What Is Discrimination?

Discrimination is the unlawful and intentional act of unfair treatment of a person based on

• Age
• Sex (gender)
• Pregnancy
• Race
• Religion
• National Origin
• Ethnicity
• Religion
• Physical or Mental Disability
• Because of some protected activity the person engaged in.

It is illegal to discriminate in hiring, promotions, firing or other aspects of employment on the basis of a person’s race, gender, national origin, religion, age or disability, or to retaliate against an individual for opposing (most) unlawful activities.

In employment discrimination and wrongful termination claims, the employee has to prove:

• that he or she was fired (wrongful terminated), not hired, not promoted, or otherwise harassed, and
• that it was because of his or her “protected class.”  Protected class refers a person’s gender (male or female), race, national origin (i.e., Hispanic, Asian, or having parents or grandparents from anywhere outside of the United States), age (over 40), or disability, or his or her opposition to unlawful activity.