Kentucky and Ohio Employers Cannot Discriminate Against Employees Because of their Gender!
Kentucky and Ohio Employers cannot discriminate against employees or applicants because of their gender or sex. Likewise, employers cannot discriminate against employees in the amount or rate of pay based solely on gender. Even if you are an at-will employee, you have rights. Kentucky, Ohio, and Federal law prohibits employment discrimination because of gender or sex.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII)
Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on gender or sex. Title VII also protects employees and applicants from harassment and retaliation because of an employee’s gender or sex.
“It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer. . .to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin”
42 U.S. Code § 2000e–2
Most private employers that employ at least 15 employees working at least 20 weeks a year and public employers must follow the requirements of Title VII. Unfortunately, Title VII’s protections do not apply to independent contractors.
Employers (the company) can be held accountable for discrimination, retaliation, and harassment under Title VII. However, courts will not typically hold managers, officers, supervisors personally liable under Title VII.
Title VII prevents employers from making adverse employment decisions because of an employee’s gender or sex. Examples of adverse employment decisions are:
- Terminating an employee
- Forcing the employee to quit (known as Constructive Discharge)
- Demoting an employee
- Failing to promote an employee
- Refusing to hire an employee
- Making derogatory statements about the employee’s sex or gender
If an employee suffered an adverse employment decision because of an employee’s gender or sex they can bring a claim under Title VII. To make a claim under Title VII, the process begins with an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission “EEOC” charge. During the EEOC process, there is an opportunity to resolve and settle the claims. If a resolution cannot be reached, the EEOC process ends with a right-to-sue letter. After the employee receives the right to sue letter, they have 90 days to file a lawsuit. It is very important to speak with an experienced employment lawyer before you file an EEOC charge of discrimination.
Sexual Harassment That Creates a Hostile Work Environment
Kentucky and Ohio employers cannot ridicule, tease, harass, intimidate, or insult because of your gender.
Hostile Work Environment claims MUST be rooted in some form of discrimination. Unfortunately, your boss can be a jerk. However, your boss cannot be a jerk because you are a woman.
To succeed in a sexual harassment claim the unwelcome harassment must be based on the employee’s gender or sex. The key issue is not whether the conduct was about sex, but rather, whether the conduct would not have occurred but for the employee’s sex. Also, the harassment must have been sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of the employees’ employment and create an abusive working environment.
An employee must show that he or she did not solicit or invite the conduct, regarded the conduct as undesirable or offensive, and also that the harasser knew or should have realized that the conduct was unwelcome.
The Equal Pay Act (“EPA“)
The Equal Pay Act 29 U.S.C. §206(d) prohibits sex-based wage discrimination when the employee:
- Performs substantially equal work as the other (male/female) employee;
- Has the same skills as the other (male/female) employee;
- Has the same job responsibilities as the other (male/female) employee; and Performs job duties under the same working condition as the other (male/female) employee.
Thus, a woman must be paid the same as men doing substantially the same work if they have the same skills and job responsibilities as the men who work under the same conditions.
The employer must show that the difference in pay was not because of sex or gender. Courts look to seniority systems, merit systems, and other factors that are not sex or gender-related to determine if the pay difference was in fact because of gender or sex.
Contact Us For A Free Consultation
At Thompson Legal LLC, we are committed to fighting against employment discrimination and ensuring that all individuals have equal opportunities in the workplace. Call or text us today at 502-366-2121 for a free consultation if you have any Kentucky or Ohio employment issues.