Having gainful employment is essential. Working allows you to provide for yourself and your loved ones. You may also enjoy your work and feel a sense of satisfaction about what you do for a living.
When you are worried about keeping your job, it can make your whole life stressful. Facing discrimination can make going to work challenging, especially if you are concerned about repercussions from your report.
Reporting discrimination in the workplace is the first step to keeping it from happening again or to others. Here’s what you should know about reporting discrimination at work.
There are resources
The options available for reporting will depend significantly on the organization you work for. Your workplace may have reporting options, such as:
- Human resources personnel
- Anonymous reporting platforms
- Corporate contacts for reporting
- Upper-level management
Typically, smaller organizations tend to have fewer reporting options. If you do not feel comfortable with the choices your employer has, the California Department of Industrial Relations has resources available to file a discrimination claim and report retaliation.
Retaliation is illegal
Often, discrimination goes unreported because employees fear what will happen to them if they make a claim. You may already know that you cannot be fired for reporting discrimination at work. However, retaliation can come in other forms, such as:
- Reduced or undesirable schedule
- Change in work duties
- Undesirable transfer
- Denying promotions or raises
When your employer takes these actions, it is a secondary incident. It is crucial to report it, especially if your discrimination claim is still in progress.