Fired or Demoted in 2025? How to Tell If Discrimination Played a Role

If you were fired or demoted on a discriminatory basis, you have clear legal rights under both Pennsylvania and federal law. In this scenario, asserting your legal rights is important for two reasons: (i) holding your employer accountable will help ensure that other employees do not face similar consequences; and, (ii) taking legal action is the only way to seek the back pay, additional damages and any other remedies you deserve.

So, how can you tell if discrimination played a role in your termination or demotion?

Evidence of Discrimination in Cases of Wrongful Termination and Wrongful Demotion

First and foremost, if you have concerns about discrimination, you should not ignore them. Despite the protections that exist under Pennsylvania and federal law, discrimination in employment is commonplace. Employers of all sizes discriminate against their employees. In some cases, discrimination is targeted at a specific individual. In others, systemic racism, sexism and other issues lead to the enforcement of company-wide policies and procedures that have unintended discriminatory consequences.

Neither scenario is acceptable.

To prove that you are a victim of a discriminatory termination or demotion, you will need to try to gather as much evidence as possible. With that said, you also need to be careful about taking records from your employer’s (or former employer’s) premises or computer systems, and you can—and should—rely on an experienced employment lawyer to assist with gathering the evidence you need. Some examples of the types of evidence that can often be used to prove discrimination in cases of wrongful termination and wrongful demotion include:

• Emails, direct messages or other communications that specifically reference your race, sex, gender, age, disability or other protected characteristic
• Recent favorable performance reviews or other communications indicating satisfactory job performance
• Company policies and procedures that are expressly discriminatory or that have discriminatory consequences when enforced as written
• Documentation that similarly situated employees without similar protected characteristics retained their positions
• Documentation that other employees with similar protected characteristics were also targeted for termination or demotion
• Documentation of shifting explanations or rationales for your termination or demotion (or lack of documentation of a legitimate justification for your termination or demotion)

Again, these are just examples of the types of evidence that can be used to prove discrimination in cases of wrongful termination and wrongful demotion. Evidence of discrimination can take many other forms as well, and an experienced employment lawyer will be able to assess whether you have grounds to take legal action. To give yourself the best chance of securing the outcome you deserve, you should speak with an employment lawyer about your situation as soon as possible.

Schedule a Free Consultation at Murphy Law Group in Philadelphia, PA

Do you need to know more about taking legal action as a victim of discrimination in the workplace? If so, we invite you to get in touch. To schedule a free consultation with an experienced Philadelphia employment lawyer at Murphy Law Group, please call 267-273-1054 or request an appointment online today.