The Employer’s Pattern of Discrimination
In addition to the topics discussed in my previous article, How Do I Prove Employment Discrimination? (discriminatory statements of the employer and evidence the employer’s explanation is false), you also might be able to help prove discrimination by a pattern of discrimination. In other words, you can support your discrimination claim if you can show that your company tends to treat people of your race, gender, age, or other legally protected category worse than other employees.
For example, if the last three employees the company fired were in their 60’s, that could support your age discrimination claim. Or, if the company you worked for had a mass layoff or reduction in force, and a significantly greater percentage of African American or Hispanic employees were laid off than the percentage of African American or Hispanic employees at the company, then that could help prove you were the victim of race discrimination.
The Employer Favored People Outside My Protected Group
Another thing that can help demonstrate discrimination is if your boss favors employees who are outside of your protected group for no good reason. However, it is important to remember that favoritism is not illegal unless it is based on a legally protected category such as race, age, or gender.
For instance, if you are a woman, and your supervisor gives better job assignments or performance ratings to male employees, even though the female employees are just as good (or even better) at the job, that might help prove gender discrimination. Likewise, if your boss favors employees who are of the same race or religion as him, without any job-related reason, that might be evidence of discrimination because of race or religion.
My next article, Even More Ways to Prove Workplace Discrimination, discusses proving discrimination based on the timing of the employer’s decision, and through documents and witnesses. If you worked in New York and New Jersey, you should consider contacting an employment lawyer to discuss whether you have enough evidence to prove you were the victim of discrimination.