Ellen Pao’s sex discrimination case against venture capital stalwart Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers continues among allegations of discrimination based upon her being too aggressive or not aggressive enough, depending upon whose review of Pao is believed. Most followers of the case agree that neither Silicon Valley nor the venture capital industry look good in this case, which is clearly showing that men dominate the industry, many men are paid far higher salaries than women, and the accepted norm is to engage in arrogant, egocentric behavior.
Sexual discrimination and employment cases are becoming more prominent. In 2012, there were almost 100,000 EEOC complaints filed with about 2/3 of those alleging racial or sexual discrimination. http://eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/charges.cfm. With the onslaught of baby boomers in the workplace, it is likely that age discrimination claims will rise in the next few years.
Alabama, like most states, is an employment at will state. This means that your employer can terminate you for most any reason, unless you are in a protected class and the employer terminates you because of your classification in that class. The most common classes are race, gender, and age but pregnancy, religion, disability status, and national origin can also be considered protected.