{"id":355609,"date":"2016-04-04T10:41:57","date_gmt":"2016-04-04T15:41:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/civilrights\/civil-rights-overview\/what-is-discrimination.html"},"modified":"2024-05-22T15:41:07","modified_gmt":"2024-05-22T20:41:07","slug":"what-is-discrimination","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/civilrights\/civil-rights-overview\/what-is-discrimination.html","title":{"rendered":"What Is Discrimination?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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What Is Discrimination?<\/h1>\n
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\n By Christie Nicholson, J.D.<\/a> | Legally reviewed by Susan Mills Richmond, Esq.<\/a>\n | Last updated\n
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This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy, clarity, and style by FindLaw\u2019s team of legal writers and attorneys<\/a> and in accordance with our editorial standards<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n\n

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The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors<\/a>. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n<\/section>\n

In today’s litigious society, it seems like people use the term \u201cdiscrimination" a lot. In plain English, to discriminate means distinguishing, singling out, or making a distinction. We discriminate all the time in everyday life. When we decide between beef and chicken, we are discriminating in favor of one food over the other. From a legal perspective, discrimination has a different meaning.<\/p>\r\n

In the context of civil rights law, unlawful discrimination<\/a> refers to when an individual or entity treats another individual or group in an unfair or unequal manner based on certain characteristics, including:<\/p>\r\n