It's inconceivable to imagine that any employer would pass up a highly skilled employee, who can contribute better quality work than his or her competing job applicants, just because of superficial characteristics like race and skin color. The thing is, it happens every day in Florida and it usually goes completely unnoticed.
After all, how is a job applicant going to know that he didn't get the job because he was black, Hispanic or Asian? How is a worker going to know that her boss passed her up for a promotion because her skin is a darker shade of color than her coworker?
Discriminating employers never reveal the real reasons why they pass someone up or treat someone differently, so it's up to the employee who was harmed by the discrimination -- and his or her employment law counsel -- to dig deep for evidence of the discriminatory actions.
What are my rights?
Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, protected characteristics that employers cannot discriminate against include race, skin color, skin tone, hair quality and texture, and facial features. The term "race" relates to various characteristics associated with the different races and "color" refers to shade and tone of skin.
In some cases, employment policies that prohibit growing a beard could be construed as racial discrimination because certain African-Americans and other men may be prone to developing severe shaving bumps called pseudofolliculitis barbae whenever they shave and the only way to resolve the problem is to grow a beard, in many cases.
How can I redress the situation?
Plaintiffs who have been subjected to and harmed by racial discrimination or color discrimination at work will need to prove their claims by collecting direct or circumstantial evidence of the abuses. The burden of proof rests with the plaintiff, however, and this burden may be hard to meet, in some cases. Some information that could help prove a plaintiff's claims includes any evidence that shows how certain individuals and/or races receive higher pay, better opportunities, protection from layoffs and so forth.
What are the circumstances of your employment discrimination case? You might want to start building your employment discrimination case now by applying sound legal principles if you hope to seek restitution and justice in court.