When people in Florida go to work they have job tasks to complete and rules they must follow. These job requirements and rules are supposed to apply to all employees equally. When employees violate the various rules or do not complete their job tasks, they may be reprimanded, punished or even fired, depending on the type of violation. While these rules are supposed to apply to everyone and any punishments should be applied equally, this does not always occur.
The punishments may be applied differently to different employees. This could be for a variety of reasons, but if the reason it is applied differently is due to the employees, race, gender, age, disability, religion, national origin and other protected classes, it is illegal. However, while employees may suspect that discrimination is the reason for receiving a certain punishment, it is not always easy to prove or to know for sure if that is the reason for the employers’ decisions.
How to determine if discrimination occurred
Employees who think they are the victim of discrimination, need to look for certain evidence. One is to look at co-workers who are in similar positions as them but may be of a different race, sex, age or other protected class and determine whether the rules are being applied differently to them. Another sign of discrimination is rules that seem to apply to everyone but create a detriment to only people in a protected class.
Some examples of discrimination could be allowing men leave when they have surgeries, but not granting the same leave while women are recovering from childbirth. Another example would be paying people of a certain class less than people outside of that class. Employers may also require employees to meet certain physical criteria, such as being able to lift objects, even if being able to do it is not part of the job requirements. They may also simply be mean to people of a protected class.
If employees in Florida are the victims of discrimination at work, they may be entitled to compensation for the damages they suffer. Proving discrimination can be difficult and consulting with experienced attorneys could be beneficial.