Federal and state employment discrimination laws are expansive, however, every activity and every person is not protected from discrimination.

Employers can lawfully discriminate based on work performance and other legitimate business decisions. Employers cannot discriminate based on race, religion, national origin, sex, age, or disability. Employers also cannot retaliate against an individual who participates in an investigation on the company or against an individual who refuses to participate in discriminatory activities.

There are many unfair activities that occur in the workplace every day, but the question is whether such activity is legally protected. The law does not want courts to act like the CEO of businesses, so it leaves room for the employers to make its own business decisions.

If, for example, an employee tells his supervisor’s boss that the supervisor is not performing his or her job properly, and the employee is subsequently fired, the supervisor is not liable for unlawful employment discrimination. The situation may have been different if the employee reported the supervisor for doing something illegal like discriminating against a protected group.

It is also important to note that all employers are not covered under the federal and state discrimination laws. Under federal law, only employers with fifteen or more employees must comply with the discrimination laws. In California, employers with five or more employees are covered under employment discrimination laws. It may be unfair that the law itself discriminates based on company size, but it is not unlawful for a small company to participate in certain discriminatory methods.

Discrimination laws do not cover every situation, but many situations are protected by employment laws. Employers typically try to conceal their discriminatory motives for taking an adverse action against employees, so it is important to seek a qualified labor and employee attorney who can research your case and help you prove that the employer’s stated reason is a pretext for a discriminatory motive.