Federal law forbids employers from treating workers worse because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetic information. State laws often protect more categories. That is the core of discrimination law, and it sounds simpler than it is in practice.
Harassment is a form of discrimination: severe or pervasive conduct that turns a job into a hostile work environment, or a supervisor conditioning employment on tolerating it. Retaliation, punishing a worker for complaining, is a separate violation, and it is the claim agencies see most often.
What this section covers
- Protected classes under Title VII, the ADA, and the ADEA, in plain terms
- What makes a work environment legally “hostile”
- How filing with the EEOC or a state agency actually works
- Retaliation: the protection most workers do not know they have
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I write these pages as a law student, for general education. Nothing here is legal advice. If you are dealing with a real dispute, talk to a licensed attorney in your state.