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EAGAN, Minn., July 20 -- More than one in five Americans say they have experienced employment discrimination, according to a new poll by the legal Web site FindLaw® (www.findlaw.com). Twenty-two percent of those surveyed said they had been unfairly denied a promotion or raise by an employer because of their gender, race, age, religion or disability.

Gender bias was the most commonly cited type of employment discrimination, according to the FindLaw survey. Sixteen percent of women said they felt they suffered discrimination because of their gender, compared with only five percent of men. The survey interviewed 1,000 adults, with results accurate to plus or minus three percent.

A U.S. District Court judge recently certified a class-action lawsuit covering more than 1.6 million current and former female employees of Wal-Mart stores. The suit charges the retail giant with systematically discriminating against women in pay and promotions. Last week, Boeing settled a sex-discrimination lawsuit and agreed to change its compensation and promotion practices and pay as much as $72.5 million to as many as 29,000 current and former female workers in its Seattle-area aircraft plants.

According to the FindLaw survey, the most commonly cited types of employment discrimination were:

Gender 10%
Age 9%
Race 8%
Disability 4%
Religion 3%

A nearly equal percentage of men and women said they’ve been victims of employment discrimination: 23 percent of women and 22 percent of men. Thirty-three percent of non-whites said they have experienced employment discrimination, compared with 18 percent of whites. Non-whites reported higher levels of discrimination than whites for all causes, whether gender, age, race, disability or religion. Younger workers age 18 to 34 were also more likely to say they’ve experienced employment discrimination for all causes -- 27 percent compared with 20 percent of older workers.

“Anyone who feels they have been discriminated against by their employer should first contact the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or their state or local human rights commission,” said Rosalie Levinson, the Phyllis & Richard Duesenberg Professor of Law at Valparaiso University and co-author of State and Local Government Civil Rights Liabilities, published by West. “It can be very difficult to prove intentional discrimination. There must be evidence, such as company documents, records of statements by supervisors or witnesses that can establish that the employer was being discriminatory. An employee can also amass statistics to show that there was a pattern of discrimination, such as unequal pay or a systematic lack of promotions for certain groups of employees, such as women or minorities.”

“In addition, there are some strict requirements for filing employment discrimination actions,” cautioned Prof. Levinson. “Complaints must be filed within a certain time limit, typically 180 to 300 days. Also, there are various state and federal requirements on how large a business needs to be before it is subject to anti-discrimination laws.”

Employees who feel they have been unfairly denied promotions or raises due to discrimination can learn about relevant labor and employment laws, find links to government agencies such as the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and use directories for finding employment law attorneys in their area at helpful free Web sites such as www.findlaw.com. Online resources such as FindLaw are also helpful for employers who wish to research employment laws and find legal counsel that can help ensure they are in compliance with laws that apply to their business.

NOTE TO EDITORS: The national survey used a representative sample of 1,000 adults nationwide, with a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points, and was conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs.

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About FindLaw
FindLaw (www.findlaw.com) is the leading provider of online legal information and solutions for the legal community, businesses and individuals. According to comScore Media Metrix, a leading independent Web usage reporting service, the FindLaw Internet portal is the highest-trafficked legal Web site with 3.7 million unique monthly users - three times more than its closest competitor. The site provides comprehensive, plain-English legal information to businesses and individuals. These resources include West Legal Directory®, the Internet's largest directory of lawyers and legal professionals. FindLaw also offers comprehensive information, resources and services for law practice and legal career development, including free case law, an online career center, breaking legal news, newsletters, message boards, service directories, continuing legal education and legal search tools. In addition, FindLaw provides access to tools and services that help connect legal professionals with potential clients. FindLaw is a business within The Thomson Corporation (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC).

About The Thomson Corporation
The Thomson Corporation (www.thomson.com), with 2003 revenues of $7.6 billion, is a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to business and professional customers. Thomson provides value-added information, software tools and applications to more than 20 million users in the fields of law, tax, accounting, financial services, higher education, reference information, corporate training and assessment, scientific research and healthcare. With operational headquarters in Stamford, Conn., Thomson has approximately 39,000 employees and provides services in approximately 130 countries. The Corporation's common shares are listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC).