Park Forest Employment Discrimination Attorney
The Village of Park Forest has a long history of openness. From the 1950s to the 1970s, Park Forest was honored several times for its anti-discrimination stance. Unfortunately, area employers do not always live up to that proud heritage. In fact, more than 50 years after lawmakers approved the Civil Rights Act, discrimination is still fairly common in Cook County workplaces.
At the Law Office of Mitchell Kline, our Park Forest employment discrimination attorneys are committed to ending this practice and promoting individual rights. So, we treat all clients with respect. Then, we thoroughly investigate the facts, so we may build an employment discrimination claim. Many times, this approach enables us to settle cases out of court and on favorable terms.
All the laws and court cases in the world cannot change the human heart. So, employers still make decisions and policies which are discriminatory. Our Park Forest employment discrimination attorneys often deal with two kinds of situations in this area, and gender/pregnancy discrimination is a good illustration.
Some people do not feel that male and female employees should abide by the same rules as male employees. Many employers have different dress codes for men and women or different salaries for male and female employees. This malicious discrimination usually comes from a reaction to current events or habits which employers learned long ago.
Other intentional discrimination is not necessarily malicious. For example, some employers do not allow pregnant women to work near certain machines or chemicals. They claim that such work endangers the baby, and that may be true, but these decisions are not for the employer to make. They are for the mother to make. An attempt to unilaterally impose a solution is a discriminatory policy.
Antidiscrimination laws do not just protect women. Other protected characteristics include race, age, religion, and national origin.
Some discrimination is not malicious. In fact, some discrimination is not even intentional, but it is still illegal. Park Forest employment discrimination attorneys call this conduct disparate impact discrimination. These policies adversely affect certain groups of people.
For example, an employer might have an “English only” policy for its workers. Such policies may be legal if the job requires a great deal of customer interface. The policy must withstand a great deal of scrutiny, however, because it adversely affects people whose first language is something other than English.
To establish these claims in court, Park Forest employment discrimination attorneys often analyze statistical data. If the numbers indicate disparate impact, the policy may be illegal, no matter how hard the employer tries to justify it.
In both types of discrimination claims, damages are usually available if the plaintiff establishes a prima facie discrimination claim. The employer may try to rebut this presumption. In many cases, these rebuttals sound more like excuses to a Will County jury.
Employment discrimination comes in many forms, and it is always illegal. For a free consultation with an experienced Park Forest employment discrimination attorney, contact the Law Office of Mitchell A. Kline. We routinely handle matters in Cook County and nearby jurisdictions.
