Discrimination at workplace –where to go!!

Discrimination occurs when a person is treated or harassed arbitrarily or differently because they fall in the “protected class”. The groups of people who fall in the “protected class” are protected from discrimination and harassment by Federal, state and local laws. Discrimination is the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex, color, religion, ancestry, National origin, marital status, family status, sexual orientation, disability status.

Whom to reach?

All the organization must have discrimination policies. Employers put these policies and procedures in writing; others fear that putting them in writing will increase their exposure to employment-related claims. There is no law that requires an employer to provide employees with a handbook. These policies guide that if an employee wishes to report harassment or discrimination they need to follow the chain of command. What if the employee is discriminated by his immediate supervisor? If the company is large, there would be the HR department. The employee can reach the HR manager. But what if the company has no HR department. Where does the employee go and complain? The board of directors or the CEO?? If the employee doesn’t receive any response from your employer, consider contacting the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which has responsibility for overseeing compliance for many federal anti-discrimination and anti-harassment laws, or your state equal employment agency. Employee can reach the third party- an attorney or a consultant. An attorney can help the employee through the complex laws which may apply, can guide the employee through the complexities of the legal process. Third party consultants can be also reached through 1-800 toll free number(in the USA).

While reaching any of the above, the employee should keep a diary of all the incidents of harassment and discrimination. Record the date, approx. time, location, who was involved, and witnesses. Keep all the objects & pictures involved. Any small evidence can help the employee in winning his/her case.