Even in the year 2018, countless American workers go to their jobs every morning knowing that they will face harsh discriminatory behavior and harassment because of their races, their religions, their sexes and their national origin. Unfortunately, many workers stay quiet and put up with this unfair treatment because they’re afraid they could lose their jobs if they speak up. However, these workers should know that powerful federal law – backed by the United States Constitution – protect them from this kind of abuse and they can make it stop as soon as they’re ready.
If you’re being victimized by harassment and discrimination related to your race, national origin, religion, sex, disability status or some other protected reason, here’s what you should do:
- Tell your employer about the discriminatory behavior you’ve been forced to endure, and tell your employer to make it stop.
- Ask for written confirmation that your employer has received your complaint and request that your employer performs an immediate investigation into the complaint.
- File your complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) if your employer doesn’t respond to your initial complaints and/or the discriminatory treatment continues.
- Gather and save as much evidence as possible. You’ll want to save anything and everything related to your discrimination. This includes emails, text messages, notes pertaining to incidents and artifacts provided to you that offer proof of the discrimination.
- Record the names of people who discriminated against you and what they did. Make a note of the time and place the treatment occurred and write down who the witnesses were.
Victims of workplace discrimination are on the right side of the law. You can stop discrimination and – in some cases – you may be able to seek financial compensation for the harm that was done to you.
Source: Findlaw, “Dealing with Discrimination: Tips for Employees,” accessed June 01, 2018
