An employee may notice that a manager gives better work to male coworkers, passes over qualified women for promotions or makes unfair comments about gender. These actions may point to workplace discrimination. However, proving that an employer treated someone unfairly because of sex takes more than showing that a decision was unfair.
In Indiana, employees can use work records, messages and examples of how managers treat other workers to support a claim.
What workplace records can help prove discrimination?
An employer’s words and actions may show whether sex played a role in a work decision. Useful evidence may include:
- Emails and text messages: Messages with sexist remarks or unfair views about men and women may show a manager’s bias.
- Pay records: Salary details may show whether male and female employees receive different pay for similar work.
- Promotion records: Hiring files and interview notes may show whether an employer passed over qualified workers because of sex.
- Performance reviews: Different ratings or punishments for workers who do similar jobs may point to unfair treatment.
- Coworker statements: Other employees may describe unfair comments or decisions they saw at work.
Several pieces of evidence may help show a pattern of unfair treatment, even when no single record proves discrimination.
How can comparisons with coworkers strengthen a claim?
Comparing the treatment of workers in similar jobs can help show unfair treatment. For example, an employer may deny a female employee a promotion despite her strong work record but promote a male coworker with similar skills and experience.
Other examples include giving better work assignments to male employees or punishing women more harshly for similar mistakes. These examples may help show that the employer used different rules based on sex.
However, an employer may have valid reasons for making different work decisions. Employees need evidence that links the unfair treatment to their sex.
What steps can employees take after discrimination?
Proving sex discrimination usually depends on building a clear record, since no single email, pay stub or review is likely to tell the whole story on its own. By gathering documents, noting how similarly situated coworkers are treated and speaking with an employment attorney early, employees can better understand whether their situation may support a legal claim.