There different kinds of people in the workplace. You will realize that different people belong to different races, tribes, religions, cultures and so on. This is the reason why there is a lot of diversity in the workplace. However, in some workplaces, you might encounter racial discrimination in the workplace. Racism  at the workplace can be observed when the company’s behavior is altered based on the race or ethnicity. It is therefore experienced or witnessed by employees in different forms such as harassment, indirect discrimination or victimization. Most employees tend to experience racial discrimination at work at one time or another.

You can easily identify racial discrimination at work. The following are some factors that show the existence of racial discrimination at work:

1. Stereotyping.

Stereotyping is detrimental because it normally portrays controversial generalizations and can even attribute to all staff members of the company. Individuals should be keen on the language used, topics upheld by other employees and so on. It is also important that you check whether the management or your fellow employees are making derogatory remarks about specific elements of an individual’s culture and customs.

2. Hostility

You will realize that hostility can be experienced through verbal critics. For example, a black-American woman can be criticized for being aggressive and so on. If you notice such hostility, there is an element of racial discrimination at your workplace. You will realize that persons experiencing racial discrimination at work tend to have difficulties in socializing with other members of the firm.

There are different ways that can help in mitigating racial discrimination at the workplace. Some of these ways include:

1. Write an anti-discrimination policy that specifically addresses racism.

If you notice racism in your workplace, it is advisable to come up with an anti-discrimination policy that addresses the issue of racism. It should include the consequences for acts of racial discrimination and so on.

2. Consider hiring employees from all races.

This will go a long way in creating diversity. It is also advisable to inform your candidates before hiring them of your policy against racism and discrimination in any form.

3. Ensure that you promote employees on the basis of merit.

It is important that employees get promotions on merit basis. This will make them feel more valued.

4. Train employees on how to avoid racial discrimination.

You should conduct this training at least once a year. This will go a long way in mitigating the problem of racial discrimination in the workplace.

Those are some of the ways that can help you deal with racial discrimination at the workplace.

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Racial harassment is simply a kind of behavior that occurs when an individual or a group uses discriminatory remarks or practices in a repetitive manner. Basically, the remarks or practices are supposed to discriminate a person basing on his/her color, culture, religion, language or decent so that the behavior can be considered racial harassment.

Some of the Examples of Racial Harassment Include:

• Showing a co-worker comic strips, images or pictures which are racially degrading.
• Trying to stop or hinder a person from being promoted simply because he or she belongs to a particular culture or religion.
• Making jokes, humiliating comments, racially oriented remarks or insinuations to a person or co-worker.

What are Some of the Consequences Associated with Racial Harassment?

1. How it Affects the Victim

An individual who turns out to be a victim of racial harassment will most likely feel hurt, humiliated and outraged. He/she will feel rejected in the long run and often fail to carry out his or her daily chores in a professional manner. This is simply because there are invisible barriers trying to hinder his or her performance.

2. How the Witnesses Inside the Workplace are Affected

Racial harassment can be rampant, and it can end up deteriorating the work environment as a whole. Generally, the colleagues of the victim of racial harassment may end up feeling uneasy and eventually lose interest in certain tasks they are entitled to handle in the organization.

When this form of discrimination is caused by a group of people that intend to make life unbearable to a particular person, racial harassment can lead to confrontation, hate, or even physical violence.

3. How Does It Impact the Organization?

If the organization fails to handle harassment cases in due time, it might end up suffering losses of employees as people may end up resigning or losing interest in their jobs. It may make the organization incur huge losses if not corrected immediately.

What are Some of the Measures to Put into Action to Stop Racial Harassment in an Organization?

• Written or oral reprimand or warning
• Reassignment or transfer
• Demotion
• Reduction of wages
• Discharge
• Suspension

What are Legal Consequences of Racial Discrimination?

Prosecution processes and fines are applied when workplace discrimination occurs. Normally, this may happen when discrimination fails to be addressed properly by the company officials. When an employer is found guilty of causing discriminatory remarks, he/she may be required to pay fines or even face a jail term.

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In most workplaces, there are many different types of workplace discrimination but as a norm, they are often difficult to discern and quite hard to prove.

In most cases, you might have a feeling that something is not right. You might be routinely targeted unfairly but at a loss on what to do next since the workplace environment is already hostile for you. So how do you know that you are being unfairly targeted at your work place or the work ethics are not as they should be? The following is an overview of signs of employment discrimination that should alert you to this.

Pass overs during promotion

Have you ever felt that you have the right skill set backed by the necessary experience to be next in line for a vacant post? But unfortunately you are consistently overlooked when it comes to filling up the post? What you are facing is workplace discrimination.

Bad reviews

Do you carry out duties assigned diligently and routinely go over and above the set targets but for some strange reason you are always given a poor review during the annual assessment? If so, you are most likely being subjected to workplace discrimination.

Alienation

Alienation is also features prominently in the list of signs of employment discrimination. Alienation can take many forms. For instance, you might always find yourself being assigned less savory office duties or in some instances, you might be consistently withheld from performing duties that give you room to shine: all these are considered as alienation.

Role stereotyping

If in an organization women are stereotyped as being fit for clerical tasks while the men get promotions for management roles, you might be facing workplace discrimination

What to do?

If you find that you have fallen victim to any of the above mentioned practices, you have the legal right under law to sue your employer for workplace discrimination. However, it is important to note that, most organizations usually fight tooth and nail to rubbish such claims and as such, it would be in your best interest to acquire the services of a law firm that specifically deals with such cases so as to prove your claim and get the right compensation

The United Employee Law Firm is one such firm. At United Employee Law Firm, we specifically deal with cases relating to workplace discrimination. Our results oriented approach will ensure you get the best compensation package for your workplace discrimination claim. Contact us today and let’s get started.

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