How to Know You’re Being Discriminated Against in the Workplace

Workplace discrimination is prohibited by law in the United States. Under laws like the Civil Rights Act of 1964, job applicants and employees can’t be unfairly treated based on factors like race, color, religion, or sex. 

However, just because the law doesn’t allow discrimination based on those factors and others, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. In this guide, you can learn how to tell you’re being discriminated against and what you can do about it. 

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Unequal Treatment and Opportunities

Don’t delay speaking to a lawyer with specialized expertise in employment discrimination if you believe you’re receiving unequal treatment and opportunities in the workplace. While not always easy to pinpoint, you may realize you’re facing this very problem if you’re consistently denied opportunities for growth, training, and promotion that other people in your workplace with similar experience and qualifications are receiving. 

Unequal treatment can also be evident if you’re held to a different standard than everyone else. For example, you might be required to be at work earlier and finish later, and have higher performance standards to meet.

Biased Comments or Behaviors

You should never feel as though your protected characteristics are the butt of every joke. However, that can be the reality for many people. You can be a victim of workplace discrimination if other people in your workplace are making comments, jokes, and stereotypes about your characteristics.

Microaggressions, such as assumptions, name-calling, and mocking behavior, all tied to your protected characteristics or identity, can also be forms of workplace discrimination that you may want to address with your employer or a legal professional. 

Exclusion and Isolation

Everyone has the right to go to work and be treated fairly by their employers and fellow colleagues. Everyone is also deserving of being able to attend social events and participate in networking opportunities.

However, in workplaces where discrimination is prevalent, this is not everyone’s reality. You may be experiencing discrimination if you’re being excluded and isolated. This can include being excluded from social events, informal work discussions, and networking opportunities. 

If you’re being socially and physically isolated by management and colleagues, this, too, can be workplace discrimination, along with having your ideas and input ignored in meetings despite having expertise. 

Pay and Benefits Disparities

The federal Equal Pay Act is intended to prevent employers from paying one sex less than another for jobs that require equal skill, effort, and responsibility within similar working conditions. However, pay and benefits disparities still exist.

In fact, women still earn an average of 85% of what men earn, despite the gender gap narrowing over the last two decades. There is also still a racial gap in the United States, with black people earning 76 cents to every white person’s dollar. 

If you believe you are being paid less than your colleagues for the same job, talk to a workplace discrimination expert. An employment law attorney may recommend seeking justice to protect your rights. 

Retaliation

You should be able to report unfair treatment, harassment, and discrimination in the workplace and have it addressed. That’s not everyone’s reality. Some people can experience retaliation for speaking up for themselves and others.

Retaliation can be in the form of being reassigned, demoted, or isolated after raising concerns. You may also face pressure or threats to stay quiet about your experience. Sometimes, employers can change their employees’ workloads and responsibilities after they have complained. 

Retaliation is a form of workplace discrimination because it’s differential treatment. This means an employer has taken adverse action against an employee for participating in a protected activity, which, in this instance, is reporting discrimination. 

Hostile and Uncomfortable Work Environment

While most employers go the extra mile to take care of their employees’ well-being, allowing them to benefit from increased productivity and job satisfaction, that’s not true of all employers. Some create a hostile and uncomfortable work environment, which can promote discrimination. In such an environment, employees can feel unwelcome and intimidated. They can also feel as though there’s a lack of support or resources. 

Patterns Affecting Groups

You may not be alone in experiencing workplace discrimination. Dig deeper, and you might notice a pattern affecting other employees with similar protected characteristics. Groups of people within your workplace may all be receiving fewer opportunities, less pay, and less favorable assignments. You may also notice that other employees outside your demographic are consistently given more favorable treatment. 

What to Do If You’re Experiencing Workplace Discrimination

You deserve to be treated fairly in the workplace. If that isn’t happening, consider taking these steps: 

1. Collect Evidence

To build a strong case to prove workplace discrimination, you need to have evidence. Start documenting everything that happens to demonstrate discrimination. Keep a detailed log that includes dates, times, descriptions, and the names of all individuals involved. Save any emails, messages, or other forms of communication that also show discrimination against you. If anyone else in your workplace has witnessed the behavior, take note of their names and contact information. 

2. Assess the Situation

Before seeking help from an experienced employment lawyer, assess the situation to determine whether your experiences are indeed instances of workplace discrimination. Ask whether it has been happening because of your protected characteristic, such as your gender, or whether there is another explanation. 

Think about whether the behavior is an isolated incident or occurs consistently. Finally, consider whether other employees in your workplace who don’t have your characteristics are also treated differently. 

3. Report Workplace Discrimination Internally

After believing you have been experiencing workplace discrimination, contact your business’s HR department or a workplace ethics officer, if you have one. 

4. Report Workplace Discrimination Externally 

If your employer doesn’t address the problem, consider meeting with a lawyer to discuss the situation. You may also decide to file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). In your complaint, you must provide: 

• Your name and contact information
• The name and contact information of the employer you’re filing a complaint against
• A description of the event or events 
• The dates of those events 

You don’t have to put up with being discriminated against in the workplace for your gender, age, religion, race, or other protected characteristics. If this is your reality, explore your reporting options to get the justice you deserve.

Featured Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash