Both Iowa and the federal government have passed laws that prohibiting discrimination on the basis of certain protected characteristics. In Spirit Lake, government and private organizations may be held liable for discrimination, depending on what type of trait the unfair treatment was originally based on.

How Does Employment Discrimination Occur?

Employment discrimination occurs if an employer treats you wrongly because of your membership in a legally protected category. Traits that employers may not use to evaluate you include race, national origin, gender, religion and familial status. To prove employment discrimination in Spirit Lake, Iowa, the plaintiff needs to be able to show that the employer's intent to treat them unfairly was motivated by their protected status.

How can Employment Discrimination be Proven in Iowa?

This may be proved when there is a history of the employer treating members of the class similarly, or if witnesses testify about the employer's statements which would constitute bias as understood by a reasonable person. Additionally, employers are in clear violation of the law when they fire someone or retaliate against them because they filed a discrimination lawsuit.

Procedures for pursuing an employment discrimination claim are complicated, because they involve filing the claim with the corresponding agency. An attorney in Spirit Lake, Iowa can assist you in filing on time, as well as pursuing other remedies that are available to you while your claim is pending.