The Surprising Truth About Racism and Job Discrimination

The United States has come a long way since the Civil Rights Movement. That does not mean that racism has been completely eradicated from American soil. In fact, according to data produced in 2015 by Pew Research Center, half of Americans believe that racism is still a significant problem in the United States. This number is up 17 percent from a similar survey conducted only five years prior. Discrimination can appear in the workplace, for example. If you’re a victim of job discrimination, The Law Office of Perry Pinon can help. 

Safeguards Against Discrimination

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was enacted to serve as a safeguard against racism and discrimination. Nonetheless, roughly six-in-ten Americans believe that the United States needs to continue to make adjustments and improvements in order to achieve racial equality. Racism is more obvious in some spheres of society than in others. One place it shows up frequently is in the context of the workplace.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was written to address the work environment, specifically, defending people from job discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, or religion. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) serves to enforce civil rights against workplace discrimination.  

Surprising Facts About Job Discrimination and Racism

While these legislations and organizations were meant to serve as safeguards against racial inequality, racism still seeps through the cracks and into the workplace from time to time. Here are a few surprising facts:  

1. In 2014, the EEOC received 31,073 charges reporting racial discrimination in the workplace, but 71.4% of them were dismissed due to a lack of reasonable cause.
2. The gap between caucasian employees and African-American employees in the United States has been as high as 30%, as an estimate.
3. In 2015 alone, workplace discrimination victims received $525 million in compensatory damages.
4. Between 1979-2012, median wages rose for white women by 31%, but only 20% for African American women.
5. Several studies have confirmed that racial discrimination is prevalent in the job application process. One study found that African-Americans were 16% less likely to get a call-back for an interview than their caucasian peers.

Making Things Right

The statistics clearly indicate that the United States has a long way to go in the effort to overcome race-related job discrimination, but there are many people working to make things right. Perry Piñón is one such individual. His law practice holds a passion for employment law. He represents clients in all types of job discrimination cases. As long as workplace discrimination persists, the Law Office of Perry Piñón is ready to fight against it.