Suing for Racial Discrimination in Oregon

Jurisdiction: 

Area of Law: 

Racial discrimination is a continuing problem in today's workforce, and despite the fact that things have improved tremendously over the past few decades in terms of fair labor laws prohibiting racial discrimination, enforcing those laws can sometimes become tricky when you feel you have been the victim of a discrimination incident.  Understanding your rights and knowing the appropriate steps to take are the key components to getting your discrimination claim handled the correct way so that you are able to receive fair compensation for mistreatment at work.

 

Oregon law is pretty clear about what constitutes racial discrimination.  Basically, an employer or staff member cannot make any decision by taking into consideration an employee's race.  To do so is a violation of the law.  There are, however, certain cases where discrimination is not unlawful, such as in cases when the job requires a necessary occupational qualification that the applicant simply does not have (the ability to answer the phone or communicate in a certain language, for example).

 

Employers are never allowed to encourage or incite employees to behave in a manner consistent with racial discrimination as it is forbidden by Oregon law.  They are also not allowed to base the decision not to hire an individual on any other peripheral factors which may imply racial discrimination.  For example, a new law in Oregon prohibits employers from running credit history checks on potential employees as it causes an unfair advantage amongst certain races.  This law is based on statistics indicating that African Americans and Latinos tend to have lower credit scores which leads to inadvertent discrimination against them in the hiring process.

 

When dealing with racial discrimination labor laws there is the additional issue of encountering potential discrimination within the court system itself.  The Oregon Supreme Court Task Force on Racial and Ethnic Issues was formed to combat this very problem. The task forces helps ensure that people who file a racial discrimination suit are not let down at the next stage of the process by a court that also engages in discriminatory practices.

 

If you feel you have been the victim of racial discrimination in your work place, or as a result of a job interview, it is important to get accurate advice based on your specific circumstances.  Your best course of action is to contact a legal firm and explain the situation to them.  Many law offices specialize in discrimination cases, and have the expertise to advise you in these matters.  Once you know where you stand with regard to your incident, you can then proceed as necessary toward filing a formal complaint and giving your employer a chance to respond to the charges.  Some cases of racial discrimination are settled out of court before they can be presented to a judge; how you want to handle your case is between you and your attorney.