By Matthew Marks on September 21st, 2015 in In The News
A recent NBC News feature reports that Macy’s – one of the nation’s iconic American brands – is the latest company to cut ties with the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. The reason behind the severed relationship is Trump’s controversial comments about Mexicans and Mexico made during his announcement of his presidential candidacy. Macy’s values, according to the news report, are inconsistent with Trump’s comments. Accordingly, Macy’s has decided to phase out Trump’s menswear collection, which has been sold at the department store for over a decade. In response, Trump called for a boycott of Macy’s.
Employee Racial Discrimination
Federal and state laws prohibit workplace discrimination based on several factors, one of them being race. In fact, the federal law that prohibits such discrimination, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), has been in effect for almost 50 years. Unfortunately, employee racial discrimination is the most common form of workplace discrimination that is reported to the Equal Economic Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency tasked with interpreting and enforcing federal laws prohibiting discrimination.
An employer commits racial discrimination when job decisions are made based on the basis of race, or when seemingly neutral policies that are in effect disproportionately affect members of a particular race. Laws across the nation at the federal and state levels prohibit employee racial discrimination in all aspects of employment, including, but not limited to, hiring, firing, promotions, job assignments and training, compensation, discipline, and termination.
Disparate Treatment v. Disparate Impact
If an employer singles out an individual of a particular race intentionally, whether he or she is an applicant or an actual employee, this act is categorized as disparate treatment discrimination. Conversely, if an employer has a policy or practice that is applied equally across all, but it more heavily affects an individual of a particular race, this is considered disparate impact discrimination.
A disparate treatment claim alleges the individual was treated differently than other similarly situated employees, because of his or her race. Disparate treatment also occurs when an employer discriminates on the basis of one or several physical characteristics – such as facial features, skin color, or hair texture/color. A disparate impact claim alleges that while the employer did not intend to commit racial discrimination, the organization’s neutral-on-its-face policy or practice has a negative impact on members of a particular race. The employer can defend this apparently neutral policy, however, if it can demonstrate a job-related reason that requires the policy or practice.
Employee Racial Discrimination
If you or someone you know has been the victim if employee racial discrimination, contact the skilled legal professionals at Ricotta & Marks, P.C. right away. We will listen to your story and provide advice about your rights under state and federal laws. Call (347) 464-8694 today for a free case evaluation. With the help of knowledgeable employee racial discrimination lawyers, your unfortunate experience of discrimination will hopefully not happen again to you or any other employees in your firm.