it can only pertain to a man discriminating against a woman or women in general. This is not true, as victims of gender discrimination can be either a man or woman, similarly, the harasser can be either male or female.
Both the victim and the harasser can be of the same gender, for example, a man can harass another man and a woman can harass another woman. Gender discrimination entails treating an applicant or an employee poorly because of that person’s sex or because they are associated with a person or group of people of the same sex.
When an applicant or employee is treated unfavorably routinely, and the treatment of that person reaches a level of increased severity, gender discrimination turns into harassment, which is also illegal in the United States. However, did you know that gender discrimination does not have to be sexual? Unwelcome sexual advances and sexual favors are not the only things that play a role in defining gender discrimination; offensive remarks made about a person’s sex also qualify as gender discrimination. An example of this would be a female supervisor repetitively instructing male employees to carry heavier loads in the warehouse because female warehouse workers should not have to. Gender discrimination becomes illegal when it creates a hostile work environment or when it results in employees being demoted or fired because of their sex.
An employee who is a victim of gender discrimination has 180 days to file a charge with the EEOC, which may be extended by state laws. Federal employees have 45 days to contact an EEO counselor.
To qualify for an age discrimination claim, an employee must work or have worked for an employer with 15 or more employees.
Source: EEOC.gov
The above is intended as a general guide to better understand potential claims against employers with respect to gender discrimination. Your claims may be time sensitive and we encourage you to complete our free case evaluation request to increase the chance of meeting deadlines for filing your claim. Employment attorneys at Spielberger Law Group are passionate about employment law and are true advocates of employees whose rights have been violated.
Once you’ve completed our free case evaluation form, an employment lawyer licensed to practice employment law in your state will review your statements and you will be contacted by our firm after determining whether you have claims to pursue. Do not miss your opportunity to bring justice to your workplace, contact us today for the chance to receive the best recovery possible.
