Discrimination is illegal when directed at those who are in protected classes. This discrimination could include refusing to hire someone, giving them worse hours or responsibilities, giving them a lower pay rate, terminating them from their job, passing them over for promotions and raises, and much more.
One thing that is important for employees to note is that, if they are facing discrimination, it could actually be based on a number of protected classes. It is certainly possible to be in more than one class at a time.
For instance, an African American woman who is pregnant could be in three different protected classes at once: race, gender and pregnancy status. An Asian American immigrant who is over 40 years old and has a disability could also be in multiple classes: national origin, disability status and age.
You can enter or leave some protected classes
It is also possible to enter a protected class, such as when a woman becomes pregnant. After she has her child, she may then exit that protected class.
But there is nuance even to these cases. For instance, discrimination based on the potential for pregnancy is also illegal, so a woman could face pregnancy discrimination just because she is of childbearing age, even if she is technically not pregnant. Additionally, she could face discrimination for a past pregnancy, such as a young mother who has to care for her child or attend certain doctor’s appointments. She is no longer pregnant, but could still be discriminated against.
Because discrimination happens in so many ways, these cases can grow complex, and it is often helpful to work with an experienced attorney.