If you run a company, you need to do your best to make sure you’re giving everyone a fair opportunity who’s qualified. That involves carefully interviewing candidates when you have a position open. If they have the skill set that you’re looking for, then you should think about making them an offer.
However, if you don’t let someone have a shot at a position within your company based on their gender or sexual identity, they can sue you. Proving sex discrimination involves distinct legal challenges. If an individual sues your company, though, and they allege that you denied them a position because of their sex, then they might get the jury to see things their way.
If that happens, then you might have to pay them a lot of money in damages. Your company may also get a negative reputation with the public.
Let’s examine this topic in greater detail right now.
What Does Sex Discrimination Mean?
Sex or sexual discrimination means that you’re treating someone in the workplace differently because of their gender identity or sex. It also includes discrimination for reasons of sexual preference or orientation.
As you might imagine, a definition that broad can come into play in many different situations and scenarios that could arise within a business environment. For instance, maybe you interview someone for an open position with your company. They seem qualified, but you don’t give them the job or don’t shortlist them for it.
If that happens, then they might feel or suspect that you denied them the position due to their sexuality or gender identity. They can sue you. To get any money, though, they will probably need to prove what they suspect.
You might also have a situation where you’ve hired someone, but then you won’t promote them. They may feel that’s due to their gender, sexual orientation, etc. Once again, they might threaten legal action or sue you.
You might also give certain employees preferential treatment, or what looks like preferential treatment, while treating or regarding other workers differently. A lawsuit could come your way then as well.
How Might Someone Prove Sex Discrimination?
You can sue a person or entity at any time, and for virtually any reason. However, that doesn’t mean you’ll win.
That’s certainly the case with sex discrimination. Someone can suspect that you discriminated against them, but if they don’t have any evidence, they likely won’t get any money out of the deal.
Let’s say you hire a woman, and she works for your company for a few years. She seems like a good fit and does her job competently.
Then, you hire a man who works in the same department. Within a few months, you promote him over the woman. She’s furious. She wanted that promotion, and she feels that you passed her over due to her gender.
She might hire a lawyer who knows about this area of the law and sue you. You will probably have to appear in court with a defense attorney and try to refute the charges.
Proving sex discrimination comes with some challenges, though. What someone suspects probably won’t win them a lawsuit unless they can provide concrete evidence that backs up their assertion.
If the woman suing you in this scenario can produce some emails that strongly indicate you wanted to promote the male candidate over the female one because of her gender, that’s concrete proof. If no such email or documentation exists, then maybe her lawyer will put someone on the witness stand.
They might say under oath that you told them you would not promote this woman due to her gender, and you preferred her male coworker instead. If several pieces of evidence like this exist, then you may lose your case via a jury’s verdict. You might also decide to settle the case, meaning you’ll offer the plaintiff some money to drop the lawsuit.
How to Defend Yourself if Someone Brings These Charges Against You
You can always try to defend yourself if you feel the lawsuit doesn’t have any merit. Maybe you feel indignant or even angry about the charges if you’re sure you didn’t do what the plaintiff alleges.
Let’s look at that same situation again, with the woman suing your company for sex discrimination. Maybe no physical evidence exists that indicates that her claim has any validity.
You might get up on the stand and explain that you promoted the man over the plaintiff because you feel she didn’t have the necessary leadership skills to deserve the promotion. You might produce employee evaluations that back this up.
You may also point to other instances where you promoted female workers. This could indicate that you don’t discriminate because of gender.
The more evidence you can present, the more likely the plaintiff will drop the charges or that you will win the lawsuit via a jury’s decision. That’s the way the justice system works in these cases.
Should You Ever Settle a Sex Discrimination Lawsuit?
There’s one thing you should keep in mind with these cases, though. They can get your company some bad press, even if you feel certain that you didn’t do what the plaintiff alleges.
That’s why, even if it pains you, you might at least consider capitulating. You may settle the lawsuit to get the case out of the press as quickly as possible, even if you don’t feel you did anything wrong.
It’s the same as accepting a plea deal in a criminal case. However, if you feel sure that you did nothing wrong, and you have evidence that you and your lawyer feel can exonerate you, then you might decide not to back down. You will force a jury’s verdict instead.
If you do that, then it’s a risk. Sometimes, even circumstantial evidence or hearsay can convince a jury that you discriminated against someone based on sex, even if you truly believe you did nothing of the kind.
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