If a company won’t hire or promote you because of your race, that’s discrimination. When a boss treats you differently because of the color of your skin, that’s also discrimination. If co-workers harass or insult you because of your national origin, that, too, is discrimination.
At Burnette Shutt & McDaniel, our employment lawyers have long histories of battling race discrimination. We stand ready to fight for you if you’ve been treated unfairly on the job. We want to help you get the chance you’ve been denied.
These days, race discrimination often is subtler than it was back when people knew there was no point in even applying at certain business. Overt racism does still exist, but many discrimination cases involve deeper digging into hiring patterns, promotions, work assignments and raises.
At Burnette Shutt & McDaniel, we’ve done just that type of digging in many race discrimination cases. In fact, it’s sometimes clear to us that discrimination is at play even when potential clients aren’t sure. That’s because many people have internalized workplace discrimination as just the way things are, even though it doesn’t feel quite right.
Steps in a race discrimination case
No matter how subtle it might be, race discrimination still is illegal under state and federal law. One of the first steps in any discrimination case is deciding how to proceed. Because South Carolina law doesn’t allow punitive damages, here are some advantages to literally making a federal case out of it.
Most of the time it’s possible to cover both bases by filing with either the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission (SCHAC or SHAC) and asking that the complaint be cross-filed.
Our employment lawyers have the experience and knowledge to take a complaint before either agency. We’ll track it every step of the way and make sure we inform you fully before making any important decision. We can follow through with you for as long as it takes, even if it’s a lengthy court battle. We’ll also help you evaluate any proposed settlements.