Discrimination

Race is generally defined as a person's ancestry or ethnic characteristics. Everyone is some race or color. It is illegal to discriminate against anyone, if the basis is their race or color. But discrimination still plays a major part in our so called free society. Nationality, color of skin and language barriers can still hinder certain people from getting jobs, living in the places they want, and even eating in some restaurants.

We all know what it is. Some try to pretend that it doesn't exist. Some try to look the other way, some just agree with it, but discrimination never goes away. It's like a bad habit. In the foreseeable future, I don't see discrimination going away. We've made laws to try to correct things only to offend others.

A case was brought against NYPD in 1999, arguing that officers from all minorities faced discrimination in their jobs. A class-action lawsuit was filed that alleged the NYPD discriminated against minority officers in its hiring and employment practices. The lawsuit alleged that Latino and African-American officers were subject to different disciplinary treatment, a "hostile work environment" and retaliation. African-American and Latino officers have also alleged that they are regularly sent on the most dangerous assignments in the city. Also a Sikh officer claimed religious discrimination against the New York police. After four years of negotiations, a federal judge approved settlement. Under the settlement, 1,199 Latino and African-American officers who filed discrimination claims became eligible for compensation from the $27 million settlement amount. The city's police department also agreed to make a series of internal changes to its operations.

The most reliable way for an employer to determine its vulnerability to a class action lawsuit is to gather for itself the same statistical data that plaintiffs would use. If the data shows that, for example, fewer women