Race and National Origin Discrimination

Federal and Missouri law forbid race discrimination in every aspect of the employment relationship, including hiring, firing, promotion, compensation, job training, or any other term or condition of employment.  An employer commits race discrimination when it makes job decisions on the basis of race or when it adopts seemingly neutral job policies that disproportionately affect members of a particular race.  Federal law covering race and national origin discrimination is encompassed within Title VII of federal law. 

Federal and Missouri law also prohibit employment decisions based on stereotypes and assumptions about abilities, traits or work performance of individuals of certain racial or ethnic groups. In addition, racial jokes, ethnic slurs and offensive or otherwise derogatory remarks that are made because of an individual’s race may constitute unlawful race discrimination.

An employer discriminates on the basis of national origin when it makes employment decisions based on a person's ancestry, birthplace, or culture, or on linguistic characteristics or surnames associated with a particular national origin group.

The Law Offices of Kevin J. Dolley's Victory Before the Missouri Supreme Court
A Seminal Change in Missouri Employment Law

In 2007, the Law Offices of Kevin J. Dolley argued before the Missouri Supreme Court and won adoption of the most current standard of discrimination law in Missouri in the seminal case, Daugherty v. City of Maryland Heights.  Under Missouri law, the determination of whether an employee was discriminated against based upon race or national origin is analyzed by determining whether there is evidence that a “contributing factor" in the employer taking an employment action against the employee was discrimination based upon the employee’s race or national origin. 

Contact our Labor and Employment Law Firm

To set up a consultation, please contact the Law Offices of Kevin J. Dolley at (314)645-4100 or by email at kevin@dolleylaw.com.  All legal consultations are held strictly confidential.  For experienced legal counsel in labor law, employment law and business law matters, please contact the Law Offices of Kevin J. Dolley.