How to handle racism in your workplace
Federal law prohibits your employer from discriminating against you due to your race, color, religion, age or belonging to other protected classes. Despite that, there are always employers who make mistakes or intentionally discriminate against others.
While you would think that race would no longer be an issue in most workplaces, racial discrimination is still a prominent issue in America. The government has established protections, such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, to protect you. There are also equal pay laws to make sure you get paid what you should, regardless of your skin color in Alabama.
What should you do if you work in a discriminatory workplace?
If someone in your workplace is discriminatory against you due to the color of your skin, your first step is to tell the other person to stop doing whatever they’re doing that is racist. Whether that’s telling jokes or making comments about your skin color, they should stop if they know that you’re uncomfortable.
Not everyone will care or be able to change the way they act, though. So, in that case, you should always document what happened. Talk to your supervisor. Speaking up is the right course of action. Understand that if you are retaliated against for reporting racist acts on the job, you may have a claim against your employer due to that retaliation.
You may want to discuss the case with human resources. Let them know what happened and what you’d like to see happen to resolve the problem. If the human resources department doesn’t take care of your concerns, then you may be able to move forward with a lawsuit.