Are you looking for an employment discrimination lawyer in St. Louis, MO?
At TGH Litigation, we are trusted employment discrimination lawyers serving clients across St. Louis and the surrounding area.
If an employer in St. Louis treated you unfavorably because of your race, sex, age, disability, or religion, you may be entitled to bring a claim. A St. Louis, MO employment discrimination lawyer can review what happened and pursue the compensation and accountability the law allows. Our firm has represented Missouri workers against employers of every size, and we bring more than 80 years of combined experience to these cases. To discuss your situation, contact our office for a free consultation.
An employment discrimination lawyer represents employees who were harmed by bias at work rather than by their own conduct. The protected characteristics include race, color, sex, pregnancy, age, disability, religion, and national origin. Some employers are open about their reasons, but most are not. More often, discrimination reveals itself through inconsistent explanations, uneven treatment, and decisions an employer cannot adequately justify.
We serve employees throughout the St. Louis region. After reviewing the facts, we explain what the law requires, what a claim would involve, and whether pursuing one makes sense for you before you commit to anything. Our attorneys are trained to recognize discrimination in both its obvious and its hidden forms. Recognizing the subtle version is often what separates a claim that moves forward from one that stalls.
Types of Employment Discrimination Cases We Handle in St. Louis
Discrimination can affect any part of employment, from hiring and pay to promotions and termination. We represent St. Louis employees across the full range of protected categories. The list below reflects the claims we handle most frequently.
- Disability discrimination. The law requires employers to consider reasonable accommodations, yet many refuse even to discuss them. We represent workers who were denied accommodations, demoted after disclosing a condition, or terminated for requesting help. The refusal to engage in that conversation is often unlawful in itself.
- Age discrimination. Experienced employees are often the first cut in a restructuring, then replaced by someone younger and less expensive. We look past the stated reason to the pattern underneath it. Remarks about retirement or being overqualified can reveal what a layoff memo conceals.
- Race and color discrimination. Unequal discipline, denied advancement, and biased evaluations can reveal race discrimination even when no one says a word about it. We assemble the comparisons that make the disparity clear.
- Sex and gender discrimination. This category covers unequal pay, pregnancy bias, and adverse treatment tied to gender. Wage gaps in particular can persist for years before an employee has the information needed to challenge them.
- Sexual harassment. A hostile environment, repeated advances, or a demand for sexual favors can make continued employment intolerable. We pursue these claims discreetly and thoroughly. Retaliation against an employee who reports harassment is a separate violation we also pursue.
- Religious discrimination. Employees are entitled to reasonable accommodation of sincere beliefs and practices, whether the issue involves scheduling, dress, or grooming. When an employer refuses without a valid reason, a claim may follow.
- National origin discrimination. Treating someone worse because of ancestry, ethnicity, or accent is unlawful, and it frequently overlaps with race or religion. We handle these cases with attention to that overlap. English-only rules that serve no legitimate business purpose can also support a claim.
- Retaliation. Punishing an employee for opposing or reporting discrimination is unlawful in its own right, apart from the bias that prompted the complaint. When the underlying report concerns illegal conduct, the matter can also rise to a whistleblower claim.
Understanding Employment Discrimination Cases
Proving Discrimination: Protected Classes, Liability, and Damages
A discrimination claim depends on three questions of fact, whether you belong to a protected class, whether the employer took an adverse action against you, and whether those two things are connected. Liability depends on that connection. Damages follow from the harm you suffered. The categories below appear in most of the cases we handle.
- Protected class. Race, color, sex, pregnancy, age, disability, religion, national origin, and related characteristics.
- Adverse action. Termination, demotion, denial of a promotion, a pay reduction, or a work environment made hostile because of a protected trait.
- Causation. Proof that the protected trait, rather than a legitimate reason, drove the decision, often shown through comparisons to other employees and the timing of events.
- Back pay and front pay. Compensation for wages lost in the past and, where reinstatement is impractical, wages lost going forward.
- Emotional distress. Recovery for the anxiety and humiliation that discrimination can produce.
- Punitive damages. Available when an employer acted with malice or reckless disregard for the law.
- Attorney’s fees. Many discrimination laws allow a prevailing employee to recover the cost of legal representation.
No single element proves a case on its own. It is the combination, supported by documentation, that determines whether a claim succeeds and what it is worth. Two claims built on similar facts can still reach very different outcomes depending on the evidence gathered.
What Are Important Aspects of an Employment Discrimination Case?
The strength of a discrimination case often depends on details that seemed minor at the time. Documentation matters a great deal, as do the timing of key events and how comparable employees were treated.
- Comparators. Employees outside your protected group who were treated more favorably in similar circumstances.
- A consistent record. Contemporaneous emails, reviews, and notes tend to persuade more than after-the-fact recollection.
- Internal complaints. Reports made to human resources, and the employer’s response to them, can form the basis of a retaliation claim.
- Deadlines. Most claims require a timely charge with a government agency before a lawsuit can proceed.
We determine which of these factors apply at the outset, since they guide the strategy from the first filing forward.
What Is The Employment Discrimination Case Timeline?
These cases rarely resolve quickly, and the pace depends heavily on the employer’s willingness to engage. Most, however, move through the same stages.
- Consultation and review. We evaluate the facts and advise whether a viable claim exists.
- Agency charge. Many claims begin with a filing at the EEOC or a state or local agency.
- Investigation and discovery. Evidence is exchanged, and witnesses may be deposed.
- Right to sue. Once the agency process concludes, the matter may proceed to court.
- Resolution. The case settles, is dismissed, or goes to trial.
Knowing which stage a case has reached helps you plan and takes some of the uncertainty out of litigation.
What Should You Bring to Your Employment Discrimination Consultation?
To make the first meeting productive, gather what you can in advance, even if your records are incomplete. The more we can review, the more precisely we can assess your situation.
- Offer letters, contracts, and any employee handbook.
- Performance reviews, disciplinary notices, and termination paperwork.
- Emails, text messages, and notes documenting relevant events.
- Pay records and any correspondence from a government agency.
The consultation is free and confidential. It gives you a clear understanding of your options and gives us the chance to evaluate the case.
What Are Important Missouri Legal Resources for Employment Discrimination Cases?
Federal and state agencies publish the rules that govern workplace discrimination and explain how to begin the complaint process. The resources below are useful starting points for understanding your rights.
- The EEOC explains the process for filing a charge.
- Its race discrimination page describes bias based on race and color.
- The Justice Department’s overview of the ADA addresses disability rights.
- Complaints under state law go to Missouri’s human rights commission.
- Within city limits, the St. Louis civil rights agency accepts complaints.
Contact TGH Litigation Today!
Founders With Deep Employment Law Experience
Joanna Trachtenberg has built much of her practice around employment discrimination, whistleblower, and wage claims, and she earned her law degree at NYU School of Law. J. Andrew Hirth, recognized as a Super Lawyer and admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court Bar, brings federal litigation experience across several circuits. Julianne Germinder has been honored with the Women’s Justice Award for her work on behalf of Missouri clients. Together, our founders bring decades in the courtroom to every matter. Employment discrimination is one part of the wider practice our employment lawyer in St. Louis, MO maintains, alongside retaliation and wage disputes. That same civil rights focus guides our school discrimination work in St. Louis schools.
A Record of Discrimination Results
Our attorneys have secured a sex discrimination verdict against a St. Louis school district, revived a dismissed discrimination suit that a court reinstated on appeal, and recovered millions of dollars for employees in bias and retaliation cases. When an employer refuses a fair resolution, we are prepared to try the case. Each of these results grew out of careful preparation rather than pressure to settle quickly. Every consultation is free, and we act only for employees.
Reach Out to TGH Litigation to Schedule a Consultation
If you believe you were treated unfairly at work because of a protected characteristic, our attorneys are ready to help. The initial consultation is free and confidential, and we will explain candidly whether you have a claim and what pursuing it would involve. We respond to new inquiries promptly, usually within one business day. Contact us to speak with a St. Louis employment discrimination lawyer who represents employees.