Everyone deserves to feel respected and safe at work, yet that’s sadly not the reality for many people throughout Ohio. Discrimination and harassment can impact your daily life and your career. However, you can protect your rights and future by turning to an employment discrimination lawyer in Ohio.
At Oliver Law Office, we can help with workplace discrimination and fight to safeguard your civil rights. Contact us today to speak with an experienced discrimination attorney from a firm that prioritizes unparalleled communication and personalized representation.
Federal and state laws protect employees from being discriminated against based on their:
However, federal laws against workplace discrimination tend to only apply to employers with 15 or more employees. What happens if your workplace is smaller? This is where Ohio law comes into play.
Discrimination and harassment can happen in the workplace for several reasons. There is no excuse for discrimination, and you are not at fault.
No employer in Ohio can discriminate on the basis of race or color when hiring, promoting, offering benefits, or doing anything else directly or indirectly related to employment. Any “neutral” employment policy that disproportionately affects certain races or colors is also prohibited unless the policy is based on business necessity.
It’s illegal for employers to discriminate against employees based on their religion. Additionally, employers have to provide accommodations for religious beliefs as long as these accommodations don’t place an undue burden on the employer or other employees.
A seasoned lawyer is crucial to your discrimination or harassment claim. Here is how a lawyer can help you with this complicated process.
You need a lawyer because they can help you gather the proper evidence to prove your claim. Proving discrimination can be tough.
One option is to demonstrate that supervisors, employers, or others in positions of power in the workplace have made discriminatory statements. These can be offensive jokes, slurs, or other comments about your race, sex, or other protected characteristics. If there are witnesses, getting their testimony is vital.
It can also help to show the treatment of employees in similar positions. If you see that they are given more favorable treatment than you and others in your protected group, this could point to a pattern. An example is if a woman gets penalized for a behavior and a male coworker in the same position doesn’t.
Another way of proving that discrimination occurred is by demonstrating that the employer behaved in a way that was a departure from workplace policies. If the person didn’t follow their policies when making a decision, it could show that their decision was based on bias.
One example is if a company gives bonuses to employees who meet specific work criteria. Still, the employer deviates from this to avoid giving a bonus to a particular employee. This requires proving a pattern and then showing how the employer broke it.
Chances are that your employer has faced these kinds of claims before. They may even have a team of lawyers ready to try to discredit you or intimidate you into giving up on your claim. But if you have a lawyer on your side, you have a better chance of getting the results you deserve for what you’ve suffered.
A workplace discrimination lawyer has experience negotiating with contentious parties. They won’t back down from defending your rights, no matter the opponent.
A lawyer can also litigate the case if negotiations fail. The threat of going to court is often enough to get the other party to the negotiation table.
If you’ve suffered workplace discrimination, you may be eligible to pursue compensation for the harm you’ve endured. This compensation can cover a range of different types of losses.
For example, you can recover back pay and tips, commission, bonuses, and vacation days you’d otherwise have received. You could also be compensated for this expense if you had to retrain to take on another position and pay for that out-of-pocket.
Going through discrimination in the workplace can cause pain and suffering. Many people feel humiliated and even face mental health concerns like depression because of the discriminatory actions they lived through. Compensation is available for these losses, too.
You could also receive reimbursement for legal fees, and, in some instances, the court can award punitive damages. These damages are not compensatory; they are meant to punish the defendant to prevent them from doing the same thing again.
You shouldn’t have to deal with discrimination and harassment at work. If you’ve been unjustly fired, demoted, or otherwise hurt by bias by decision-makers or employers, you have a right to seek justice.
At Oliver Law Office, we take pride in providing confident, compassionate representation for all workplace discrimination claims. Our women-led firm can assist you with every step of your claim. In addition to our Columbus office, we also provide home consultations and virtual meetings.
