Working allows you to legally cover both your needs and those of your loved ones. Additionally, the enjoyment and satisfaction that come from what you do for a living might add to your quality of life. These factors make the worries about keeping your job understandable, but they also make facing workplace discrimination even more distressing.
Facing discrimination can be challenging, especially with concerns about social and material repercussions, such as salary cuts or even unfair termination. However, stressful as this might be, there are legal ways to deal with it, with reports being the most immediately available.
Reporting discrimination in the workplace is the first step required to protect yourself and others from facing extreme circumstances due to discrimination. When thinking about reporting a possible discriminatory situation, you should always know what options and resources you have at hand, with the most common in being:
- Human resources departments and personnel
- Anonymous reporting platforms
- Corporate contacts for reporting
- Upper-level management staff
Though smaller organizations tend to have fewer reporting options, the State of California offers resources that allow employees to file discrimination claims (be it either publicly or anonymously) and report any possible retaliation following the claim.
Often, workers decide against reporting the discrimination they face due to fear of what will happen to them if they make a claim. It is essential to know that retaliation from the employer is illegal and that being a victim of it may also merit a second claim. Retaliation due to claims over workplace discrimination can come in many forms, such as:
- Termination of employment due to a claim
- Reduced or undesirable schedule
- Change in work duties
- Undesirable transfer
- Denying promotions or raises
When your employer takes these actions, it becomes a secondary incident, and it is crucial to report it along with your discrimination claim. J. Kirk Donnelly will handle every aspect related to your claim with the attention it deserves so that you can find a solution that protects both you and your integrity as an employee.