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Labor and Employment: Discrimination in the Workplace
Under various laws in effect in Massachusetts, employers may not make decisions concerning employees on the basis of color, race, religious creed, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, ancestry or handicapped status. The principal laws prohibiting discrimination in the terms and conditions of employment are title VII of the Federal Civil Rights Act and the Massachusetts Fair Employment Practices Law, known as Chapter 151B. The two laws are similar, but have some differences, too.
Chapter 151B of Massachusetts law forbids employers from discriminating in hiring, promotion, discharge, pay, benefits and other employment decisions on the basis of color, race, religious creed, national origin, sex (including instances of sexual harassment), sexual orientation, age, ancestry or handicapped status. Additional provisions of this law provide protection for employees who are on maternity leave or miss work for a religious observance, This law applies to employers with 6 or more employees, including state and local governments, employment agencies and labor organizations. Employers who violate chapter 151B may be ordered to hire, promote or reinstate employees, to provide back pay and/or money damages for emotional distress, or to take other remedial measures, depending on the circumstances. An employer who has unlawfully discriminated may also be ordered to pay attorney's fees for an employee's attorney if a successful court action has been brought.
If you want to file a complaint under Massachusetts Chapter 151B, you must contact the Massachusetts commission against discrimination, which has offices in Boston and Springfield The Boston office of the MCAD is located at One Ashburton Place, Boston and can be reached by telephone at (617) 727-3990. The Springfield office is at 436 Dwight Street and can be reached by telephone at (413)739-2145. You must file a charge with the MCAD within six months of the alleged act of discrimination.
You do not need a lawyer to file a charge of discrimination with the MCAD. An investigator will help you prepare your complaint, will send it to your employer, and will require a response from the employer within a set time. After this response from your employer is received, the MCAD will investigate your complaint and decide whether there is "probable cause" that you have been the victim of employment discrimination. If the MCAD finds that there is "probable cause" it will attempt to mediate a satisfactory resolution to your dispute and, if that is not possible, will prosecute your case through an administrative trial. If the MCAD finds that there is not "probable cause" that you have been unlawfully discriminated against, it will dismiss your charge and allow you to pursue your claim in court if you believe such action is warranted.
Title VII is the federal counterpart to Mass. Chapter 151B. It provides similar protections, but has some differences. For example, Title VII does not apply to discrimination on the basis of age, sexual orientation or handicapped status. There are, however, separate federal laws governing discrimination on the basis of age and handicap. You may want to consult an attorney for more details about other differences between Title VII and Massachusetts Chapter 151B.
If you want to file a complaint under Title VII, you should contact the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission at the John F. Kennedy Building in Government Center, Boston. For information, you may call (617) 565-3200. You must file your complaint within 180 days of the alleged act of discrimination. You do not need an attorney to file a complaint with the EEOC; an investigator will help you prepare the complaint, will send it to your employer, and will require a response from the employer within a set time. Similar administrative procedures apply to the processing of charges before the EEOC as those applicable to charges filed with the MCAD.
If you want to file a charge of discrimination under both title VII and Massachusetts Chapter 151B, you need not go to both the EEOC and MCAD offices. You may simply go to the MCAD and tell the investigator that you want your charge filed with the EEOC as well. If you do file with both the MCAD and EEOC, your charge with EEOC must be filed within 300 days of the alleged act of discrimination, instead of the 180 day period that applies if you file with the EEOC alone as long as you have first filed with MCAD.
Under both Title VII and Massachusetts Chapter 151B, you must file your charge with the appropriate agency first, but you may later be able to withdraw your charge with the approval of the agency and file a lawsuit in court if you wish. You may want to contact the MCAD or EEOC, or an attorney, to find out more about the specific requirements for going to court.
Both Title VII and Massachusetts Chapter 151B make it illegal for your employer to retaliate against you for opposing unlawful discriminatory practices or filing a charge of discrimination.
There are other laws, in addition to Title VII and Massachusetts Chapter 151B, that outlaw employment discrimination. These include laws that forbid paying women at a lower rate than men, and laws against job discrimination and handicap discrimination. In addition, if you are employed by a government body (and in some instances by a private employer), you may have additional protection against discrimination in the workplace under the state or federal constitutions and civil rights laws. Under all of these other laws, you do not initially file your charge with the EEOC or MCAD, as you must under Title VII or Massachusetts Chapter 151B. Instead, you may file a lawsuit directly in court. You should consult an attorney to decide whether you have a basis for a lawsuit under any of these provisions. You should be sure to act promptly once you think you have been the victim of unlawful discrimination because various time limitations will apply.
The information provided here is given as a general outline on the legal topic selected and should not be construed as legal advice which can only be given by an attorney. If you need an attorney and do not know of one in your area, you can contact the Massachusetts Bar Association's Lawyer Referral Service at (617) 654-0400 in Boston or 1-800-392-6164 from outside the city. For TDD service for the deaf you can call (617) 338-0585.
Masslawhelp is a public service of the Massachusetts Bar Association.Posted on Apr 28, 2000 |
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