The issue isn’t whether you’re protected against discrimination on the basis of your sex when it comes to hiring, termination, promotion, compensation or job training. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 sees to it that you are. The issue is, if you think you have been discriminated against, is it worth going through the process of charging your employer with discrimination?

In 2004, 24,249 workers apparently thought it was. That’s how many charges were filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleging sex-based discrimination that year.

Even though, according to the law, you are also protected from retaliation if you file a charge of discrimination, the EEOC received 22,740 charges of retaliation discrimination in 2004. Retaliation can come in the form of termination, denial of a promotion, unjustified negative evaluations or references, increased surveillance—even assault.

But what about being blacklisted--especially if you work in a close-knit industry? Anton Polyzhayev, a violinist at the New York Philharmonic wasn’t concerned. Although he works in a close-knit industry, he sued his employer, charging it with sex discrimination “in denying him a job and accusing it of a pattern of preferring female violinists,” according to The New York Times.

Polezhayeve said he feels “it’s more important to stand up and do something about it.”

“I’ve had just as many clients who have gained respect in their industry for standing up to their employer, as clients who have lost a measure of respect,” says Bill O’Brien attorney with Miller-O’Brien in Minneapolis.

Harm to someone’s reputation by being associated with a lawsuit is exaggerated, he says, with employment disputes viewed today as part of the “rough and tumble of a competitive, hard-nosed workplace.”

Besides, few litigated cases gain much notoriety, If they do, the notoriety is usually short-lived. And most discrimination disputes are resolved quietly. In addition, in cases where the claim is settled without a trial, settlements “frequently have confidentiality and non-disparagement terms which prohibit the employer from speaking badly or at all about you.”

So is it worth your time and money?

First, you need bargaining leverage. You’ll have that if you have evidence of discrimination. O’Brien says that consists of “good witnesses who observed or themselves experienced the discriminatory conduct, along with a pattern or statistical evidence.” It’s worth it if the evidence is strong because employers don’t want to litigate.

If the employer thinks it can refute your story, it can be costly and time-consuming. “Litigated cases won’t get to trial for 18 months to two years,” says O’Brien. And there’s the emotional cost, reliving the “shame, embarrassment, anger and other pain of the bad work experience rather than focus on moving on.”

If you’re still working at the company it can be very stressful, says Dick Block, partner at The Employment Law Group of Block, Bernstein & Lagasse at Dreier LLP in New York.

In most instances, you face “a certain risk of retaliation. Imagine how tough it is to work for a person you are suing,” especially if they are a harasser, he says.

Also you may be ostracized and further harassed by others at work who are friends of the accused. “Continued hostility at work may be too much to bear for what can feel like an eternity.”

A good lawyer can help you assess the pros and cons. But one recommendation is to come forward with the problem as soon as it starts. Make an internal complaint, says Block, “assuming the company has a good practice and policy.”

There are no guarantees on how it will end. O’Brien says he’s had clients come out of very public discrimination battles and make a comfortable home with a competitor of the company they sued and be viewed as champions, not malcontents. But it helps if you win.

© by Andrea Kay