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Unfortunately, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, there are tens of thousands of reported cases of discrimination in the workplace every year in the United States. Most people only ever hear of these problems after an employee has been harassed or otherwise discriminated against and decides to go to court with employment rights attorneys by their side.
If you feel your rights as an employee have been violated and you need to seek advice before finding an employment lawyer, you need to realize that you are not alone. The EEOC was formed to fight for injustices in the work place and to defend your rights as an employee.
The History of the EEOC
As written by the United States Senate Committee of the Judiciary, the EEOC was formed following the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This act protects Americans from discrimination in the workplace based on their sex, race, color, religion, and national origin. It’s often referred to as a benchmark case, marking a paradigm shift in the antiquated mentalities that were ubiquitous throughout American history
Of course, the government couldn’t expect to pass the act and expect businesses to follow these new standards on their own steam; the realities of the 1960’s and, indeed, many of the realities of today just make it impossible to hope for such a thing across the board. In 1965, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was formed in order to protect and enforce your rights as an employee against discrimination and harassment in the workplace.
What Does the EEOC Actually Do?
Many people assume that the EEOC is simply an informational organization. However, as the Wage Project, an organization devoted to ensuring equal pay for women, writes, the EEOC is actually the central enforcement body protecting Americans from discriminating employers. If you find that your rights as an employee have been violated, you should not only contact employment attorneys, you should also consider filing a grievance with the EEOC. They will help remedy your situation, and they’ll help to ensure this never happens to any of your co-workers.
Examples of Employee Laws under EEOC Jurisdiction
In particular, the EEOC deals with violations of so-called Title VII violations. Title VII, part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, lays out the protected categories — the aforementioned sex, race, color, religion, and national origin — giving the EEOC their marching orders. Examples of these protections include but are not limited to:
- Sexual Harassment and Discrimination
- Racial Discrimination
One of the most stereotypical cases of workplace harassment and discrimination are Quid Pro Quo cases. Quid Pro Quo, meaning “something for something,” in sexual harassment cases usually translates to employers asking their employees for sexual favors in return for promotions, hiring, and job security. If this has happened to you, you need to alert labor lawyers and the EEOC.
If your employer is treating you differently because of your race, the EEOC can help. One of the most famous cases of racial discrimination, as written in Patrick Cihon’s Employment and Labor Law, is the 1981 case of Mamdouh El-Hakem. His employer addressed him as “Manny,” hoping to keep his racial identity a secret from clients. Naturally, this didn’t go over very well with the courts.
If your rights as an employee have been violated, you need to contact the EEOC. Doing so, you can protect yourself, your coworkers, and anyone else who might come to work for your employer in the future. Continue reading here: gatewaylawyers.com
