(Last Updated On: November 14, 2025)
Nobody should ever be treated differently when applying for a job or while working for an employer because of their actual or perceived race. However, discrimination on the basis of race continues to impact job applicants and employees in Massachusetts and throughout the country. In some cases, an employer might actively and knowingly be engaging in discriminatory acts or patterns. Yet in many other cases, employers are behaving in ways that are discriminatory because of pervasive sociocultural assumptions and ideas that continue to perpetuate racist stereotypes and racist violence. The latter forms of discrimination often show themselves in forms of microaggressions and other behaviors that may be more subtle. Regardless of the form that racial discrimination takes in employment practices, job applicants and employees should know with certainty that it is unlawful.
If you have experienced any form of discrimination on the basis of your actual or perceived race in the hiring process or in your employment, you may be able to file a claim under state or federal law. An experienced Boston employment discrimination lawyer at Rodman Employment Law can help.
Employees and Job Applicants Have Protections Under Federal and State Law
Federal and state laws provide protections for job applicants and employees against discrimination on the basis of race. These laws prohibit employers from discriminating against either job applicants or employees when hiring new workers, employing current workers, making decisions about promotions and pay, and making decisions about terminations. Those laws include the following:
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a federal law that prohibits employment discrimination based on race, and which applies to employers with 15 or more employees;
- Chapter 151B of the Massachusetts General Laws (MGL), a state law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race in employment, and which applies to employers with 6 or more employees; and
- Massachusetts’ CROWN Act, part of the MGL, a state law that prohibits expanded race-related employment discrimination that includes “traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture, hair type, hair length and protective hairstyles,” and which applies to employers with six or more employees.
Discrimination on the Basis of Race Can Occur in Hiring, Employment, and Termination
The above laws prohibit discrimination in all aspects of employment, which include all of the following:
- Advertising for a new job and new employees;
- Interviewing job applicants for an open position;
- Assessing job applicants who have applied for a new position;
- Making a decision about who to hire for a job;
- Deciding how much to pay a new employee;
- Making a decision about promoting a new employee;
- Offering benefits to existing employees;
- Making a decision about demoting an existing employee;
- Making decisions concerning the scheduling of new or existing employees;
- Deciding which employees should be public-facing or customer-facing workers; and
- Terminating employees.
Race Discrimination Can Be Overt, Subtle, and In Between
It is critical for job applicants and employees to know that discrimination on the basis of race can be overt, subtle, and everything in between. In other words, race discrimination might be very obvious in some circumstances, but it may be quite subtle in others, and you might be unsure if it is actually discrimination on the basis of race that you have experienced or observed. All of these forms of race discrimination are unlawful — the discrimination does not have to be obvious and overt to be unlawful. As such, it is essential to discuss the details of your experience with an attorney who can help. In the meantime, you should know that all of the following are examples of unlawful and actionable race discrimination in Massachusetts employment contexts:
- Job advertisement seeking applicants of a particular race, or indicating that applicants of certain races should not apply;
- Questions in a job interview about your race;
- Workplace jokes about persons of a particular race;
- Persons of a particular race routinely being promoted or offered additional benefits;
- Persons of a particular race routinely being placed in non-customer-facing roles;
- Persons of a particular race frequently being given less-desirable schedules;
- Questions in the workplace about employees’ races;
- Questions in the workplace about an employee’s spouse or partner’s race;
- Microaggressions, which can take various forms, from comments like “all lives matter” to asking to touch a Black employee’s hair or commenting about how certain employees are “exotic-looking.”
In short, if something feels racially motivated, you should discuss it with a lawyer.
Contact a Massachusetts Employment Discrimination Attorney Representing Clients in Boston and Natick
Have you been subject to any behavior or action from an employer, whether in the hiring process or in your current employment, that you believe has been discrimination on the basis of race? It is essential to discuss your experience with a Massachusetts employment lawyer who handles employment discrimination claims for employees in the Boston and Natick areas. Do not hesitate to get in touch with our firm to have one of our attorneys assess your case and discuss options for moving forward with a claim under state or federal law. Contact Rodman Employment Law today for help with your case.
