Common Types of Civil Rights Cases
With the amount of discourse that happens, it can be hard to know what is a civil right and what isn’t. At its core, a civil right is a right granted by the government to its citizens. The most commonly known ones are listed in the Bill of Rights and even then people still argue about them. These include the right to free speech, the right to vote, and many other important protections. Not only do they protect individuals from the government they also allow people to participate in politics without discrimination.
The downside to that is when it comes to civil rights cases are who the government is applying it to causes questions. At the heart of every civil rights case is a question of who’s rights were violated and why.
Keep reading to see the most common types of civil rights cases.
Employment Discrimination
When it comes to well-known fights in the United States most boil down to who a person is or what they choose to do in private. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 made it illegal for employers to discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Since then the law has extended to cover age, disability, or sexual orientation.
Sadly, this still happens to this day. When someone prevents someone from being hired, forest them, creates a hostile work environment to try and drive them out, or otherwise uses individual qualities as a basis for discrimination, there could be strong grounds for a discrimination lawsuit.
Housing Discrimination
There have been cases where people found themselves denied housing or being driven out through various malicious actions because of what they looked like or who they were. The Fair Housing Act of 1968 made it possible for people to find housing no matter their race, sex, age, religion, disability, or sexual orientation. Later on, this act covered families with children as well.
It is important to note that you can be denied for other reasons, like not being able to prove you can pay rent. This is why it is important to speak with a qualified civil rights lawyer first.
Government Discrimination
Most commonly this type of discrimination is false imprisonments, arrests, and stops being used to intimidate minorities, like African Americans and Hispanics. The recent battles in the United States with the police shootings and police brutality have shown that this is still an area of great concern. This puts everyone at risk as it opens the door for people to think that if the government can do it then so can they. This is why if you feel you have been discriminated against by the government, talk to a civil rights lawyer.
If you feel you have faced some type of discrimination then reaching out to one of the lawyers at Des Moines Injury Law, LLP could serve you well. With the experience of the team you can rest assured that your case has devoted attention.
