The Federal government as well as the state of Washington have enacted laws which make it illegal to discriminate based on defined protected characteristics. Depending on what type of trait prompted the discriminatory treatment, government employers and even private organizations in Mount Vernon may be held liable under various state and federal laws.
How Does Employment Discrimination Occur?
An employer will be deemed guilty of employment discrimination if they treat an employee unfairly because they belong to a category that is legally protected. Some traits which employers are not allowed to evaluate employees with include: race, age, national origin, religion, familial status, and gender. In order for a claim of employment discrimination to be successful, a Mount Vernon, Washington plaintiff must show that his (or her) employer actively intended to treat him differently because of his protected status.
How can Employment Discrimination be Proven in Washington?
This is shown upon finding a prior history of similar treatment of members of the same class, or upon testimony regarding the employer's statements that a reasonable person would understand to be biased. Furthermore, employers are in clear violation of the law when they fire someone or retaliate against them because they filed a discrimination lawsuit.
Procedures for filing an employment discrimination claim are complicated, because they involve filing the claim with the corresponding agency. Mount Vernon, Washington has many lawyers available to help you in filing in a timely fashion, and they can also help you pursue any remedies that might be available to you while your case is being processed.