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Allentown Employment Discrimination Attorney
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Employment Attorneys » Employment Discrimination Attorney » Allentown
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If you faced discrimination in the workplace, you may have been passed up for promotions, dismissed as a candidate for a position, or even fired altogether because of your employer’s biases. Often, victims of discrimination face harm day in and day out, and coming forward can be difficult.
Our attorneys can help bring discrimination lawsuits under various federal, state, and local laws to help you seek justice for the indignities and othering you faced, as well as the economic harm of facing workplace discrimination.
For help with your case, call (610) 890-6332 to speak with Leeson & Leeson’s employment discrimination lawyers.
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Highly recommended.
Abbe F.
He is the best attorney I [have] ever known.
Mr. Joseph was very knowledgeable and a pleasure to work with. Answered all my questions and was easy to contact and replied to all my questions in timely competent manner. Also his staff is very nice and polite. I would highly recommend Leeson & Leeson law office for any further needs . He is the best attorney I ever know.
Sunny Q.
...he is a good person as well as a good attorney.
“Most thought my case was too small to bother with but Attorney Leeson offered to help me because he is a good person as well as a good attorney… He kept me informed throughout the process and walked me through issues that were confusing… I’m very grateful that he agreed to help me and you can feel confident choosing him.”
Laura Accetta, PA
Theodore Roosevelt once said "speak softly but carry a big stick." The Leeson lawyers embody this principle to perfection.
“The Leeson & Leeson firm has a long-storied history of intelligent and sophisticated lawyers and aggressive and tough litigators. Theodore Roosevelt once said “speak softly but carry a big stick.” The Leeson lawyers embody this principle to perfection… I highly recommend Leeson & Leeson for anyone who wants an attorney who is of a high order of integrity and legal intelligence.”
Francis Macri, PA
Types of Workplace Discrimination in Allentown
In general, workers in Pennsylvania are “at-will” employees. This means that you can be fired for any reason or no reason, but there are still legal protections in place barring employers from firing you or making other adverse employment decisions based on illegal reasons.
Most of these illegal reasons boil down to discrimination, barring employers from acting against you in more than just hiring and firing based on any of the following traits:
Race
Making employment decisions based on race is patently illegal under multiple layers of federal and state and even local laws and ordinances. Race, like many of the classes discussed in this context, can be real or perceived. For example, if your employer fires you for being a race you actually are not, that mistake does not make the action any less discriminatory.
Color
Similar to racial discrimination, discrimination based on skin color is patently illegal. There may be situations where, for example, an employer makes negative decisions against dark-skinned Black employees but not light-skinned Black employees, making it hard to claim that they are committing “racial” discrimination. Making color discrimination illegal closes this loophole and allows you to seek justice for this equally serious discrimination, which our employment discrimination attorneys can help you seek justice for.
Religion/Creed
Employers cannot prefer candidates of certain religions over others or fire employees whose honest religious objections require some kind of reasonable accommodation. A classic example of religious discrimination is firing a Jewish employee for refusing to work on Saturday but accommodating/rescheduling Christian employees who refuse to work on Sunday.
In many cases, discriminating against atheist employees or employees with spiritual beliefs not tied to any specific religious organization can still be illegal discrimination.
Sex
Discrimination on the basis of sex is typically found to mean favoring an employee of one sex over another or treating employees differently because of their sex. In some cases, treating different sexes differently is permissible if there is a good reason to do so – such as separating male and female bathrooms or dress codes. However, paying women less or promoting only male employees is outright sex discrimination with no excuse.
Pregnancy Status
Legislation protecting pregnant employees from discrimination is separate from sex discrimination legislation to avoid misinterpretation or bad-faith readings of sex discrimination legislation. Under these rules, employees cannot take work or opportunities away from pregnant employees or take the fact that they might require maternity leave into account when making adverse employment decisions.
National Origin
Similar to racial discrimination, employers cannot discriminate against foreign-born workers or show a preference for American-born workers. It can be hard to show racial discrimination if there are other employees of the same race as you who are not being discriminated against, and often, the core discrimination will be based on the fact that you are an immigrant or that you are assumed to be one.
Age
Discrimination based on age is illegal, and it is often one of the most overlooked areas of discrimination. Some employers believe that it is time to start “passing the torch” when there is nothing wrong with your performance. In some cases, age will play a legitimate role in your ability to keep performing your job duties in the same way that a disability might, but most cases of age discrimination involve no change in the employee’s actual performance and only use this kind of excuse as a pretext.
Disability
If you have a disability that legitimately makes the job tasks impossible, it might be permissible for an employer to let you go or to move you to different duties without repercussions. However, it is not up to your employer to define your abilities or tell you what to do when a disability can be accommodated. For example, barring a wheelchair user from participating in a training or management-track event because they assumed, without evidence, that it would be “too much for you to handle” would be a classic example of disability discrimination. Disciplining an employee for using an accommodation – especially an accommodation they already approved – is also a common example of disability discrimination.
Marital Status
Marital status discrimination often involves failing to promote single employees or employees without families under the impression that workers supporting a spouse “need it more” or something else to that effect.
Gender
Gender discrimination is seen as separate from sex discrimination in some ways. Federally, Bostock v. Clayton County (2020) included a ruling that Title VII’s prohibitions on sex discrimination inherently include gender discrimination, and state regulations also find gender discrimination to inherently be a form of sex discrimination. Even so, Allentown has its own ordinances explicitly barring gender discrimination in employment.
Along with this, it has long been held in court and included in state and local regulations and ordinances that discrimination based on gender/sex stereotyping is also illegal.
Sexual Orientation
Similarly to how gender discrimination is considered sex discrimination, sexual orientation discrimination has similarly been inherently considered sex discrimination, but it has also been explicitly barred in its own right.
Remedies for Workplace Discrimination in Allentown, PA
When you file a lawsuit for workplace discrimination, you can often seek monetary damages for the economic harm you suffered because of the discrimination. This means that, for example, if you were passed up for a raise or promotion, you can recoup the income and benefits you would have received in that raise/promotion. If you were fired, you may be able to recoup the lost wages, seek damages for job search costs, or even seek reinstatement. In many cases, there are also independent damages you can get, such as punitive damages against the employer.
Pay discrimination might have other limited damages defined by statute.
Call Our Workplace Employment Discrimination Lawyers in Allentown, PA
Reach out to Leeson & Leeson for a free review of your potential discrimination case with our employment discrimination lawyers by calling (610) 890-6332.
