Knight, Manzi, Nussbaum
& LaPlaca, P.A.
14440 Old Mill Rd.
Upper Marlboro, MD 20772
Phone: 301-952-0100
Toll Free: 800-480-7702
Fax: 301-952-0221
--and--
Laurel Office
305 Compton Ave.
Laurel, MD 20707
Phone: 301-776-0827
What is a simple definition of employment discrimination?
Being treated differently in the workplace because of one's "membership" in a protected class, e.g., race, sex, religion, national origin, color, age or disability.
Is any differential treatment in the workplace based on race, etc., enough to constitute unlawful, actionable discrimination?
No. The treatment must amount to an "adverse action", i.e. action having objectively materially significant negative effect on the terms or conditions of employment.
What if an employee is certain that her supervisor is treating her differently
than others, in significantly adverse ways, but the most she can speculate about the differential treatment is that the supervisor plays favorites and the employee is not one of those favorites?
Then, that may be "discriminatory" but it does not constitute unlawful employment discrimination.
What must an employee show in order to make out a case of harassment/hostile work environment discrimination? Is there some minimum threshold amount of harassment in order for it to violate the law?
Yes. The harassment must be severe or pervasive.
What about a workplace situation in which the manager and the employee have a terrible personality conflict or the manager has an abusive personality and the workplace is filled with vulgar and obnoxious comments but there is no reason to believe the constant harassment is based on a protected classification of the employee, such as race, sex, religion, etc.?
The harassment would not violate the law. Also, the courts have said that the discrimination laws are not meant to be a general "code of civility" for the workplace.
Is an occasional, off-handed offensive comment in the course of casual conversation sufficient?
No, it must rise above that level.
Can one incident be enough?
Yes, but the one incident must be quite severe.
Are there other protected categories besides those under Federal law?
Yes. For example, in Maryland, the State statute provides protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation, genetic characteristics and marital status. The local jurisdictions, like Prince George's County and Montgomery County, have county codes which add other categories, such as personal appearance, political opinion, familial status (all 3 in P. G.) and presence of children, source of income (Montgomery).
Where does one go to file a charge of discrimination?
The Federal EEOC (if 15 or more employees), in Baltimore or Washington, whichever is more convenient to the employee; the Maryland Commission on Human Relations (15+ employees), based in Baltimore with satellite offices, including one in Southern Maryland and one on the Eastern Shore, or the county human relations commission (1 or more employees) (P. G. in Largo; Montgomery in Rockville) or the D. C. Office of Human Rights. Under a Worksharing Agreement, the employee who works for an employer with 15 or more employees can go to any one of these agencies and file, and the agencies will decide among them which will carry the investigation forward.
Is there a time limit for filing?
Yes. Under Federal law, one must file within 180 days (approx. 6 months). But, when there are state and local agencies, the deadline is extended to 300 days (approx. 10 months).
