Workplace Discrimination Lawyers in Phoenix, AZ
How do you defeat an employer who has used unlawful discrimination to deny you a safe working environment or the fruits of your labor? Hire one of our skilled Phoenix workplace discrimination attorneys at Shields Petitti & Zoldan, PLC. Our legal team has more than 50 years of combined experience and is not afraid to fight.
Federal and state laws protect the Arizona workforce from unlawful discrimination. Anyone working in Arizona who suspects that their employer has treated them unfairly for illegal reasons can call or contact online one of our Phoenix employment discrimination attorneys to hold their employer to account for its misdeeds.
What Is Employment Discrimination?
Employment discrimination occurs when an employer treats an employee or job applicant unfavorably because of a legally protected personal characteristic. These protected characteristics include race, religion, sex, age, disability, national origin, and sexual orientation. Under federal and Arizona laws, workplace discrimination is strictly prohibited, and victims have legal recourse.
Illegal discrimination can manifest in many ways, including:
- Hiring and firing decisions. An employer cannot refuse to hire or terminate someone based solely on a protected trait.
- Pay disparities. Employers must compensate workers equally for similar work regardless of gender, race, or other protected status.
- Unequal access to opportunities. Employers must distribute promotions, raises, or leadership roles based on merit, not bias toward certain identity characteristics.
- Hostile work environments. Harassment, ridicule, or offensive conduct based on protected traits can constitute unlawful discrimination.
- Policy disparities. Company rules that negatively affect individuals from specific groups may be unlawful, even if the policies appear neutral on their face.
Discrimination is not always overt. Sometimes, it is systemic, hidden behind coded language or embedded within organizational culture. Victims may not even realize right away that they are being treated unfairly. However, patterns of disparate treatment, unequal evaluations, or exclusion from opportunities often point to discriminatory practices.
How Do Phoenix Discrimination Lawyers Help?
Facing workplace discrimination can feel isolating, confusing, and overwhelming. But skilled Phoenix discrimination lawyers bring clarity and direction when everything feels uncertain. At Shields Petitti & Zoldan, our attorneys offer personalized legal strategies grounded in decades of experience and a relentless commitment to justice.
Here is how one of our Phoenix discrimination attorneys can assist:
- Evaluating your case. We review your situation thoroughly, identifying potential legal claims and evaluating the strength of your evidence.
- Gathering and preserving evidence. We help you document discriminatory incidents, collect performance reviews, identify witnesses, and secure emails, memos, or other communications that support your case.
- Filing complaints. Whether with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, or the Phoenix Equal Opportunity Department, we help handle the filing process accurately and promptly.
- Negotiating resolutions. We work to use our reputation and experience to negotiate for the compensation and resolution you deserve without unnecessary delay.
- Litigating, when necessary. If your employer refuses to settle, we are fully prepared to take your case to court. With our extensive trial experience, we never hesitate to stand before a judge or jury.
- Protecting your rights. Discrimination cases often involve retaliation. We fight to ensure you are protected every step of the way and pursue additional claims if your employer takes action against you for speaking up.
We work closely with each client to develop a legal plan tailored to your unique circumstances and needs. When you work with us, you are not just hiring a lawyer—you are gaining a trusted advocate who is ready to fight.
Employee Rights Against Workplace Discrimination
Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Arizona law forbid employers from behaving adversely against their employees because of their protected characteristics.
An employer engages in illegal activity when it fires, refuses to hire, harasses, disciplines, or gives unequal employment terms to an employee or job candidate based on one of the following protected characteristics:
- Religion,
- Color,
- Disability,
- Sex,
- Age,
- Race,
- Gender
- National origin, or
- Sexual orientation.
Mistreatment based on one of these personal qualities can be direct or indirect, but any employee subject to its effects likely has the right to recover financial damages and other legal remedies. Below, we outline how different types of discrimination can occur in a work setting.
Religious Discrimination
Your right to religious freedom is strong, and your employer must respect that. In general, a business, organization, or government agency cannot refuse to employ or deny work benefits to an individual because of their religion.
And in some cases, your employer must accommodate your religious beliefs in the workplace. If your employer refuses to make reasonable modifications to its dress code to allow for religiously required garments and grooming, or if it constantly rejects your requests for time off to observe religious holidays, it may be in violation of the law.
Race, Color, and National Origin
Your race, ancestry, and physical characteristics associated with your racial background have nothing to do with your ability to perform a job. Unfortunately, some employers still lean on their racial biases to make decisions about their workforce. This type of biased decision-making is illegal.
There are many ways an employer can break the law against workplace racial discrimination, such as:
- Unequal treatment based on an employee’s actual race,
- Mistreatment based on an employee’s perceived race,
- Disparate treatment between employees who are of the same race but different skin tones, and
- Unfair treatment based on an employee’s association with individuals of a particular race.
If your employer treats you in negative ways that are unwarranted, you should pay close attention not only to what your employer says to and about you but also how your employer treats employees who look different from you.
You can present what you observe to one of our skilled Phoenix workplace discrimination lawyers to determine whether you have a strong case against your employer.
Age
Depending on how old you are, your age cannot be a factor when your boss decides whether to continue your employment or give you benefits at work. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) prohibits age discrimination in the workplace against workers who are 40 or older.
If you are at least 40 and your employer harasses you because of your age or favors younger employees over you, you likely have the right to take legal action.
Employers that have seemingly neutral policies that disproportionately affect the members of their workforce who are 40 or older might be in violation of the law.
And your employer can even be liable under the ADEA when the discrimination comes from a supervisor who is over 40 against an employee who is over 40.
Sex, Gender, and Sexual Orientation
Sex-based discrimination can come out in multiple ways, including discrimination based on the following:
- Gender,
- Sexual orientation,
- Gender expression,
- Sex,
- Sex-related medical conditions, and
- Pregnancy.
Unequal pay; exclusion from professional opportunities; and offensive comments, conduct, or jokes referring to sex-related characteristics of you or others can all be legal violations.
Some sex-based discrimination rises to the level of unlawful sexual harassment, and it does not matter whether the harasser is motivated by sexual desire or not.
Disability
Employers must take reasonable steps to ensure that qualified individuals with disabilities have access to equal enjoyment of employment opportunities.
If you are qualified for a job, your employer or potential employer cannot deny you employment or benefits because of your disability.
And if your disability prevents you from performing the non-essential duties of your job, your employer must provide you with reasonable accommodations to help you.
Employers must also reasonably accommodate job applicants with disabilities. A reasonable accommodation can include flexible scheduling, assistive devices, and job restructuring.
Filing a Workplace Discrimination Claim in Arizona
If you are a victim of workplace discrimination, there are several ways you can take legal action against your employer. You can do the following:
- File a charge with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC),
- File a complaint with the Arizona Attorney General,
- File a complaint with the city of Phoenix, or
- File a lawsuit in civil court.
In a successful legal action, you can receive compensation for your financial losses, emotional distress, punitive damages, and legal costs. You could also receive non-monetary relief, like job reinstatement or access to reasonable accommodations.
Employment discrimination cases are challenging, so you should speak to one of our respected workplace discrimination attorneys about your case to help ensure you have the support you need to seek justice for what you have suffered.
Get Help from Experienced Workplace Discrimination Lawyers in Phoenix
Workplace discrimination is a significant problem in this nation. And our workplace discrimination lawyers at Shields Petitti & Zoldan are problem solvers.
We know how to get results, and we have recovered more than $20 million on behalf of mistreated employees in Arizona.
There is no challenge too big or too small for us to take on, so we hope you contact us about any dispute you are facing in your workplace. You can reach out to us online or call us to schedule a consultation.
FAQs
Is There a Time Limit for Filing an Employment Discrimination Complaint?
Yes. You have 180 days to file a state or federal complaint. However, you can have up to 300 days to file an EEOC complaint if your dispute is covered under state law as well.
How Do I Prove Workplace Discrimination?
You can prove discrimination through direct evidence or circumstantial evidence. Direct evidence can include comments your employer makes about one of your protected characteristics before subjecting you to unwarranted discipline or mistreatment.
Indirect evidence can include examples of how similarly situated employees in your workplace receive better treatment than employees of a different race, sex, religion, etc. Employer correspondence, witness testimony, and employment records can be helpful evidence in these cases.
Are All Employers Subject to Anti-Discrimination Laws?
No. In general, only employers with 15 or more employees are subject to most discrimination laws. And only employers with 20 or more employees can be liable under the ADEA.
What Can Workplace Discrimination Attorneys at Shields Petitti & Zoldan, PLC Do for Me?
Workplace discrimination attorneys do more than just file paperwork. They help empower clients to reclaim their voices and advocate for fairness in the workplace. At Shields Petitti & Zoldan we can help:
- Clarify your rights. Many people are unsure whether what they have experienced qualifies as illegal discrimination. We help you understand the legal standards that apply to your case.
- Validate your experience. Just being heard and taken seriously can make a world of difference. We listen and respond with empathy and action.
- Take legal action. We work to file complaints, pursue settlements, and go to trial if necessary—all with your best interests in mind.
- Prevent future misconduct. Legal victories can change company policies and hold employers accountable.
- Secure compensation. Depending on your case, we may fight to pursue damages for lost wages, emotional distress, punitive damages, and attorney fees.
At Shields Petitti & Zoldan, we are more than attorneys—we are fierce advocates with a history of results. With more than $25 million recovered and decades of trial experience, we have helped clients throughout Phoenix seek justice and secure meaningful change.
Contact the Phoenix Discrimination Attorneys at Shields Petitti & Zoldan, PLC Today
At Shields Petitti & Zoldan, PLC, we are more than work discrimination attorneys—we are fierce advocates with a history of results. With more than $25 million recovered and decades of trial experience, we have helped clients throughout Phoenix seek justice and secure meaningful change.
Our employment lawyers are also able to assist you with the following cases:
- Arbitration and Mediation
- Breach of Fiduciary Duty
- Business Contract
- Business Litigation
- Constructive Discharge
- Employee Advocacy
- Employer Counseling
- Employment Litigation
- Medical & Disability Leave
- Sexual Harassment
- Small Business Consulting
- Wage and Hour Violation
- Whistleblowing
- Wrongful Termination
How do you defeat an employer who has used unlawful discrimination to deny you a safe working environment or the fruits of your labor? Contact one of our skilled Phoenix workplace discrimination attorneys at Shields Petitti & Zoldan, PLC.