6 Employment Discrimination Laws You Need To Understand

Updated June 2026

Employees may be protected by several federal, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania employment discrimination laws. These laws can apply to hiring, firing, promotions, pay, discipline, job assignments, harassment, accommodations, leave-related issues, retaliation, layoffs, severance agreements, and other workplace decisions.

Employment discrimination law can be confusing because more than one law may apply to the same workplace problem. For example, a New Jersey employee who is fired after requesting a pregnancy accommodation may have issues involving pregnancy discrimination, disability accommodation, retaliation, wrongful termination, leave rights, and severance review. A Pennsylvania employee who is demoted after reporting racial harassment may have claims involving hostile work environment, retaliation, discrimination, and termination.

Swartz Swidler represents employees in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and South Jersey in workplace discrimination, sexual harassment, racial discrimination, disability discrimination, age discrimination, pregnancy discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination, FMLA, whistleblower, wage and hour, and severance-related matters.

Questions about discrimination at work? Call Swartz Swidler at 856.685.7420 or submit an employment law claim online.

 

Employment Discrimination Laws at a Glance

Law or protection	What it generally protects	Common workplace issues
Title VII	Race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, and national origin.	Hiring, firing, pay, promotion, harassment, hostile work environment, and retaliation.
New Jersey Law Against Discrimination	Broad New Jersey protections against discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.	Discrimination, bias-based harassment, failure to accommodate, retaliation, and wrongful termination.
Pennsylvania Human Relations Act	Pennsylvania protections against employment discrimination and retaliation.	Discrimination, harassment, pay differences, discipline, disability accommodation, and retaliation.
Americans with Disabilities Act	Qualified employees and applicants with disabilities, histories of disability, or perceived disabilities.	Failure to accommodate, medical restrictions, leave, reassignment, termination, and retaliation.
Age Discrimination in Employment Act	Workers age 40 or older.	Layoffs, forced retirement, ageist comments, promotion denials, severance releases, and termination.
Pregnancy and Equal Pay Protections	Pregnancy, childbirth, related medical conditions, pregnancy accommodations, and sex-based pay differences.	Pregnancy accommodation, unequal pay, leave issues, demotion, discipline, termination, and retaliation.

1. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Title VII is one of the most important federal employment discrimination laws. It generally prohibits covered employers from discriminating against employees or applicants because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Title VII may apply to workplace decisions involving:

• hiring and interviewing;
• job assignments;
• training opportunities;
• pay and benefits;
• discipline;
• promotion;
• demotion;
• layoffs;
• termination;
• harassment or hostile work environment; and
• retaliation after an employee complains or participates in an investigation.

Title VII can also protect employees from harassment based on protected traits. Harassment may include racial slurs, sexual comments, religious insults, national-origin mockery, offensive images, threats, intimidation, or hostile workplace conduct when the conduct is serious enough under the law.

If your issue involves unequal treatment, review Swartz Swidler’s page for workplace discrimination lawyers. If the issue involves hostile conduct, review the guide on the difference between harassment and discrimination.

2. The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination

The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, often called the NJLAD, is one of the most important state laws for New Jersey employees. It prohibits many forms of employment discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on protected characteristics.

NJLAD may protect employees from discrimination based on actual or perceived traits such as:

• race or color;
• religion or creed;
• national origin, nationality, or ancestry;
• sex, pregnancy, breastfeeding, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression;
• age;
• disability or perceived disability;
• marital, civil union, or domestic partnership status;
• military service liability;
• genetic information; and
• other protected traits under New Jersey law.

New Jersey discrimination cases may involve termination, demotion, denial of promotion, unequal pay, failure to accommodate, hostile work environment, retaliation, severance, or being pushed out after reporting misconduct.

If your workplace issue happened in New Jersey, review Swartz Swidler’s main page for workplace discrimination lawyers. If the issue involves racial comments or race-based treatment, review the firm’s page for racial discrimination attorneys and the guide to racial slurs at work.

3. The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act

The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, often called the PHRA, provides important employment discrimination protections for Pennsylvania workers. It can apply to employers with fewer employees than some federal laws, which may matter for employees working for smaller companies.

The PHRA may protect employees from discrimination based on traits such as race, color, sex, age over 40, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, disability, relationship to a person with a disability, use of a guide or support animal, and other protected categories.

Pennsylvania employment discrimination can involve:

• firing or demotion based on protected traits;
• lower pay or unequal benefits;
• different discipline or workplace rules;
• discriminatory hiring or job advertising;
• racial or sexual harassment;
• failure to accommodate disability;
• age discrimination;
• pregnancy discrimination; and
• retaliation after an employee stands up against discrimination.

If you work in Pennsylvania or Philadelphia and believe you were treated differently because of a protected trait, the PHRA may be relevant along with federal law.

4. The Americans with Disabilities Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act, often called the ADA, protects qualified employees and applicants with disabilities. It can also protect employees who have a history of disability or who are treated unfavorably because the employer perceives them as having a disability.

Disability discrimination may involve:

• refusing to hire a qualified applicant because of disability;
• firing an employee after learning about a medical condition;
• denying reasonable accommodation;
• refusing to discuss work restrictions;
• requiring unnecessary medical information;
• disciplining an employee for disability-related limitations without considering accommodation;
• denying leave or return-to-work options;
• harassing an employee because of a disability; or
• retaliating after an employee requests accommodation.

Reasonable accommodations may include modified schedules, equipment changes, job restructuring, leave, reassignment to a vacant position, changes in work methods, or other adjustments depending on the job and medical need. An employer does not always have to provide the exact accommodation requested, and it does not have to remove essential job functions. But it generally should not ignore or dismiss an accommodation request without proper review.

If your case involves a medical condition, restrictions, disability leave, or failure to accommodate, review Swartz Swidler’s page for disability discrimination attorneys. If the issue also involves medical leave, review the firm’s page for FMLA and medical leave lawyers.

5. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act, often called the ADEA, generally protects workers age 40 or older from age-based employment discrimination. Age discrimination may be direct, such as comments about being “too old,” or more subtle, such as being pushed out during a restructuring while younger employees are kept.

Age discrimination may involve:

• being selected for layoff because of age;
• being replaced by a substantially younger employee;
• age-based comments about retirement, energy, salary, technology, or “fit”;
• denial of promotion or training opportunities;
• being pressured to retire;
• unequal discipline compared with younger employees;
• job postings suggesting a preference for younger workers; or
• severance agreements that ask older workers to release age discrimination claims.

Older-worker issues often overlap with severance agreements. If you are 40 or older and are asked to sign a release after a layoff or termination, review Swartz Swidler’s guide to the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act and the firm’s page for what employees should know about severance packages.

6. Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Equal Pay Protections

Pregnancy and pay discrimination can involve several overlapping laws. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act amended Title VII to prohibit discrimination because of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act may require covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations for known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions unless doing so would cause undue hardship.

Pregnancy discrimination may involve:

• refusing to hire someone because they are pregnant;
• demoting an employee after pregnancy disclosure;
• denying reasonable pregnancy-related accommodations;
• forcing an employee onto leave when they can still work;
• punishing an employee for pregnancy-related medical appointments;
• failing to provide lactation or breastfeeding-related protections when required;
• harassing an employee because of pregnancy or childbirth; or
• firing an employee after requesting pregnancy accommodation or leave.

The Equal Pay Act and other discrimination laws may also protect employees from sex-based pay discrimination. Pay discrimination can involve salary, overtime, bonuses, vacation or holiday pay, benefits, commissions, and other forms of compensation.

If your issue involves pregnancy, childbirth, medical restrictions, or leave, it may overlap with disability, FMLA, NJFLA, retaliation, and wrongful termination issues. If your issue involves unequal pay or unpaid compensation, review Swartz Swidler’s page for FLSA wage and hour attorneys.

 

Other Employment Laws That May Matter

The six laws and protections above are not the only laws that may apply to a workplace discrimination issue. Depending on the facts, other protections may matter.

Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act

GINA generally prohibits employers from discriminating against employees or applicants because of genetic information. Genetic information can include genetic tests, family medical history, and certain related information.

Immigration and citizenship-status discrimination protections

Some laws protect employees and applicants from certain forms of discrimination based on citizenship status, immigration status, or national origin. These issues can be fact-specific and may involve federal and state law.

FMLA and medical leave laws

Medical leave issues may overlap with discrimination when an employee is punished for requesting leave, denied reinstatement, denied accommodations, or fired after medical leave. Review Swartz Swidler’s page for FMLA and medical leave lawyers.

Retaliation protections

Most discrimination laws also protect employees from retaliation. An employer should not punish an employee for making a good-faith discrimination complaint, reporting harassment, requesting accommodation, participating in an investigation, filing an agency charge, or supporting another employee’s complaint.

If you were punished after reporting discrimination, review Swartz Swidler’s guide on how to prove workplace retaliation. If retaliation resulted in job loss, review the firm’s page for wrongful termination attorneys.

What Evidence Helps in an Employment Discrimination Case?

Employment discrimination cases often depend on documents, timing, comparison evidence, witness information, and whether the employer’s explanation matches the facts.

What Should Employees Do If They Suspect Discrimination?

1. Write a timeline

Record what happened, when it happened, who was involved, who witnessed it, and what changed afterward.

2. Identify the protected issue

Ask whether the problem involves race, sex, pregnancy, age, disability, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, pay, accommodation, leave, harassment, or retaliation.

3. Save documents before access disappears

Preserve records you are allowed to keep. Avoid taking confidential, privileged, or sensitive employer records without legal guidance.

4. Report clearly when appropriate

If you complain internally, be clear that you are reporting discrimination, harassment, retaliation, denied accommodation, or another protected issue. Vague complaints may be harder to connect to legal protections.

5. Watch for retaliation

Save evidence of any write-ups, schedule changes, threats, demotion, isolation, reduced hours, severance offer, or termination after you complain.

6. Speak with an employment lawyer

Discrimination cases can involve overlapping federal, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and local protections. Legal guidance can help you identify claims, deadlines, evidence, damages, and next steps.

Frequently Asked Questions About Employment Discrimination Laws

What is employment discrimination?

Employment discrimination occurs when an employer treats an employee or applicant unfavorably because of a protected characteristic, such as race, sex, pregnancy, age, disability, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or another protected trait.

What is the difference between discrimination and harassment?

Discrimination usually involves unfair treatment because of a protected trait. Harassment usually involves unwelcome conduct based on a protected trait. Harassment can be a form of discrimination when it creates a hostile work environment.

Can I be fired for reporting discrimination?

An employer should not fire or punish an employee for making a good-faith complaint about discrimination or harassment. If you were fired after reporting discrimination, your case may involve retaliation or wrongful termination.

Can discrimination happen during hiring?

Yes. Discrimination laws may apply to job postings, interviews, applications, hiring decisions, background checks, medical inquiries, accommodations, and offers of employment.

Can discrimination involve pay?

Yes. Pay discrimination may involve salary, overtime, bonuses, commissions, benefits, vacation pay, job classification, or other compensation.

Can harassment be illegal even if the harasser is not my supervisor?

Possibly. Harassment may involve supervisors, coworkers, customers, clients, vendors, owners, or others connected to the workplace. Employer responsibility can depend on who engaged in the conduct, what the employer knew, and how the employer responded.

What if my employer says the decision was based on performance?

Performance may be a legitimate reason for an employment decision. But the explanation deserves closer review if it appeared only after a complaint, changed over time, conflicts with prior reviews, or is applied differently to employees outside your protected class.

What should I save before speaking with a lawyer?

Save complaints, emails, texts, performance reviews, pay records, write-ups, witness names, schedules, accommodation requests, termination documents, severance agreements, and a timeline of events.

Talk to an Employment Discrimination Lawyer

If you believe you were treated differently because of race, sex, pregnancy, age, disability, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, pay, accommodation needs, or another protected issue, Swartz Swidler can help you understand what laws may apply and what evidence may matter.

This page is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Employment discrimination, harassment, retaliation, disability accommodation, age discrimination, pregnancy discrimination, pay discrimination, wrongful termination, severance, and wage claims depend on the facts, documents, deadlines, employer size, applicable law, and where the claim is filed.