"Know your rights: workplace discrimination is illegal," U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Generally, employment discrimination is unfair treatment based on an employee's status within a protected class.As Boston discrimination lawyers, we represent employees in seeking to hold employers liable for their wrongful conduct to the fullest extent of the law. Workplace discrimination is illegal in Massachusetts and across the country, and your employer can be held accountable. The federal government and the state of Massachusetts each have their own fair housing laws. If you have experienced employment or education discrimination in Massachusetts and want to litigate the case, the first step is to file a complaint. The Fair Employment Practices Law, found in M.G.L. c. For example, it prohibits discrimination in recruitment, hiring, promotions, training, pay, social activities, and other privileges of employment. Conduct satisfies the definition of discrimination or harassment. And most legal-aid organizations will take very few, if any, discrimination cases for free.