Lancaster Discrimination Lawyer

Employers should make decisions about a person’s employment based on that person’s experience, quality of work, and attitude. Unfortunately, too many employers instead base their decisions on a person’s race, age, or other personal characteristics. These are unlawful discriminatory practices, and when they occur, wronged employees can take action. 

If you feel as though you have been discriminated against at work, you must speak with ar discrimination lawyer serving Lancaster who can help. There are specific procedures to follow when filing an employment discrimination claim. An attorney will understand what these are and give your case the best chance of success.

Employment Discrimination in Lancaster

All companies and businesses in Ohio with a minimum of 4 employees are required to treat employees and job applicants in a non-discriminatory manner. This applies to private companies, government entities, and nonprofit organizations. These companies cannot discriminate based on a person’s age, race, sex, gender, nationality, religion, disability, pregnancy status, or military history. 

Under federal and state law, these characteristics are known as protected classes. When a person is fired from a job, or not hired for a job they are qualified for based on these characteristics, it is unlawful discrimination. A discrimination lawyer serving Lancaster can help individuals that have been discriminated against or experienced harassment based on their characteristics. 

Identifying Discriminatory Practices in Lancaster

 Discrimination is often hard to recognize. Employees may think their employer simply does not like them, or that they have done something wrong. In most cases, they did nothing. If you have experienced any of the following situations, there is a chance an employer has discriminated against you. 

• Refusal to hire without offering a valid reason
• Assigning dangerous tasks to only one person without asking other employees to perform the same task
• Withholding raises or promotions without a valid reason
• Demoting or firing an employee without reason
• Denying leave and other benefits
• Physical or verbal harassment based on prohibited characteristics such as race, age, and sex.
• Retaliation for taking lawful leave, filing a workers’ compensation claim, or filing a discrimination complaint

A  discrimination lawyer can help with the above situations and more. 

Procedures for Filing a Discrimination Complaint in Lancaster

Discrimination complaints are handled by the Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC) for violations of state law and by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for violations of federal law. Before filing a complaint with either agency, in most circumstances employees should usually file a complaint with their employer in accordance with the company’s policies and procedures for reporting complaints.

You must file a complaint with the EEOC within 300 days of the last discriminatory act and with the OCRC within 180 days of the most recent discriminatory act. 

The EEOC and OCRC will investigate the employee’s discrimination claim and make a determination of whether they found it was likely or not likely that discrimination occurred. At the conclusion of an investigation, the EEOC will issue a Notice of Right to Sue, regardless of the finding, which allows 90 days to file a federal lawsuit or it will be barred by the statute of limitations.  A discrimination lawsuit alleging the violation of state law can be filed without first filing a complaint with the OCRC.

Speak to a Discrimination Serving Lancaster

No one should ever feel discriminated against, particularly in the scope of employment. If you feel your employer has broken the law or discriminated against you, you must speak to a discrimination lawyer serving Lancaster. At Marshall Forman & Schlein LLC, we want to hold employers accountable for their discriminatory practices. Filing a complaint is a complex process with many steps, and we want to help you with all of them. Call us or contact us online today to learn more about how we can help.