L01 What Is Discrimination?

According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, discrimination can be defined as “the act, practice, or an instance of discriminating categorically rather than individually” (http://merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discrimination).

The same dictionary reminds us that this word has “neutral, positive, and negative connotations.” Let’s look at this closer:

• In English, we might say that a person has a “discriminating taste” as a way to compliment their sophistication; this is the positive connotation.
• We might also use “discrimination” as another way to say “differentiation” or “distinction,” which is an example of the neutral connotation.
• Finally, when we talk about employment discrimination, we typically refer to a prejudicial or hostile type of treatment, often due to membership in a demographic group (such as age or religion); this is a negative connotation. This type of discrimination may be illegal, but not necessarily.
  • For example, discrimination in employment due to race or sex is illegal, but a company that treats short, underweight, or mentally disabled employees differently (even if based on the fact that they belong to certain groups of people) does not necessarily break any laws.

Later, we will make a distinction how some laws prohibit workplace discrimination only at the state or local level, and others do so at the federal level.