At the federal and state level, there are a variety of laws meant to protect vulnerable classes of people from discrimination in employment. As good as these laws can do for those vulnerable to employment discrimination, they don’t do much good if they aren’t being enforced. And, according to a recent state audit, too often they are not enforced.
The audit found that a great deal of work needs to be done to ensure that employment discrimination laws are being followed in the state of Minnesota. Among the problems noted in the audit were: failure to advertise state jobs among communities of color; unnecessary job and education criteria that screens out certain candidates; and lack of oversight in areas where few women and minorities are hired.
In addition to the various federal laws protecting equal employment opportunity rights, there is the Minnesota Human Rights Act at the state level. Those who believe they may have been impacted by employment discrimination can file a discrimination claim with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, or with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Because both agencies have an agreement to share each other’s work, it is only necessary to file employment discrimination claims with one or the other.
An experienced attorney is not necessary to pursue a discrimination complaint at either the federal and state level, but it can certainly help. In the event that the case is not resolved by the administrative agency, working with an experienced attorney to build the strongest possible case becomes imperative.
Source: workplacefairness.org, “Filing a Discrimination Claim—Minnesota,” Accessed Jan. 27