Race Discrimination Attorney

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits race discrimination by employers with 15+ employees. California's FEHA (Gov. Code § 12940) extends protections to employers with 5+ employees. New York's Human Rights Law (Exec. Law § 296) and the NYC Human Rights Law (Admin. Code § 8-107) provide some of the broadest protections nationwide, covering all employers.

Race discrimination includes any adverse employment action — hiring, firing, pay, promotions, assignments, training opportunities — based on race or color. It also includes harassment that creates a hostile work environment, and policies that are facially neutral but disproportionately impact a racial group without business justification (disparate impact).

You can prove discrimination through direct evidence (racist statements, emails) or circumstantial evidence using the McDonnell Douglas framework: show you are a member of a protected class, were qualified, suffered an adverse action, and were treated differently than similarly situated employees of another race. Statistical evidence of racial disparities in hiring or promotion can also be powerful.

Remedies include back pay, front pay, compensatory damages for emotional distress, punitive damages, and attorneys' fees. Under FEHA, there are no caps on damages. Federal Title VII caps compensatory and punitive damages based on employer size (up to $300,000). The NYC Human Rights Law allows uncapped compensatory and punitive damages.