Baltimore Discrimination Includes Ethnicity Discrimination

An Annapolis area car wash owner is accused of ethnicity discrimination, according to an August Capital Gazette article. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, claims that a former car wash owner near Annapolis made employees of Latino descent clean his home and forced them to endure poor working conditions. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. The employees claimed that the alleged abusive and discriminatory treatment began in 2006 and continued until the owner sold the car wash in 2015.

According to the employees’ claim, the employer allegedly routinely assigned Latina employees to clean his home. He also allegedly made the Latino employees perform other jobs at his home which were not connected to their car washing duties, such as landscaping, pool cleaning, general cleaning, and painting.

The plaintiffs also alleged that they were treated differently regarding pay and not given access to filtered water, the same lunch area as the other employees, or even locking bathrooms.  

Regarding pay, the EEOC claims that the Latino employees were told they were salaried workers and not eligible for overtime and raises. They did allegedly confront the owner about their treatment and working conditions in 2013, but were allegedly ignored. The owner allegedly told them to return to work by 1 p.m. or be fired. The lawsuit claims that they were terminated after not returning to work by the owner’s deadline.

The plaintiffs are seeking damages as compensation for the discriminatory treatment they received.

Is Ethnicity Discrimination and Baltimore Race Discrimination the Same?

Ethnicity discrimination and racial discrimination are slightly different. They are both types of discrimination that occur when an employer treats an employee differently and in a negative way without cause. Ethnicity discrimination simply focuses on an employee’s ethnicity. For instance, the article referenced above discussed the car wash employees allegedly being discriminated against because they were of Latino descent. An employee filing an ethnicity discrimination claim is alleging that his or her ethnicity is the reason why an employer treated them differently.

Race discrimination involves an employee’s race, not necessarily his or her heritage. Employees who file a race discrimination claim might be African-American, Asian, or Native American. They receive negative treatment because of the way they look ─ the color of their skin.

Contact Baltimore Employment Lawyers at The Law Firm of J.W. Stafford, LLC

Under federal law, a Baltimore employer with 15 or more employees is legally prohibited from engaging in discrimination against those employees for a multitude of reasons, including because of their race or ethnicity. Whether you have tried to resolve discrimination by your employer on your own or not, now is the time for experienced legal representation. We have specific strategies that will help you obtain the compensation you deserve. You can contact us via our website or via telephone at 410-514-6099.

(image courtesy of Bambi Corro)