What Are the Different Types of Discrimination That Are Being Seen More Frequently?
Discrimination is the practice of treating someone differently, often based on their background, status, or skills. Some types of discrimination are illegal, while others are not. For instance, when an employer treats one employee less favourably than another, such as by paying female employees less than their male counterparts, or denying minority ethnic employees training opportunities, this is a form of discrimination.
Discrimination based on marital status
One common reason why we are seeing more marital status discrimination in the workplace is the desire to squeeze the maximum value out of employees. Employers would rather hire young single individuals who can work more hours and are not burdened by a work-life balance crisis. Additionally, single employees often do not have a family to complain to about their unpredictable schedules. Moreover, some employers prefer to hire single individuals because they believe they will eventually get pregnant.
The laws surrounding marital status discrimination are less well defined than those surrounding sex and gender-based discrimination. In addition, informal agreements about marital status and family life do not have to be spelled out in a contract. Instead, they can be an industry-wide rule or informal agreement between employers. This could lead to a situation where employers subconsciously prefer single young men over employees with families.
In addition, it is illegal to ask someone’s marital status during a job interview. This practice is considered discriminatory. Furthermore, a prospective employer cannot ask about a person’s marital status in a congratulatory or regular conversation. Even if the employer is being friendly, he or she must avoid asking about their personal life.
While marital status is not a protected class under federal law, it is protected in several states. For example, New York state and city prohibit marital status discrimination in employment. Further, the Civil Service Reform Act prohibits marriage discrimination in federal government jobs. However, employers should be aware of other forms of discrimination that could arise as a result of marital status.
Discrimination based on age
Age discrimination is when someone is treated differently because of their age. There are some situations when age discrimination is illegal, such as in the workplace and in education. In other situations, such as when someone is discriminated against in a public place, age discrimination may be justified. This type of discrimination can be an isolated incident or the result of a policy or rule. In either case, age discrimination is illegal, but it is not always intentional.
The EEOC is struggling to keep up with the growing number of age discrimination complaints. As of 2017, the EEOC had received 205,355 age discrimination complaints. However, only one percent of those complaints resulted in a discrimination finding. Further, the vast majority of complaints may not even be actionable.
While federal law prohibits discrimination based on age, state laws have varying degrees of protection for older workers. California and New Jersey have more stringent age discrimination laws than other states. However, despite these laws, employers are still likely to face age discrimination and other forms of harassment. Discrimination based on age is a growing problem across all industries, with a recent AARP survey revealing that two out of three older workers have experienced age discrimination at work. Moreover, there are significant differences in how people perceive age discrimination. For example, women are more likely to believe that age discrimination is a problem than men.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the number of cases of age discrimination is increasing. The number of cases of age discrimination has increased over the last few decades. While most discrimination cases occur in the workplace, most are reported to have been centered on workers over forty years of age. This is often due to an employer’s belief that older workers cannot perform as well as younger workers.
