If you feel you’ve been unfairly treated…

Sexual harassment isn’t the only kind of discrimination that the law protects you from. The government agency that enforces all discrimination laws is called the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC was first established in the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which was mainly aimed at stopping racial discrimination. Then the EEOC grew to protect more people under more laws. Now the EEOC protects people against:

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• Unfair treatment because of your race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, disability, age (age 40 or older), or genetic information.

• Harassment by managers, coworkers, or others in your workplace, because of your race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, disability, age (age 40 or older), or genetic information.

• Denial of a reasonable workplace change that you need because of your religious beliefs or disability.

• Retaliation because you complained about job discrimination, or assisted with a job discrimination investigation or lawsuit.

If you believe you’ve been mistreated any of these ways, the first thing to do is tell the supervisor of the person who violated your rights. If that doesn’t work, tell that person’s supervisor and keep going up the ladder. And if nobody in the company will take any action, you can file a job discrimination complaint by mail or in person. You can find the closest EEOC office by calling the EEOC at 1-800-669-4000, or by going to eeoc.gov/ and looking under the “contact us” tab.

If you have a criminal record…

No federal law specifically prevents employers from discriminating against a person with a criminal record. One thing you can do to increase your chances of getting hired if you have a record is to get a copy of your own criminal record, and be ready to discuss it with an employer.

The National H.I.R.E. Network is a good resource for all your questions about finding a job if you have a criminal record. It provides a state-by-state guide to getting your criminal record at hirenetwork.org/resource.html

Sometimes an employer will hire a company to do a background criminal check on you, and those reports often have mistakes. The Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act prohibits employers from firing you or even not hiring you without letting you know why. If an employer denied you because of such a report, they have to give you a copy of the report. Correct the report if it’s wrong.

If you’re under 18…

Age discrimination laws only protect people over 40. Youth unemployment is generally higher than overall employment, and this gets even worse in a recession. This is partly because out-of-work adults with college degrees or lots of experience are often chosen over less-qualified teens and young adults who are competing for the same jobs. This is not considered age discrimination.

Laws about workers younger than 18 are generally about limiting the number of hours teens can work, and making sure teens don’t work in dangerous job sites.

Go to youthrules.dol.gov for all sorts of information on teens in the workplace. The “Know the Rules” section explains federal rules for workers younger than 18. States also have their own rules, which you can read about in “The Law Library” section .