It does not matter whether you are made the direct victim of workplace discrimination or if you are simply witnessing it happen to a coworker. Rather, what matters is that you take the proper corrective actions to hold your negligent employer accountable for allowing these incidents to occur. More specifically, you must make the effort to submit a formal complaint. Follow along to find out how to report workplace discrimination and how one of the proficient California employment discrimination lawyers at Stansbury Brown Law, PC can walk you through it, step by step.

What are signs that discrimination is occurring in my workplace?

Discriminatory acts in your workplace may be subliminal or overt. Regardless, they are unacceptable. Signs that you must look out for to protect yourself and your coworkers are as follows:

  • Your coworkers make offensive jokes or derogatory remarks that target your protected class (i.e., race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc).
  • Your coworkers exclude you from social functions (i.e., leaving you at an isolated workstation, disinviting you from gatherings after hours, etc).
  • Your coworkers exclude you from workplace functions (i.e., not including you in email chains, meetings, or projects relevant to your job function, etc).
  • Your manager overlooks you for a promotion based on unfair criteria (i.e., your pregnancy status, your marital status, etc).
  • Your manager holds you to a higher standard than your counterparts (i.e., assigning you to impossible tasks, having you meet impossible deadlines, etc).
  • Your employer gives you lesser pay than your counterparts who are carrying out equal work (i.e., of the same skill level, experience, etc).

In what ways do I report workplace discrimination?

As soon as you pick up on one of the aforementioned signs of workplace discrimination, you must report it through the following procedure:

  • Collect all documentation that points to the incident of discrimination (i.e., photos, videos, email exchanges, witness testimonies, etc).
  • Show the documentation to your manager, so long as they are not the offender of the incident.
  • Submit the documentation alongside a formal written complaint to your company’s Human Resources department.
  • Comply with the Human Resource department’s protocol for handling such incidents (i.e., attend meetings, fill out paperwork, etc).

Afterward, if the discrimination persists, or if retaliation occurs, then you must strongly consider taking your complaint to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and/or the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. With this, you must ensure that your report is timely. The EEOC may only accept complaints up to 300 calendar days from the date on which the incident occurred; the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing may only grant one year.

At this time, it may be in your best interest to gain legal representation. So please consider contacting one of the talented California employment discrimination lawyers. Our team at Stansbury Brown Law, PC is ready and willing to assist you.