Importantly, the United States Civil Rights Act, the New York Human Rights Law, and the New York City Human Rights Law make it prohibited for an employer to discriminate against an employee on the basis of race. Namely, it is illegal to discriminate against race and traits historically associated with race (i.e., hair type, hair texture, and protective hairstyles). But unfortunately, such discrimination still commonly occurs. Read on to discover how you can report racial discrimination in the workplace and how a seasoned New York discrimination lawyer at Bell Law Group can help you with this.
What does racial discrimination in the workplace look like?
Simply put, if an employer treats an employee differently than other workers for no other reason besides their race, then this is considered racial discrimination. Examples are as follows:
- An employer fires an employee on the basis of race.
- An employer demotes an employee on the basis of race.
- An employer overlooks an employee for a promotion on the basis of sex.
- An employer pays an employee less than their counterparts on the basis of race.
- An employer denies an employee training on the basis of race.
- An employer denies an employee of benefits on the basis of race.
At the same time, managers and coworkers may be the culprits of racial discrimination in the workplace if they harass an employee for no other reason besides their race. Examples are as follows:
- A manager or coworker directs racial slurs toward an employee.
- A manager or coworker directs offensive or derogatory remarks toward an employee.
- A manager or coworker is openly hostile toward an employee.
- A manager or coworker is overly critical of an employee’s job performance.
- A manager or coworker displays racially-offensive symbols in the workplace.
How do I report this discrimination?
If you have been made the victim of racial discrimination at your place of work, then you must hold your employer, manager, or coworker accountable. You can do so by properly reporting the incident of discrimination, which is as follows:
- Report the incident of discrimination with your company’s human resources department.
- Report the incident of discrimination with your manager, if they were not the culprit.
- Report the discrimination to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), within 300 days of your incident.
- Report the incident of discrimination with the New York Office for Civil Rights, and indicate that you wish to cross-file your claim with the EEOC.
- Collect evidence of the incident of discrimination (i.e., emails, photos, videos, witness testimonies) to go along with your reports.
For more information on how to report this event, you must not hesitate in speaking with a competent New York employee rights lawyer. We look forward to your phone call.
