Everyone deserves to have a job to earn a living and care for the ones they love. As such, there are laws that guarantee you protection from discrimination by your employer. Employers are forbidden from using discriminatory criteria to hire qualified candidates or to discriminate against employees throughout the course of their employment.
If you are experiencing racial discrimination from your employer, you can and should do something about it. However, you will need to prove it through evidence that shows you were treated unfairly compared to your co-workers of a different race in a similar situation. A race discrimination lawyer in Dallas can help you determine if you have a case.
Types of Racial Discrimination
The Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 states that mistreating an employee or a potential job candidate due to their race is illegal. Although much progress has been made over these decades since this act was put into law, racial discrimination in the workplace still occurs to certain minority groups. Here is a look at the types of racial discrimination at work and how they may affect you:
Harassment
While sexual harassment is also illegal in the workplace, harassment also happens in racial ways. You may have been forced to endure offensive race-based behavior to get employment benefits, or it may have made your workplace feel hostile.
Regardless of the harassment, having evidence is the key. You should collect all correspondence that details the harassment, any internal complaints you have made, testimony from fellow coworkers who witnessed the harassment, and if applicable, photos. These items can strengthen your claim for workplace discrimination.
Disparate Treatment
In some workplaces, employers will use valid workplace policies or actions as a way to mistreat employees of a certain race. An example of this would be members of another racial group receiving more rewards for doing the same work or conversely, them not receiving punishment when they’ve engaged in misconduct. For example, if your company has a policy on tardiness that punishes employees for being more than 15 minutes late and employees of different races are late each day but only those who are black are punished, that is a case of disparate treatment.
When similarly situated employees of different races are being treated differently, you should pull up copies of the employment policies, correspondence with your employer on this matter, disciplinary records, and witness testimony to show that you are being treated differently based on your race.
Adverse Impact
Often, an employer’s workplace policy is written in an unbiased way, but it winds up having a negative effect on the employees of a particular group. This would be considered an adverse impact, though it is often difficult to challenge without the representation of an attorney. Your employer will likely argue that it is a business necessity rather than a discriminatory policy, which can be hard to challenge on your own.
When Employers Retaliate
Unfortunately, some employers will double down on their heinous behavior. When employees point out the racial discrimination they experience, unscrupulous employers may retaliate by punishing or firing them. When they do this, they hide behind a fake reason that is non-discriminatory to justify their firing of this employee.
If this has happened to you, you should know that this action is illegal under both state and federal laws. You can take legal action by following a few key steps.
Proving Racial Discrimination at Your Workplace
Whether you have been unjustly fired or you are still working for an employer who is racially discriminating against you, you do not have to tolerate it. You can prove this discrimination and take these steps moving forward:
Gather Evidence
While it is upsetting to be treated this way for your race, make sure that you document everything. This can include any emails, texts, or chat messages. Save these items and go a step further by printing hard copies to keep in case your employer disables your work email or work chats if you are terminated.
Performance reviews, formal complaints, witness testimony, and anything else that can show that you or others of your same race were treated differently can all serve as evidence in your claim.
File with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
If you experience racial discrimination at your job, you need to file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Since there are time limits, you should take this action quickly to avoid any issues. You should know that when you make this filing, the agency will notify your employer and investigate the charges.
Consult an Attorney
Things can quickly become complicated when you are trying to find justice at work. Perhaps you pointed out the racial inequality at your workplace, only to be transferred to a different department or office location. You may have been assigned a new position with lower pay or terminated from your company.
Texas is an at-will employment state, and there needs to be proof that you were racially discriminated against at your place of work. It can be upsetting to go through these things while filing a claim and trying to find a new job to earn a living. For these reasons and many more, it is advised that you consult an attorney who has represented others in racial discrimination cases.
Most racial discrimination lawyers offer a free initial consultation where they can take a look at your situation and determine if it violated your employee rights. If so, you have legal grounds to hold your employer accountable for their discriminatory actions. Since this can be a complicated process, you may want to start with a consultation first and get the guidance you need in filing with the EEOC. This will ensure that you take all the proper steps on your quest to seek justice and compensation for racial discrimination at work.
