Employment discrimination issues did not end when lawmakers approved the Civil Rights Act in 1968. In fact, in many ways, the opposite is true. Title VII gave discrimination victims the tools they needed to reverse discriminatory hiring decisions and other such matters. Recent Supreme Court cases have made it even easier for discrimination victims to pursue their claims in court.
Alas, these laws and decisions mean little unless victims partner with an aggressive attorney, like Mitchell A. Kline. We have successfully handled employment discrimination claims for decades. Our professional team quickly evaluates your case and lays out your legal options. Then, we tenaciously work that plan until we achieve the best possible results under the circumstances. That result could be a positive verdict at trial or a favorable pretrial settlement.
Job discrimination comes at many times and in many forms. Typically, legal claims involve entry and exit-level decisions, such as discriminatory hiring, firing, promotion, and demotion decisions. Everyday discrimination, such as unfair disciplinary processes, are common as well.
As for the forms of discrimination, not all these acts are malicious. Many employers honestly think they are doing the right thing when they discriminate. But these acts are always intentional (i.e., not “accidental”), and for the most part, that is all the law requires.
The aforementioned Civil Rights Act, as well as some key provisions in Illinois law, applies to the following types of discrimination:
Other types of discrimination include race, sexual orientation, and disability. All these categories have specific meanings in the employment discrimination legal context. For example, “disability” discrimination usually includes physical, mental, emotional, and other conditions.
Disparate treatment and disparate impact usually form the foundation of employment discrimination claims. In disparate impact, or unintentional discrimination, claims, a seemingly neutral policy adversely affects people in a protected class (race, gender, age, etc.). In disparate treatment, or intentional discrimination, claims, employers target people in protected classes and hope they do not get caught doing so.
Next, victim/plaintiffs must build prima facie discrimination cases. If the claim has any merit at all, the employer must provide a discriminatory-neutral reason for the decision. The victim/plaintiff may then prove that this “reason” was just a pretext for discrimination.
Out-of-court settlements in discrimination claims usually include money for past lost wages as well as future lost wages, if reinstatement is not a practical alternative.
If you were the victim of job discrimination, you have legal options. For a free consultation with an experienced employment law attorney in Arlington Heights, contact the Law Office of Mitchell A. Kline. We routinely handle matters in Cook County and nearby jurisdictions.
