Steps to Take If You've Been Discriminated Against
Steps to Take If You've Been Discriminated Against
According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, there were 84,254 charges filed for workplace discrimination in the 2017 fiscal year. The most common forms of workplace discrimination were based on employer retaliation (48.8% of all charges), race (33.9%), and sex (30.4%).
These are just a few forms of discrimination that are protected by both Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and The Arizona Civil Rights Act. Other categories that are protected from workplace discrimination include:
National Origin
Religion
Age
Disability
Pregnancy
If you have been discriminated against as a protected class under federal and Arizona law, here are the necessary steps to protect your civil rights.
Make Detailed Notes of Any Discriminatory Act
As time passes, memory and recollection often become hazy. Be sure to document any behavior that you know was discrimination. In fact, this is a wise course of action even if you simply suspect that discriminatory workplace conduct occurred.
A detailed assessment of what took place can be incredibly useful evidence if a lawsuit is eventually necessary. Be sure to note the parties involved, what transpired, and when the discriminatory misconduct took place.
Let Your Employer Know of the Discriminatory Conduct
While victims of sexual harassment, racial discrimination or any other form of misconduct may be reluctant to discuss the matter, notifying your employer of discrimination will protect your legal rights. Many employees fear retaliation, but victims of discrimination are protected by federal and Arizona law from employer retaliation.
If your employer retaliates against you for reporting discrimination, an Arizona employment lawyer will help you take legal action that holds the employer accountable. Employers should have policies in place to address and resolve workplace discrimination issues, so notifying employers should result in the launch of an investigation.
Request for your employer top document every reported claim of discrimination in writing. Save copies of these written complaints. Not only will this show that you are asserting and protecting your legal rights as an employee, it will also provide valuable evidence while giving employers the chance to comply with federal and Arizona law.
After you report the unwelcome and discriminatory behavior, the employer should initiate the investigation and, if warranted, disciplinary measures that promptly and efficiently put an end to the misconduct.
Escalate the Matter If the Employer Fails to Address Discrimination Properly
If your employer fails to respond to your concerns or responds inadequately as discrimination continues unabated, protect your rights by contacting the EEOC and/or Arizona's Civil Rights Division.
Once you report the issue to either of these agencies, they will begin an investigation of their own based on the charges of discrimination that you make. Based on the evidence, the EEOC or Civil Rights Division will ultimately issue their findings of whether discrimination did, indeed, occur.
These findings will be delivered in writing to all parties involved, and a civil action may be brought if unlawful discriminatory practices are discovered. If legal action is needed, your case will benefit from discussing your workplace discrimination claim with an Arizona employment lawyer.
For this reason, it is wise to reach out to a Phoenix discrimination attorney shortly in the early stages of a potential discrimination claim. At Tyler Allen Law Firm, PLLC, we advise and represent victims of workplace discrimination with strong and decisive legal action that protects civil rights.
Federal and Arizona law give workplace discrimination limited time to file a claim, so the time to act is now. Contact us online for a legal consultation today.