If you feel like you have been a victim of discrimination at work, you should do three things. First, you should report it to your supervisor at work or your HR department. Second, you should file a case to EEOC or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Lastly, you should consult with an employee rights attorney group.
What are 3 Different Forms of Discrimination?
Discriminatory remarks and actions that are unwelcome can be considered a form of discrimination. In a work environment, the common forms of discriminations are related to:
• age
• gender
• race
• ethnicity or race
• color of skin
• disability
• sexual relationship
• pregnancy
What to Do in Case You Become a Victim of Discrimination
If you are in imminent danger, you should call for help immediately. Call 9-1-1 or a family member and ask for help from the police. If there is no danger but the harassment is causing you stress, talk to the person if you can. Ask the person involved to stop.
If it is currently on-going or happening at your office, keep records of the discrimination. Keep date and time and be as specific as you can with your record. Also, check your work handbook policy to verify if your company has policies against discrimination. Do not hesitate to report discrimination to your HR office and if they won’t do anything about it, then take the case outside your office and talk to an employee rights attorney group.
There are a lot of employee rights groups that you can find online. You can also ask your HR office if they knew or if they can recommend a particular group. When choosing a group that will represent or assist you, you should consider the following:
• Will they charge you or are they working pro bono?
• To what extent will they help you? Will they give advice, or will they represent you if needed?
• Do they have licensed practitioners that can help you?
• Do they offer additional services such as counseling for people who were a victim of discrimination and harassment?
The good thing is, your protection against discrimination is provided by the law hence if a company did something that will discriminate you, it is the law that they’ll have to fight. Do not be afraid to speak out as there are groups and organizations that will surely help you fight for your right as an employee.