The Charlottesville Employment Discrimination Lawyers of MartinWren, P.C. are experienced with litigating and resolving complex and contentious workplace discrimination claims, whether the claims arise under federal law, Virginia law, or local laws or ordinances, or whether the workplace bias claims are proceeding in federal court, state court, or by a charge in an administrative forum like before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Our attorneys have represented and advised both employers in devising and handling discrimination disputes and employees as they navigate the legal system to challenge unlawful workplace behavior and receive compensation for the discrimination they experienced.
Employee discrimination claims are most commonly statutory in nature, meaning that the rights protected are usually established by federal, state, or local legislative bodies. Most workplace discrimination laws mirror the protections afforded by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. Other federal, state, and local discrimination statutes have expanded protection to individuals on the basis of age, disability, handicap, sexual orientation, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, and familial status. Such laws include the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Equal Pay Act, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, the Immigration and Reform Control Act, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, and the Virginia Human Rights Act.
Actionable workplace harassment or discrimination claims may arise in the form of a hostile work environment, where an employer creates an intolerable, threatening, offensive or intimidating working environment or creates conditions that interfere with an employee’s work performance. Workplace discrimination claims may also exist due to an employer’s disparate treatment of protected individuals when hiring and firing, disciplining employees, with promotion decisions, and by unequal pay and compensation decisions. Employers may also face liability as a result of actions that create disparate impact, which are employment practices that are not facially or intentionally discriminatory but have a disproportionately adverse impact on members of protected classes.
Sexual harassment claims may involve an additional type of discrimination claim: quid pro quo discrimination. Latin for “this for that,” a quid pro quo claim exists when an employer or supervisory employee requests sexual favors in exchange for work benefits, promotions and advancements, greater pay, or other forms of opportunities. Quid pro quo claims often involve an employee suffering detrimental action, like a demotion or other negative act, when the employee refuses the unwanted sexual advances.
Virginia Retaliation Attorneys
In addition to traditional discrimination claims, virtually all anti-discrimination laws prohibit any retaliation against an employee for asserting their rights under any workplace discrimination laws. The federal government’s position on retaliation is very clear: “[t]he law forbids retaliation when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits, and any other term or condition of employment.”
Victims of unlawful workplace discrimination may receive a variety of remedies depending on the type of unlawful employment discrimination they experienced and the severity and frequency of that discriminatory conduct. The victim of discrimination may, for instance, be made whole by being placed in the position they would have had as if the discrimination had never occurred. Permissible remedies may also include an award of compensatory and punitive damages and recovery of attorney’s fees, expert witness costs, and court costs. Some victims of discrimination who are not entitled to compensatory or punitive damages may nevertheless be entitled to an award of liquidated damages.
MartinWren, P.C.’s Retaliation Attorneys and Employment Discrimination Lawyers are available to assist employers adopt policies to prevent discriminatory conduct and to represent those employers in matters before the EEOC or litigation in federal court or state court. In addition, our attorneys are experienced representing employees who have suffered discriminatory conduct, including retaliation.
For more information about the services MartinWren, P.C.’s Charlottesville Employment Discrimination Lawyers and Virginia Retaliation Attorneys can offer, please call (434) 817-3100 to speak with Attorney Robert E. Byrne or Attorney John B. Simpson.
If you prefer, you may email either attorney:
Email Robert E. Byrne : byrne@martinwrenlaw.com
Email John B. Simpson : simpson@martinwrenlaw.com.