Numerous employees on a daily basis feel discriminated against in their workplaces from their colleagues or their immediate bosses. It can be very shattering to experience discrimination in the workplace and many individuals who face it find it difficult to focus on their job and fail to meet expectations.
However, there are federal and provincial laws that avoid workplace discrimination, and you can hold your employer or your boss or your colleagues accountable for their deeds. While it does often get difficult to report discrimination, there are certain steps you can take to ensure that you get justice and the discrimination finally stops.
Be aware of your rights
Federal laws prohibit any sort of discrimination on the basis of a person’s age, gender, religion, race and disabilities. Your marital status or you being pregnant does not allow your employer to discriminate against you either. Federal laws also call for equal pay, good working conditions and safe work places for both genders.
Clarify the situation with your offender
Sometimes what you may consider discrimination is essentially just a misunderstanding or a mistake on the other party’s part. You should strongly consider clarifying the situation with the offensive party and to sort out the situation to make sure you do not make any wrongful claims on an innocent person. Chances are that you’d be able to arrive at a common conclusion and solve the issue.
Report the discriminatory behavior to your senior
You need to report about the discriminatory behavior to your seniors or your company management, or to a dedicated cell in your office that has been built for this purpose. Whenever the office’s management receives such a complaint, they are required by law to initiate an investigation and solve the issue. However, if you feel that the management isn’t taking an action, you may by all means proceed with legal action.
Be practical in presenting your case
Discrimination in the workplace is already a difficult thing to prove, and if you present a lot of emotions, feelings and hunches in you case, the deciding committee is likely to declare you simply a sensitive individual. Hence, you need to present your case with specific clear-cut issues, facts and focus on details to be taken seriously and to help the deciding committee understand the gravity of the situation.
Get in touch with an attorney
In order to file an employer discrimination case that is sure to get you compensation and justice, you need to get in touch with a legal counsel that is experienced in employer discrimination cases. Madsen Prestley & Parenteau is a legal counsel that is well known for its wins in civil discrimination lawsuits and also specialize in employer discrimination cases.
Make a record of all discriminating actions
You need to record all instances of discrimination from the very beginning. You should maintain a journal or diary and make a record regularly. This would help you build your case later on and improve your credibility in front of the deciding committee. Keep in mind that your notes should include the names, time, date and location of the people discriminating against you and of all those who were present there in the moment.
