While you can ask Siri what the weather will be or perhaps ask Alexa “what is the meaning of life?”, you can’t really get accurate legal advice from either. Artificial intelligence is on the rise but it still has yet to replace lawyers. In many ways, artificial intelligence cannot replicate the work specifically of an Employment Attorney. This is because an Employment Attorney must critically analyze the facts of a case, take into account personal traits and attributes of a client, consider salient features of a case, negotiate with opposing counsel, interview and cross-examine witnesses, gather evidence, and connect with their client as legal proceedings can be emotionally trying.
Bringing a claim against your employer is a decision that deserves the careful consideration of a skilled professional, as it involves legal proceedings, your time, possibly spending money, and even risking losing the opportunity to have your day in court if you don’t have the right information or knowledge of the law. With all of these possibilities in mind, would you really prefer a computer to be the one who decides the angle of your case? Being a lawyer requires a great deal of interacting with people and understanding current human constructs and how they interact with the law which is why employees should save the question “was I discriminated against at work” for an Employment Attorney.
Who can be a victim of discrimination?
There are certain classes and characteristics of people protected by law. These protected classes and characteristics include but are not limited to age, race, gender, sex, sexual orientation, maternity status, marital status, military or veteran status, medical condition, and disability.
Was I discriminated against at work?
Whether or not you were discriminated against at work is not always going to be answered with a straight “yes” or “no” answer. If an employee felt like they were being discriminated against at work and met with an Employment Attorney, the Employment Attorney would ask lots of questions about the employee’s situation. Obtaining details of the individual’s situation and asking follow-up questions is a skill that the attorney may use to decide if and how the employee was discriminated against.
There are a number of protected classes, categories characteristics that may be the basis for employment discrimination. Gender discrimination is an example of how a particular person can be a target of unlawful treatment. As mentioned previously, gender is considered a protected class according to California employment laws. This means that it is prohibited by law for an employee to be discriminated against in the workplace because of their gender. With all the recent issues of sexual harassment in the media, employees may currently be exposed to gender discrimination. For example, a female manager may go out of her way to only hire other female employees because she does not want men in the office. In addition, the female manager may begin weeding out remaining male employees by finding reasons to demote them, cut their hours, reduce their pay, and even fire them. Here this may be an example of gender discrimination because only the male employees were being treated adversely which demonstrates a pattern of discriminatory behavior towards the male employees.
Another example of discrimination may be based on an employee’s age. Age is considered a protected class for employees who are 40 years of age and older. Being over 40 years of age and being singled out because of the employees age may be the way age discrimination is spotted.
An employee may be considered a victim of age discrimination if negative comments are made towards him or her about their age such as, “You are getting too old for this job” or “The Company needs a more youthful perspective on this project.” Also, an employee being singled out based on age may endure mistreatment such as being passed up for a promotion or being replaced by a younger employee who is significantly under the age of 40.
Disability is another protected class under both California and Federal laws. An employee who has a particular disability that is recognized by California law may be victimized by discriminatory treatment. Like gender and age discrimination, disability discrimination can be exercised through treating the person with a disability differently compared to other employees based on the fact that he or she has a disability. This could include teasing, name calling, cutting hours, reducing pay, and/or depriving the employee of employment benefits just because they have a disability. Disability discrimination can also be identified when an employer refuses to provide reasonable accommodations for the employee’s disability. By law, an employer is required to make reasonable adjustments for an employee with a disability and refusing to do so is unlawful.
Knowing what legal questions to ask, including follow-up questions, is a skill that technology has yet to replicate in the capabilities of artificial intelligence. Each case is unique and deserves the attention and time of a skilled employment lawyer in order to ensure that no detail slips through the cracks.
What are some examples of discrimination?
Discrimination can be exercised in many ways. Sometimes discrimination can come in the form of a verbal comment or even in an email. In some cases, those who choose to discriminate can get crafty with their harassment/discrimination by using visual aids as a tool to mistreat an employee such as cartoons, posters, videos, photos, or even acting out certain movements with their own body. It is also possible for discrimination to be demonstrated through teasing, making jokes, singling out, and bullying
Keep in mind that in all the ways in which discrimination can be exercised, it must be based on or motivated by the victim belonging to a protected class. For instance, an employee could be picked on or teased because they wear their hair in a unique way, but that would not usually be grounds for a discrimination claim unless it was tied to protected class or activity.
The legal profession and lawyers today are still safe from having their jobs taken over by the artificial intelligence personalities that Apple and or Amazon have created. At least for now. If you are an employee and have been discriminated against or you are not sure if you have been discriminated against in the workplace, instead of asking your smart-phone, ask an Employment Attorney.
