What Are the 5 Civil Rights?

Recent actions by the United States government have created protests and discussions about the violation of people's civil rights. Civil rights shield citizens from unfair treatment. Civil rights and civil liberties are often confused. 

Your civil liberties include your right to free speech, freedom of religion, and your right to assemble. Your civil rights guarantee that no one is allowed to discriminate against you when it comes to things like employment, education, or housing.  There are five basic forms of discrimination from which a person in the United States is protected. 

Discrimination Against Disabled People

The Americans with Disabilities Act protects people from being treated differently because they are differently-abled. If you are disabled, your employer or landlord is expected to make reasonable accommodations so that you can live or work at their property. An employer must give you the same opportunities when it comes to recruitment, hiring, promotions, training, pay, and social activities. 

Discrimination Against Race

It is illegal to discriminate against anyone because of their ancestral or cultural characteristics. In some cases, racial discrimination may be overt, but it also may be very subtle. People often experience racial discrimination that is based on stereotypes. 

If you feel you are being treated differently because of your race, it is important to document it. If you notice that there are other employees of your ethnicity at your job and there are no managers of that ethnicity, it may be a cause for concern. If you believe you were pulled over because of racial profiling, you should speak to an attorney. 

Discrimination against the Color of Your Skin

Being discriminated against for the color of your skin is not really the same as racial discrimination. Although skin complexion can be a characteristic of a certain ethnicity, color discrimination involves treating someone differently strictly because of their complexion. 

People may assume somebody is of a certain ethnicity if their skin is a certain tone. They may make inappropriate comments about that person or make jokes based on stereotypes about the ethnicity that they believe that person is. 

Discrimination Against Gender

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on sex. It has been modified many times over the years. Recently, the Supreme Court ruled that discrimination "based on sex" applies to gay, lesbian, and transgender employees. 

Discrimination Against National Origin

The Civil Rights Act also prohibits discrimination against a person because of where they are from. It would be a violation of civil rights, for example, to make people wear a certain kind of clothing or marking if they were from a particular country.

If someone was qualified for a job and the HR person at a company did not hire them because they did not like the person's country of origin, it may be grounds for a lawsuit. 

Proving Discrimination

Proving discrimination is not easy and you will need an experienced civil rights attorney by your side if you feel you have been a victim of any kind of discrimination. A good lawyer will have years of experience in dealing with what evidence to collect in a civil rights case. They will also be well-versed in dealing with corporations. If you are suing a company, remember that they will probably have a staff of lawyers working on your case.

Getting discriminated against is never a good experience. However, if you report such behavior it will eventually end up being for the greater good. 

© 2023 Lawyer Herald All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of lawyerherald.com