Allegheny County Racial Discrimination Lawyer

Equal Employment Opportunity Attorney Serving Greater Pittsburgh

In an ideal world, every employment decision would be made solely on the merits and credentials of the individual in question. Factors such as race, color, national origin, and gender should not and would not play into an employer's decision. Unfortunately, we do not live in an ideal world, and every day, racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination affect the lives of employees and applicants throughout the country.

At Colianni & Leonard LLC, our experienced employment discrimination lawyer has successfully fought racist workplace practices and policies. We understand that there are numerous state and federal laws in place that prohibit racial employment discrimination, and we are equipped to help victims take action.

Identifying Race Discrimination in Western Pennsylvania

Race-related employment discrimination is prohibited at the federal level by Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, as well as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. At the state level, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act also makes such discrimination illegal. For many victims of discriminatory behavior, the first challenge is determining for certain that discrimination occurred. Under the state and federal laws, an employer is not permitted to make employment decisions on the basis of an employee's or applicant's race or other protected characteristics. Discriminatory employment decisions generally include:

• Refusing to hire applicants of a certain race;
• Hiring only applicants of a certain race;
• Assigning duties or responsibilities based on an employee's race;
• Unequal compensation packages for employees of different races doing the same job;
• Limiting promotion opportunities to those of a particular race; or
• Employee terminations motivated by race.

Wexford Attorney for Victims of Employment Discrimination

At Colianni & Leonard LLC, we understand that racial employment discrimination usually falls into one of two categories. Disparate treatment discrimination occurs when an employer treats individual applicants or employees differently based on their race. This could include only allowing workers of a certain race to have customer-facing positions. Disparate impact discrimination, by comparison, refers to workplace policies or practices that purport to be neutral but have a substantial negative impact on at least one racial group. To be considered discriminatory, such policies and practices must be non-job-related and not required to meet a business need. For example, if your company institutes a personal grooming code that prohibits hairstyles that are decidedly more common among workers of a particular race, such a policy could be disparate impact discrimination.

Racial discrimination can also take the form of harassment motivated by an employee's race. Racially-sensitive jokes, comments, slurs, epithets, and other behaviors that disrupt a person's work performance may be considered creating a hostile work environment. By failing to address such problems, employers can be held liable for the actions of other employees against the victim.

Protecting Workers' Rights

The skilled team at Colianni & Leonard LLC believes that every person has the right to work in an environment free from oppression and racially-motivated behavior. If you have experienced racial employment discrimination, we have the knowledge and experience to help you take action. We will assist you in filing a claim with the appropriate state and federal agencies so that they can begin a full investigation. From there, we will remain at your side, even if your case requires courtroom litigation. You deserve justice, and we are committed to getting you the compensation you deserve.

To learn more about our approach to race discrimination cases, contact our office. Call 412-680-7877 for a free, confidential consultation today. We represent discrimination victims in Wexford, Gibsonia, Valencia, Franklin Park, Ross Township, Bakerstown, McCandless, Allegheny County, and throughout greater Pittsburgh.