What is Race Discrimination?

It is illegal under both Federal and State Law to discriminate in the "terms or conditions of employment" on the basis of a person's race or color. "Terms or conditions of employment" means just about anything relating to someone's job: their position, pay, title, hours, vacations, most everything is a term or condition of employment. Whether or not a person is hired is also considered a term or condition of employment. Race is generally defined as a person's ancestry or ethnic characteristics. Everyone is some race or color. This means that it is illegal to discriminate against anyone, if the basis is his or her race or color. Employment race discrimination in the workplace based on association with people of a particular race is also prohibited. For instance, if an employer fired a white employee because she had black friends, or was dating a black man, the white woman would have a discrimination suit, whether or not the employer is prejudiced against whites. It is also illegal to discriminate on the basis of "color". In one case, an employer hired a "light-complexioned" black applicant with "Caucasian features" over another black applicant who had a "dark complexion.” This was also against the law, even though in a strict sense one race wasn't being preferred over another.

 

There are two types of race discrimination in the workplace: "disparate treatment" and "disparate impact." "Disparate treatment" is straightforward discrimination. Simply put, it is treating a person differently because of a protected class, like sex or race. Disparate Impact Discrimination is more complicated. "Disparate Impact" is where some type of company policy excluded a certain individual or individuals from the job or from promotions. The policy wasn't designed to exclude them; that was just the unfortunate result.

 

The Law Firm of David A. Young, LLC represents executives and employees who have been terminated because of their race. Attorney David Young has been certified by the Ohio State Bar Association as a Specialist in the area of Labor and Employment Law. Attorney Young has also been recognized as a Super Lawyer in the State of Ohio for the years 2009 through 2013.