Pregnancy discrimination occurs when a job applicant or employee is treated unfavorably due to pregnancy or efforts to become pregnant. Pregnant employees and applicants are protected by law against adverse employment actions including demotion, refusal of a job offer or raise, employment termination, denial of a request for an accommodation, and other unfavorable employment actions. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act provides federal legal protection against such discrimination. Individuals are also covered by state and local law. In New York City, workers are covered by the New York City Human Rights Law which offers particularly robust protections against pregnancy discrimination.

Race discrimination occurs when a job applicant or employee is treated unfavorably because of his or her race, or perceived race, or because of physical characteristics associated with race (such as skin color, hair, or certain facial features). It is also unlawful to discriminate against someone due to their association with, or marriage to, a person of a particular race. Such discrimination is prohibited, regardless of the race of the perpetrator and victim. A claim can be made for race discrimination when the individuals involved are of different races, and also when they are of the same race.

Age discrimination occurs when a job applicant or employee, is treated unfavorably because of his or her age. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) protects workers of the age of 40 and older from age-based discrimination and state laws also provide protections. Age discrimination is often subtle but has been recognized as a growing problem in the workplace. Examples of age discrimination include: pressuring an older employee to retire, promoting someone young rather than a more qualified older employee, cutting the salaries of older employees, limiting opportunities for advancement available for older employees, and making comments about someone’s age or a desire for the staff to have more youthful energy.

Sex and gender discrimination occur when a job applicant or employee, is treated unfavorably because of that individual’s sex, including the individual’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or pregnancy. Both the victim and the harasser may be any sex, and the victim and harasser may be the same sex or a different sex. In addition to state and local legal protections, there are two federal laws that protect an individual, applicant or employee, from sex discrimination at work:

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits an employer from treating an individual differently, or less favorably, because of the individual’s sex. This law prohibits employment decisions based on stereotypes about abilities and traits associated with gender, and discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation.
• The Equal Pay Act requires employers to give female and male employees equal pay for equal work.

Disability discrimination occurs when a job applicant or employee, is treated unfavorably because of a covered, actual, or perceived disability. This means that someone who has a disability is protected, but so is someone who had a disability in the past and someone who is perceived to have it (even if they don’t actually). Workers are protected by laws including The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a federal law enacted in 1990 to protect individuals with disabilities from discrimination. According to the ADA, a person is considered to have a disability if he or she “has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, has a record of such an impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment.” Physical or mental impairment include, diseases and conditions such as the following: visual, speech, and hearing impairments, epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, heart disease, diabetes, intellectual disability, emotional illness, dyslexia and other specific learning disabilities, cancer, HIV, drug addiction, alcoholism, and a number of other conditions.