Demographic shifts in the U.S. population—and around the world—continue to impact the workforce. Unfortunately, discrimination remains a concern in today’s workplace. Discrimination can occur in various ways. For example, access discrimination occurs when an organization places limits on job availability through restricting advertisement, rejecting applicants, or offering lower starting salaries to certain types of people. Treatment discrimination occurs after a person is hired and takes the form of limiting opportunities or harassing certain individuals because of who they are. Both types of discrimination are covered under equal employment opportunity laws.

Sexual harassment is another form of treatment discrimination that can take many forms, from unwanted off-color jokes to outright unwanted sexual propositions and touching, to offers of job rewards in exchange for sexual favors. If an employee’s subjection to or rejection of the sexual conduct is used as a basis for an employment decision, this is referred to as quid pro quo sexual harassment. However, even if the harassment is not linked directly to an employment decision (such as a cut in pay or loss of a promotion), it can still be illegal harassment if the behavior is found to have created a hostile work environment.

Treatment discrimination against minorities in the workplace is seen primarily in the lack of promotional opportunities and incidents of racial harassment. The number of formal charges of race discrimination remains high. Racial harassment on the job takes many forms. The more obvious form of racial harassment occurs when a coworker verbally or physically attacks a person of color because of racial differences. One important group of civil rights laws mandate equal employment opportunity (EEO). EEO is defined as the right to obtain jobs and earn rewards in them regardless of nonjob-related factors.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the amendments that have followed it make it unlawful for employers to make employment decisions on the basis of protected class status like race, color, sex, religion, and others. Differences based on culture, religion, and other variables must be considered in work settings.