Workplace & DV

[ADD THIS IF WE ARE TALKING ABOUT BEING FIRED BEC OF DV: Some states have protections in their laws for domestic violence victims. Many states say that a victim of abuse cannot be discriminated against because of the abuse.] In general, employment law and what an employer can and cannot legally do is a complicated issue. In many states, the only “discrimination” that is illegal is if an employer discriminates based on an employee’s race, ethnicity, etc. Other states include an employee’s sexual orientation, gender, status as a domestic violence victim, or other qualities as protected categories. There are also federal laws, in addition to specific state laws, regarding discrimination, which apply to all states. We unfortunately do not have information about employment discrimination on our website, which deals with domestic violence.

[CAN INCLUDE THIS IF THE PERSON SAYS SHE WAS FIRED OR FEARS BEING FIRED] In terms of firing a person, I cannot speak to your state’s laws about this but in general, it may not be illegal to fire someone for any non-discriminatory reason (or for no reason at all) assuming that the worker is employed “at will” – this may be different if the employee has a specific written contract with additional protections or if s/he is protected by a union, etc. Most states, however, do have laws against firing someone for a discriminatory reason (based on the worker’s race, ethnicity, gender, etc.). Some states also have protections that domestic violence victims cannot be discriminated against and fired for being a victim.

[NOTE: THIS IS SPECIFIC TO WHEN A MINORITY IMMIGRANT WAS FIRED AND REPLACED BY AN AMERICAN - ONLY INCLUDE IF RELEVANT: If an immigrant is fired and replaced by an American, that fact alone may not necessarily prove discrimination due to race or ethnicity. However, if perhaps all of the immigrants and none of the Americans were suddenly fired and replaced by Americans or if the employer made comments to the worker about his/her race or ethnicity and then fired him/her or made other indications that you the worker was fired based on his/her race, these situations may be closer to violating a law that prevents discrimination due to one’s race or ethnicity - I can’t say for sure. ]

In all cases, if someone thinks that s/he was the victim of discrimination by his/her employer, s/he may want to contact the Division of Civil Rights [HYPERLINK] in his/her state [PROVIDE LINK TO DIVISION OF CIVIL RIGHTS IN THAT STATE].

You may also call a legal aid office [HYPERLINK] in your state to see if they take employment discrimination cases, or you may use a Lawyer Referral Service [HYPERLINK] to look for a private lawyer who specializes in employment discrimination to see if you have a possible civil case for damages.