Racial Discrimination Lawyers in Charleston, WV 

• Shield you from retaliation. It is strictly illegal for an employer to retaliate against you for reporting racial discrimination or participating in an investigation. If they try, we aggressively expand your lawsuit to include retaliation claims.

What Is Racial Discrimination? The Legal Boundaries.

Legally, workplace racial discrimination occurs when an applicant or employee is treated unfavorably in any aspect of employment because of their race or personal characteristics associated with race (such as hair texture, skin tone, or facial features).

Racial discrimination violates two major pillars of employment law:

The West Virginia Human Rights Act (WVHRA): A powerful state law that applies to West Virginia employers with 12 or more employees. 

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: A federal law applying to employers across the country with 15 or more employees. 

These laws protect individuals not only from direct bias but also from discrimination based on their association with an individual of a certain race (such as an interracial marriage) or discrimination targeting cultural attributes.

How Racial Discrimination Manifests in the Workplace

Corporate bias is rarely as obvious as a blatant racial slur. More often, it is subtle, structural, and hidden behind coded language or shifting performance standards. It generally manifests in several different ways.

Unequal Treatment (Intentional Discrimination)

This happens when an employer consciously treats you worse than similarly situated coworkers of a different race. 

Examples include:

• Passing you over for promotions or key assignments despite your superior metrics.
• Assigning you less lucrative sales territories or less desirable shifts.
• Disciplining or firing you for workplace conduct that coworkers of other races routinely get away with.
• Imposing unequal pay or denying performance-based bonuses.

Hostile Work Environment (Harassment)

A hostile work environment occurs when racial slurs, offensive "jokes," derogatory comments, or racially motivated intimidation become so severe or pervasive that they alter the conditions of your employment. 

For an employer to be held liable, they must have known, or should have known, about the harassment and failed to take prompt, effective corrective action.

Disparate Impact (Unintentional Systemic Bias)

This occurs when an employer implements a seemingly neutral company policy or testing mechanism that isn’t relevant to job performance, yet disproportionately filters out or harms minority applicants or employees.

Available Legal Remedies & Compensation

The ultimate goal of state and federal civil rights laws is to place you back into the financial position you would have enjoyed had the discrimination never occurred.

If we successfully settle or win your racial discrimination lawsuit, you may recover:

• Full back pay and lost benefits - Restoring every dollar of lost salary, wages, healthcare premiums, and retirement matching from the day of the discriminatory act up to the trial date.
• Front pay - Future projected earnings if returning to your old workplace is broken beyond repair.
• Compensatory damages - Financial recovery for the intense emotional distress, humiliation, anxiety, and damage to your personal reputation caused by the discrimination.
• Punitive damages - Substantial monetary penalties levied against employers who engage in particularly egregious, reckless, or malicious racial animus.
• Attorneys’ fees - Forcing the corporate employer to pay for your legal representation and court costs upon a successful outcome.

No upfront costs: Standing up for your civil rights shouldn’t bankrupt you. Addair Entsminger PLLC operates entirely on a contingency basis. We fund the investigations, the depositions, and the expert witnesses. We only collect a fee when we recover funds for you.

Your Rights Matter. Stand Up to Workplace Bias.

If you believe you have been targeted, marginalized, or pushed out of your job because of your race, the clock is actively ticking. Both state and federal laws impose strict deadlines for filing a claim, ranging from 180 to 365 days from the most recent discriminatory act. 

Missing these deadlines means losing your right to justice forever. Let our decades of combined courtroom experience fight for your dignity and future.

Call (304) 902-8518 or contact us online today for a confidential case review with a Charleston racial discrimination attorney.