Discrimination in the workplace is prohibited by employment legislation. Gender discrimination, racial discrimination, and age discrimination are all terms you’ve probably heard before. Have you ever heard of discrimination based on marital status?
What is discrimination based on marital status? It entails discriminating against job candidates and workers based on their marital status.
Is it illegal to treat employees differently based on their marital status? Is it legal for companies to inquire about a candidate’s marital status during a job interview? What is discrimination based on marital status?
What is discrimination based on marital status?
If a job candidate or employee is treated unfairly because of their marital status, than we can talk about discirmination.
Discrimination based on marital status includes:
Denying lone employees certain employment advantages
Refusing to recruit someone due to their marital status
Forcing someone to resign because they are getting married
In many states, discriminating against someone based on their marital status, familial status, parental status, or caregiver status is illegal?
Is marital status considered a protected characteristic?
Under federal law, marital status is not a protected class. However, married status is a protected class in certain states and towns.
New York state and city regulations, for example, prohibit discrimination in hiring and employment based on marital status.
The Civil Service Reform Act prohibits discrimination in federal agency hiring and employment based on marital status. Federal employment laws provide some safeguards that are similar to those provided by anti-discrimination legislation based on marital status.
What laws protect people from being discriminated against because of their marital status?
Both the New York State Human Rights Law and the New York City Human Rights Law ban discrimination based on marital status in New York. California, Connecticut, Florida, Delaware, Illinois, and Washington are among the states that prohibit discrimination based on marital status.
Other jurisdictions, such as Pennsylvania and Texas, prohibit discrimination based on a person’s family or parental status.
What is discrimination based on family status?
Discrimination based on family status, also known as familial status discrimination, occurs when an employee or job prospect is treated poorly because they have or do not have children.
Discrimination based on marital status includes:
Refusing to promote a person due to their family obligations
Employing a candidate who has children is not a good idea.
Paying a worker less because he or she does not have children
Employees having caregiving responsibilities outside of work are also targeted by caregiver discrimination. In many states, this is illegal.
What is discrimination based on family responsibility?
Discrimination based on family responsibilities, also known as caregiver discrimination, occurs when a job candidate or employee is treated unfairly because they care for children, elderly relatives, or others.
Family obligation discrimination is a sort of familial status discrimination that treats employees differently because of their responsibilities at home. Employees who care for a disabled family member, persons with aged parents, or those with young children may fall under this category.
Employees in many states are likewise protected from discrimination based on the possibility of becoming a caregiver. Employers, for example, cannot discriminate against young women because they may have children in the future.
Is it legal for an employer to inquire about a candidate’s marital status?
Is it legal to inquire about a person’s marital status during a job interview? Is it OK for hiring managers to inquire about a job candidate’s marital status?
While most states do not expressly prohibit asking about a candidate’s marital status, it is prohibited in many states to make employment decisions based on that information.
Even at the federal level, inquiring about marital or parental status might be considered a violation of Title VII. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, these questions may constitute sex discrimination if they limit the number of women in the company.
During a job interview, the EEOC considers questions concerning pregnancy, marital status, children, or childcare arrangements to be “proof of discrimination.”
Is it possible to be discriminated against if I marry someone of the same gender?
Employers are not allowed to discriminate against employees because they have a same-sex spouse or partner. In many places, refusing to hire someone because of their partner is illegal, and federal employment rights apply to LGBT employees as well.
It is illegal to treat a same-sex couple differently than an opposite-sex relationship in any way. Employers, for example, cannot deny same-sex partners health insurance or any other benefits offered to employees’ spouses.
Is it legal for an employer to refuse me employment because I married my same-sex partner?
LGBT job hopefuls and employees must be treated equally by employers. Employers cannot, for example, refuse to hire someone because they are married to someone of the same sex. That would be discrimination based on marital status as well as discrimination based on sexual orientation.
During interviews, hiring managers should avoid asking about marital status. Inquiring about marital status during a job interview, according to the EEOC, is “proof of intent to discriminate.”
Can my employer refuse to provide employment benefits to my same-sex spouse that they provide to opposite-sex spouses?
“Can my employer refuse to accept my marriage as valid?” same-sex couples may be concerned. Your company is not allowed to treat opposite-sex couples differently from same-sex couples under the law. If opposite-sex partners are eligible for family benefits, same-sex partners must be eligible as well.
Because they discriminate against employees based on their sexual orientation and marital status, these safeguards fall under the heading of LGBT discrimination and marital status discrimination.