| Employers have a right to hire, promote, transfer, | | | | fall into one of the categories protected under either |
| evaluate, discipline, layoff and terminate. Employers do | | | | federal or state law. Employers are forbidden from |
| not have the right to discriminate, harass, retaliate, or | | | | making employment related decisions based |
| terminate wrongfully. So how can you operate your | | | | upon:racecolorsexnational origin or |
| business effectively while still complying with the law? | | | | ancestryreligionveteran statusage (over 40)racesexual |
| How do you ensure that you are maintaining an | | | | orientationpregnancyhandicap or disabilitySo as an |
| environment which treats people fairly?To begin, you | | | | employer what kind of actions might get me into |
| need to understand the law and what you are required | | | | trouble? To begin, the law does not prevent an |
| to do under the law. As an employer, you hear a lot | | | | employer from conducting their normal business. There |
| about discrimination and discrimination lawsuits. So | | | | is no law which bars an employer from hiring, |
| what is discrimination? In its simplest terms, it is treating | | | | promoting, disciplining, transferring or even terminating |
| a group of individuals differently. You cannot refuse to | | | | any employee he or she chooses. What the law does |
| hire, promote, train, provide pay and benefits, or | | | | do is to prevent employers from making these |
| discharge simply because an individual belongs to | | | | decisions in a discriminatory manner.While there are no |
| certain group or protected classes. In other words, | | | | hard and fast rules, it is important to be aware of |
| everyone must be treated the same.So what are | | | | potential areas of discrimination in your employment |
| these protected classes? Frankly, nearly all employees | | | | related function. |