Sex Discrimination

When you go to a job interview or your job, you likely hope to be considered on the basis of your skills, work experience, and accomplishments. Your employer should not make employment decisions based on whether you or male or female, or another aspect of your gender. Unfortunately, some employers continue to harbor stereotypes about the differences between men and women as employees. There are companies that demonstrate bias against transgender employees or employees who are gay, lesbian or bisexual. If you were treated negatively in the workplace because of your sex, it’s important to seek legal counsel. You should call experienced Washington D.C. sex discrimination lawyer Matthew T. Famiglietti.

Both federal and D.C. law prohibit sex discrimination in the workplace. Sex discrimination occurs when an employer treats you adversely when making an employment decision because of your sex, whether you are male or female. Employment decisions could include failure to hire, firing, disparate pay, promotions, layoffs, lack of training or failure to investigate or respond to workplace harassment. You are protected against sex discrimination even when you are a job applicant.

Federal anti-discrimination laws that prohibit sex discrimination include Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Pay Act. Both of these are laws are enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Title VII forbids an employer or prospective employer from treating you adversely because of your sex. Sex is defined broadly under the law to include your gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy status. Sexual harassment is also prohibited under Title VII. You can only pursue a charge for workplace sex discrimination under Title VII if you work for an employer that has at least 15 employees.

Under the Equal Pay Act, male and female employees must be given equal pay for equal work. This means your employer should pay you and a person of the opposite gender, whether male or female, for doing substantially the same job in the same workplace.

The D.C. Human Rights Act is enforced by Office of Human Rights. Under this law discrimination is illegal based on 21 protected characteristics for those who live, visit or work in the District of Columbia. Sex is one of these protected characteristics.

Sex discrimination can occur in many different work contexts. For example, you might have a claim for sex discrimination if you applied for a job for which you were qualified and for which you were the strongest candidate, but because your employer assumed that a male candidate would be less likely to take time out for his family, you were denied the job. Similarly, it may be sex discrimination if you are given different medical benefits than a male coworker on the assumption that you are covered by your spouse’s policy.

Your employer should not try to punish you because you complain of sex discrimination. This may be retaliation, which can take many different forms. For example, it may be retaliation if you filed a sex discrimination charge with the EEOC in good faith, but your employer fired you for doing so. Similarly, your employer should not retaliate against you because you cooperated with an EEOC investigation of sex discrimination in a case involving your coworker. In some cases, plaintiffs are not able to recover damages for sex discrimination because of how the law defines discrimination, but they are able to get damages for retaliation they experienced.

Damages you may be able to recover if our attorneys can establish sex discrimination in a lawsuit include job reinstatement, back pay, front pay, and compensatory damages. In instances of egregious misconduct, you may have grounds to recover punitive damages.

Often employers have significantly more power than do workers. When faced with a complaint of sex discrimination they may hire a team of lawyers and deploy substantial resources to evade liability, and in some cases, bad publicity. It is important as a victim of sex discrimination that you also have a tenacious and knowledgeable lawyer by your side. Experienced Washington D.C. sex discrimination attorney Matthew T. Famiglietti may be able to represent you in a lawsuit for damages. Mr. Famiglietti represents employees in D.C., Virginia, and Maryland. Fill out our online form or call the Law Office of Matthew T. Famiglietti at (202) 669-5880.

Please note, there is a consultation fee for any calls related to this practice area.