Among the survey's findings:
- 42% of African Americans have experienced racial discrimination in the workplace.
- One out of ten women (10%) claim they have experienced gender discrimination in the workplace.
- One out of seven people age 45 and older (15%) claim they have experienced age discrimination in the workplace.
- One out of eight people age 18 to 24 (13%) say they have also experienced age discrimination.
- While racial discrimination was highest in the South, age, gender and religious discrimination were most likely to occur in the Midwest.
Of those who said they have experienced discrimination in the workplace, the most commonly cited types of discrimination were:
- Race 39%
- Age 34%
- Gender 30%
- Religion 7%
- Sexual orientation 7%
- Other 26%
According to FindLaw.com, anti-discrimination laws regulate all aspects of work including hiring, firing, promotions, job duties, wages, benefits and reviews. An employer's work policies must be applied to all employees in a nondiscriminatory manner.
"It is important to note that not all discrimination is prohibited by law," said Stephanie Rahlfs, an attorney and editor at FindLaw.com. "Only discrimination based upon a classification that is considered 'protected' - race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, or union activity under the federal anti-discrimination laws - is illegal. For example, paying an employee lower wages than other employees because of differing work duties, experience or even attitude is not discriminatory."
Rahlfs also noted that policies and actions that do not appear discriminatory on their face may nonetheless be prohibited under the law if those practices have the effect of discriminating against people in a protected class. For example, refusing to hire any applicant who has a child under the age of 5 is not discriminatory on its face, but may still be considered prohibited discrimination since that kind of policy would have the effect of discriminating against women.
