Discriminating against an employee because of their race violates both federal and state laws. To prove racial discrimination, an attorney will look at a number of variables and examine the facts in each case. If you believe you have been affected, here are the different types of evidence your discrimination attorney will explore and how they will use that information to build your case.
Circumstantial Evidence
In most cases, an employee may have a feeling they were let go or turned down for a promotion based on their race without any direct evidence to back up their theory. They may know their boss well, or they might notice that certain trends are present. This is known as circumstantial evidence, and your attorney will likely investigate to see if those trends do indeed exist.
For instance, suppose you are Asian and you work for a delivery service, keeping track of inventory in the warehouse. You apply for a delivery driver position but are turned down. You have all the required qualifications and feel as though your boss didn't hire you because they believe the stereotype that Asians are bad drivers. Your attorney will seek some kind of evidence that this is a hiring pattern, such as if other Asians who were qualified have been turned down for this position.
Direct Evidence
There are times that employers will leave an easy-to-spot trail of their behavior. For example, a district manager may send an email to their department heads saying they have observed that a number of Latinos have been put on the sales floor with explicit instructions to transfer them to another department so as not to drive customers away. In another situation, the boss may have been overheard making the comment that he will never put a black person in charge. In a third situation, you could have been told directly that you are being let go or transferred to another department because a client is uncomfortable working with a Native American. These are all examples of direct evidence, but they are very hard to come by.
Prima Facie
If you lack compelling direct evidence, your attorney will build what's known as a prima facie case. Prima facie translates to "on its face," which essentially means that by looking at the facts in the case, it's apparent that discrimination occurred. To build a prima facie case, you must answer "yes" to all of the following questions.
- Are you in a protected class? Everyone is in a protected class, no matter their race. Conversely, if you were a plaintiff in an age-discrimination case, you would be in a protected class if you were 40 or older.
- Are you qualified for the position? If a degree was required for the position, you must hold that degree. If a certification was required, you must show proof that you are certified. In more common scenarios, degrees and certifications may not be necessary, but you have to be able to perform the job. This could mean having prior experience, either on-the-job or personal.
- Were you subjected to an adverse action? In other words, were you denied a promotion, subjected to a demotion, transferred to a different department with a cut in pay, denied certain benefits, or turned down for a job after an interview?
- Was the person who received the benefit of a different race? Someone else of a different race might have gotten that promotion, taken your position after a demotion, or been offered the position you wanted. But in some situations, no one got those benefits and the company continued to search for someone qualified. Either of these situations constitutes a "yes."
If your attorney gathers evidence for your prima facie case, it will be up to the employer to prove they had a legitimate reason for their actions that was not based on race or other discriminatory factors. If they are unable to do that, it could mean a positive outcome for your case.
