North Carolina Employment Attorneys Focus on Workplace Discrimination

Winston Salem Law Firm Will Protect Your Rights

Workplace discrimination is any action including hiring, firing, demoting, and promoting based on a prejudice of some kind that results in the unfair treatment of employees.

Discrimination is strictly prohibited by a myriad of federal laws, and most employment discrimination cases are filed in federal court. Several federal anti-discrimination statutes require the complaining party to first seek administrative relief for any alleged discrimination.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) require a complaining party to file a complaint, known as a Charge of Discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Other anti-discrimination statutes, such as the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) do not have any administrative requirements.

Proving a Workplace Discrimination Claim

There are two basic theories that are used to prove a case of discrimination in the workplace:

• Direct – the plaintiff must establish that their membership in a protected class (minority, disability status, age, gender) was a motivating factor in the alleged discriminatory action that occurred, which may have involved termination, demotion, or a decrease in pay.
• Circumstantial – the plaintiff must prove discriminatory intent by an inference, meaning that in order to establish a case of discrimination, the plaintiff must prove that the employer articulated a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for its actions, but the stated reason was really a pretext to hide discrimination.

The ultimate burden of proving that discrimination took place is always on the employee.

Contact Our Winston Salem Discrimination Law Firm Today

Law Offices of Robert Crawford represents plaintiffs in the Winston Salem area who may have been discriminated against in the workplace. Contact our employment law firm online or call 919-296-8508 to schedule your free initial consultation today.