Austin Race Discrimination Attorneys
While racial discrimination should not be tolerated under any circumstances, racial discrimination in the workplace can prevent individuals who are discriminated against from performing even their most basic job-related duties. When Austin employers actively engage in racial discrimination or allow racial discrimination to persist, they may be held liable for their contribution to a hostile work environment.
The Austin race discrimination attorneys at The Melton Law Firm will work with you to hold discriminatory employers financially responsible for the hostile work environment you’ve had to suffer through. To learn more about how we can help, contact us today at (512) 330-0017.
Do I Need a Race Discrimination Lawyer?
Race discrimination cases can be difficult to prove. Too often, they turn into he-said she-said arguments that lead nowhere. It is important to document everything that has occurred in your workplace that could be defined as racial discrimination. By hiring an attorney, you will be able to better understand these and other steps you should take to prepare for a case and file it at the right time. Without a lawyer, you are far more likely to leave out important evidence, fill out your documents wrong, or miss deadlines.
Instead of risking the loss of your claim by trying to navigate the legal process yourself, it is wise to obtain an experienced and knowledgeable attorney to assist you. An attorney with experience in the area of racial discrimination cases understands how important the specific facts of your case are and what will be persuasive to the fact finder in your matter. Don’t try to take on this stressful process on your own. With a lawyer’s help, you are more likely to reach a successful outcome.
Why Choose The Melton Law Firm to Handle My Case?
A claim involving race discrimination is a very personal matter. When hiring a lawyer to assist you through the process of reporting and litigating your case, you will want to find someone you feel comfortable discussing these issues with. At The Melton Law Firm, we are dedicated to compassionately fighting for your rights in this arena.
The Melton Law Firm founder John F. Melton has spent the last twenty years working in the Austin community, helping workers fight for their rights. He is Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law in the state of Texas, as well as Civil Trial Law. He has received numerous accolades, including being named a Super Lawyer every year since 2011, which is an honor bestowed on only the top five percent of lawyers in Texas. Mr. Melton is accustomed to achieving top-notch results for his clients, including numerous settlements over one million dollars.
Basis for Race Discrimination
Austin employers are legally obligated to address any form of racial discrimination that occurs in the workplace; however, when Austin employers allow discrimination to persist or, alternatively, actively participate in that racial discrimination over a period of time, they may be held liable for their actions. Racial discrimination includes any:
- Racial slurs,
- Race-related “jokes,”
- Racially-motivated derogatory comments, or
- Any conduct, verbal or physical, that is based upon an individual’s race
When these actions repeatedly take place, it can create what is called a hostile work environment. It is important to know that a person harassing another person can be a supervisor, a co-worker, or even someone who is not an employee at the place of work, such as a client, vendor, or customer.
In addition to prohibiting a hostile work environment, the law does not permit discrimination regarding any aspect of employment. Employment decisions that may not be based on race include hiring and firing, amount of pay, assignments, promotions and training, layoffs, fringe benefits, or any other term or condition of your employment.
If you complain to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission about racial discrimination, your employer is not permitted to retaliate against you based on this fact. This means that if you file an equal employment opportunity complaint, your employer cannot take negative action against you because you did so.
If you believe that you have been a victim of race discrimination at your job, a knowledgeable attorney can help you put together the best case to recover. An employer is not permitted to treat any person unfavorably based upon race or to allow a hostile environment to exist. Through legal processes, your employer can be held accountable for their improper actions.
If you have suffered through a hostile work environment based on race, you may be entitled to compensation for economic losses and loss of your enjoyment of life. Punitive damages may also be available. If your attorney can prove that you were treated unfairly due to your race, you may be entitled to recover lost wages, lost promotions, and other benefits. If you were fired based on race, you may be able to return to your former job or recover severance instead.
Our Austin legal team will aggressively defend your rights and seek full reparation for your pain and suffering.
Frequently Asked Questions About Race Discrimination
We hope that this is the first and last time you will ever have to deal with a race discrimination lawsuit. However, if that is the case, you probably have many questions about the process. We have included the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions below, but you can also contact us at (512) 330-0017 for answers to any specific questions you may have.
How do I recognize if I have been discriminated against based on my race?
You must be a member of a protected class, which for the purposes of racial discrimination means that the discrimination was based on your race itself. There must be a causal connection between your race and the discriminatory action in order for your attorney to prove your case. It is unusual to have a lot of direct evidence that an action at work was taken because of your race. For example, it is not common to have your boss explicitly say that you are not getting a promotion because of your race. However, circumstantial evidence can demonstrate that you have been discriminated against based on your race. You and your attorney will want to understand if there were valid reasons for your employer acting the way they did, whether other employees with similar situations who are not of your race were treated differently, and other similar contextual clues. Your attorney will help you build the strongest case possible regardless of whether you have direct evidence, circumstantial evidence, or both.
When does teasing create a hostile work environment?
Teasing is not prohibited by law. However, teasing can turn a work environment into a hostile work environment when it is very frequent or severe enough. It must be objectively offensive or intimidating to a reasonable person. This means that if a reasonable person would consider the teasing offensive or intimidating toward a protected class, you may have the opportunity to recover. A boss who is equally rude to all employees would not create a hostile work environment, because it must be aimed at a member or members of a protected class who are treated differently than everyone else.
How much is my case worth?
Your case has unique facts that must be evaluated by an attorney before any estimates of the value of your case can be made. It is important to remember that many factors go into your potential compensation, including whether you lost a job or a promotion or the particular nature of the hostile work environment. When you meet with a lawyer from The Melton Law Firm, we will be able to give you a better estimation of the value of your case.
Consult an Austin Race Discrimination Attorney
At The Melton Law Firm, our Austin employment attorneys will do everything they possibly can to hold employers who actively contribute to or allow the creation of a hostile work environment. To discuss the particulars of your work environment with one of our Austin discrimination attorneys, please call our Austin offices at (512) 330-0017 today.
