What is illegal employment discrimination?
The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA) provides protections if you work for a company with four or more employees. It does not apply to federal agencies, some law enforcement agencies, and certain other entities. If you feel you have been discriminated against, in general, you have 180 days to file from when the alleged discrimination happened.
In employment, it is illegal to discriminate against someone based on:
- Race (including protective hairstyles)
- Color
- Sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, etc.)
- Age (over 40)
- Religious creed
- National origin
- Ancestry
- Having a GED rather than a high school diploma
- Disability
- Relationship to a person with a disability
- Use of a guide or service animals for a disability
Retaliation is also illegal, and the law protects you if you stand up against discrimination.
Employment discrimination can be:
- When decisions about hiring, layoffs, pay, or other work terms or conditions are based on factors other than qualifications or job performance.
- The actions of a boss, supervisor, or coworker towards a specific person or a whole group.
- A company's policies or practices or the way they are applied.
In hospital and health care employment settings, it is illegal to discriminate against someone based on:
- Participation in abortion or sterilization procedures.
- Refusal to participate in abortion or sterilization procedures.
Additional employment resources
When filing a discrimination complaint:
- Language translation and services for visual and hearing disabilities are available upon request if you need help with filing a complaint.
- You must be a victim or have the legal authority to act on behalf of a victim.
- Save any evidence you may have to support your complaint (e.g., text messages, pictures, etc.)
- You have the right to obtain private legal services at your own expense, but this is not required.
Frequently Asked Questions
A PHRC staff member is available to help you:
- Decide whether you would like to file a complaint.
- Draft the complaint and prepare it in legal form for your verified signature
- The complaint will be:
- Assigned a docket number.
- Served to the respondent (the person you have named in your complaint as responsible for the alleged discrimination) within 30 days of the date of docketing.
- The respondent is required to:
- Answer your complaint within 30 days of the date it was served unless an extension of 30 days is approved in writing by the PHRC.
- Provide you with a copy of its answer.
Retaliation is when someone is discriminated against because they:
- Opposed any practice forbidden by the PHRA or PFEOA.
- Made a charge, testified, or assisted in an investigation, proceeding or hearing.
- Firing or demoting someone based on factors other than job performance
- Lowering someone's pay or paying them less than a coworker with a comparable job if the pay difference is based on factors other than job performance
- Applying a policy that negatively affects one group of people more than others
- Offering different discipline, work terms, conditions, benefits, or pay to one group and not another
- Refusing to provide reasonable accommodation for a worker with a disability
- Discriminatory job advertisements
- Racial or sexual harassment
- Age or pregnancy discrimination
You can “dual file” a complaint if you believe an employer violated state and federal laws.
- If a complaint is filed with the PHRC alleging a violation of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) laws, the PHRC may also file the complaint with EEOC.
- The EEOC may also "dual file" a complaint with the PHRC.
- Only one agency investigates the case.
- The PHRC holds cases being investigated by the EEOC open until EEOC closes them.
- The EEOC will decide whether to close or open the case for further investigation.
- This process preserves your rights under state and federal law.
If your complaint is disability-related, you must also complete and submit the Disability Information Release for Employment form to the PHRC.
