On January 24, 2008, Michael Nader of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, PC gave a talk in
With respect to color, it is a distinct category from race. Some people of the same race may be of different skin color. With respect to national origin and ancestry, the mispronouncing of a person’s name may be considered discrimination. With respect to marital status, an employer should not be interested in whether someone is single, married, divorced, or other status. There is risk that if discussions around the subject come up during an interview, and the person does not get a job, that the person claim discrimination because the conversation focused on a protected category.
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The employer needs to be careful of the questions asked of applicants during job interviews. For example, people may not be asked of their arrests, but may be asked of their convictions.
The employer should avoid unequal treatment based on gender in discipline, jokes, evaluation, and other social treatment, such as the going out to lunch with only certain people. When jokes are reported to managers, the managers should report them to human resources in order to conduct an investigation.
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