During a recession, many employers often need to cut costs. They frequently do this through a mass layoff, often referred to as a reduction-in-force (“RIF”). This can make life hard for those employees who lose their jobs, both emotionally and financially.
On top of this, employers are known for using RIF as an excuse to terminate employees for other reasons which are illegal, such as due to their race, gender, ethnicity and disability. This is known as recessionary discrimination.
What Does It Mean When Employees Become a Victim of Recessionary Discrimination When They Are Laid Off?
Recessionary discrimination exists when employers use a recession to terminate an employee for an illegal reason. The recession gives them an excuse to terminate employees. Because no reason has to be given they choose those employees who have a characteristic that may not suit their business model or may require them to make special accommodation because the employee is a member of a protected class.
Employees have legal protection if they are a member of a protected class based on gender, sexual orientation, color, disability, religious affiliation and ethnicity and they cannot be terminated based on a protected characteristic. If the employee can prove he or she has been terminated based on a protected category it may be possible to file a claim for compensation.
How To Tell If You’ve Been Fired as a Result of Disability& Recessionary Discrimination
If you believe you were terminated based on recessionary discrimination you may already know that you were not fully accepted by your employee based on the following behavior of your employer towards you:
- experiencing disability discrimination comments;
- lack of reasonable accommodations due to your disability;
- unequal wages;
- lack of opportunity for promotion due to a disability;
- getting laid off due to the recession.
What Should You Do If You Were Fired as a Result of Disability& Recessionary Discrimination?
The key to proving you were terminated due to recessionary discrimination is the evidence you can collect, such as being told by co-workers about emails or text messages stating that an employee is being terminated due to a protected characteristic, such as being gay, black or disabled and not due to a recession.
Other evidence includes the timing of events (i.e. a complaint that might have been made by an employee to the employer followed by termination not long after, treating employees of one class less favorably than others, etc.
Once sufficient evidence of discrimination has been gathered you should speak to an attorney who may help you file a claim with the EEOC.
Get Help With Your Discrimination Claim
Providing enough evidence is the best way to win a claim of discrimination for wrongful termination. If you work with an attorney, you may have a higher chance of winning a recessionary discrimination claim. Fill out a Free Case Evaluation to get connected with an independent, participating attorney who subscribes to the website.
Additional Resources
- How Long Does an Employer Have to Accommodate a Disability?
- Discriminated Against At Work Because Of My Disability
- Wrongfully Terminated Because of My Disability
- October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month
