New York is home to so many different kinds of people that it's hard to believe discrimination can still be present in the workplace. Our nation frequently preaches tolerance, and yet so many people go to work every day and are discriminated against based on the things that make them unique human beings.The most common types of discrimination cases our Saratoga Springs law office handles involve age, gender, race, and disability, but there are even more ways that workers can be discriminated against. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) currently enforces 12 different types of discrimination:

• Age
• Disability
• Equal Pay and Equal Compensation
• Genetic Information
• Harassment
• National Origin
• Pregnancy
• Race or Color
• Religion
• Retaliation
• Sex
• Sexual Harassment

Examples of Discriminatory Practices From the EEOC

• Harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, genetic information, or age.
• Retaliation against an individual for filing a charge of discrimination, participating in an investigation, or opposing discriminatory practices.
• Employment decisions based on stereotypes or assumptions about the abilities, traits, or performance of individuals of a certain sex, race, age, religion, or ethnic group, or individuals with disabilities, or based on myths or assumptions about an individual's genetic information.
• Denying employment opportunities to a person because of marriage to, or association with, an individual of a particular race, religion, national origin, or an individual with a disability. Title VII also prohibits discrimination because of participation in schools or places of worship associated with a particular racial, ethnic, or religious group.

There are many, many different ways in which an employee can be discriminated against, so we recommend reading the entire list of Federal Law Prohibiting Job Discrimination that the EEOC has published. Some forms of discrimination are things that most people are aware of, but some can be quite surprising.

If you know someone who recently lost their job and she feels she was discriminated against, please share this article with her and help her understand her rights.