Discrimination is defined as unfavourable or unfair treatment of a person - or class of persons - because of race, sex, colour, religion, national origin, age, physical/mental handicap or sexual orientation.
Most States and the federal government have laws that prohibit private persons, organizations or governments from discriminating against people because of certain protected characteristics. In employment, individuals are protected from discrimination by employers.
However, you can still be legally treated unfairly for all kinds of silly reasons: your eye colour, your personality, or because your boss is a jerk, to name a few. But there are some reasons for unfair treatment that the government makes illegal because they contradict a basic Australian principle that no one should be penalized for characteristics they were born with or can’t change.
The most common type of discrimination claim is brought against public and private employers for job discrimination.
PROOF OF EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION
To prove employment discrimination, you must show that your employer intended to treat you differently because of the characteristic. This intent can also be demonstrated if the employer has treated a lot of other persons with the same protected characteristic unfairly.
The first thing to ask yourself is whether you have one or more of the characteristics the law protects. If you do have a protected characteristic, then you have to think about proof. Discrimination cases are notoriously difficult to prove and unless you have evidence of discriminatory motive, you won’t get to first base with your claim.
A discrimination case is usually built on showing a pattern of unfairness against other people with the same protected characteristics. Unfortunately, convincing comparisons often require a fairly sophisticated statistical analysis that many lawyers either don’t want to do or don’t want to spend the money to do right.
EXAMPLES OF WORPLACE DISCRIMINATION
- Harassment by your employer or coworkers
- Forced retirement or firing
- Promotions given only to persons with "preferred" characteristics
- Employment ads excluding certain persons or showing a preference
- Persistent differences in pay or health, medical and other fringe benefits
- Waivers of the right to sue in exchange for severance pay
- Retaliation against an employee for reporting discrimination
Once you’ve decided you have been illegally discriminated against, ask yourself how much you have been damaged. If you only suffered embarrassment and anger and there’s no money loss or psychological distress, the amount of your damages may not be worth the hassle of pursuing it.
Business Law
