Should I pursue legal action for possible employment discrimination?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Should I pursue legal action for possible employment discrimination?
I have been working at a company for well over a month getting regular hours,
however in the past few weeks my boss has hired 3 more females and since
then I went from an average of 20 hours a week to 0 hours. Yet, the new
girls are getting 30 hours a week. I am not the only one affected, there are 4
males working for this company and all of our hours have been cut short so that
the new girls can work. I can understand training and everything, but I have not
been on the schedule in 4 weeks, while the new girls are averaging 30 hours, is it
just me, or does this seem like discrimination. As I said previously, I am not the
only male worker affected.
Asked on August 29, 2016 under Employment Labor Law, West Virginia
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
If male employees have had their hours significantly cut in order to provide hours for female employees, that may well be sex-based employment discrimination. At the very least, you appear to have made out a "prima facie" (think: "on its face") case of discrimination, to which, if you bring it to your state's equal/civil rights agency or the federal EEOC, your employer will have to respond. It is possible that they can then show some non-discriminatory reason--for example, if the women have substantially better credentials, experience, and/or are getting better reviews from clients/customers, giving them the available hours may be defensible--but if they can't prove a non-discriminatory reason for the unequal treatment, then you very well may have a valid discrimination claim. Based on what you write, it would be worthwhile to contact the appropriate agency, since again, the conduct you describe appears on its face to be illegal discrimination.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.