Race Discrimination in the Workplace
Have you been receiving some harsh treatment at the workplace for being part of a particular race? Although racial bias and racial harassment are strictly prohibited in the workplace, but unfortunately, they will still happen in 2022.
But, if it happens to you or see that happening to other employees, you should be aware of the fact that it is unlawful as per the state laws. Also, such cases should be reported to address racial discrimination.
How to Identify Racial Discrimination?
Racial discrimination is discrimination based on an individual’s race. If a person is treated differently based on the race they belong to, then race discrimination is in business. Color discrimination is also included in racial discrimination and is a crime under the anti-discrimination laws.
Racial discrimination can be obvious in many types. Like, if a person of a certain race is targeted with racial slurs or has to work in an offensive work environment just because he belongs to a certain race. Also, if that person has been isolated by a group of people who belong to another race.
Learning about Workplace Racial Discrimination
In general, a workplace should provide an equal opportunity for professional growth to every person without bringing their racial identity into the equation, as the law forbids discrimination. But, many different issues of job discrimination and racial harassment are witnessed each year.
Here are the important types of racial discrimination that happen at the workplace:
- Hiring, Promotion, or Firing Cases
Imagine if a black guy applies for a job and has more than sufficient qualifications for that job. But, a white guy is hired over the black candidates with better qualifications. That’s how hiring can be based on a person’s race, as the employer can prefer hiring job applicants of the same race as them.
Similarly, if two individuals of certain races are working in the same position and the person of one race gets promoted. In contrast, the second guy who belongs to some other racial group doesn’t get the promotion despite being better at work or overall job-related activities.
Another case could be firing a person while telling them the company can’t accommodate them because of being at a loss. At the same time, another guy who has got inferior performance in job-related tasks may still be keeping his position. The reason could be that the person fired could belong to a racial group not favored by the employer.
- Salary
If white employees are getting paid more than the black ones despite doing similar job assignments, it could be a case of racial discrimination. Another situation could be giving higher earning opportunities to a salesperson with ordinary performance just because of racial discrimination. Such treatment can result in a hostile work environment.
- Harassment and Racial Slurs
Racial harassment is a common issue and can take many forms, like racial slurs. For a long time, racial abuse has been a common practice and is taken as humor. But, for an individual, such behavior could be the most traumatizing form of racial discrimination.
Workplace Discrimination is Illegal, but our Data shows it’s still a huge problem
According to the EEOC statistics, race discrimination is the second most common form of discrimination in the workplace. Race discrimination is more prominent than even religion and sex discrimination. Every day, millions of discrimination cases are reported from the workplace, including race discrimination cases. Many victims don’t even report discrimination-based behavior. Most individuals are unaware of anti-discrimination laws, so they don’t bother to report such cases. But, if any such issue happens to anyone, they should look to file a race discrimination lawsuit immediately.Anti Discrimination Laws
Both federal law, as well as state laws strictly, prohibit segregating employees of a particular race. EEOC has been doing a lot to eliminate racial discrimination. EEOC employees work to gather data from every possible workplace. The federal government aims to save individuals from employment discrimination, not just the people of a particular race but all the minorities.
Let’s explore some details about the laws created to prevent a hostile environment in the workplace by prohibiting discrimination-based treatment.
- Federal Anti-Discrimination Laws
The federal law to prevent workplace discrimination comes under the Title VII of the civil rights act. Title VII incorporates the underlying situations if the victim provides direct evidence:
- Restricting a special racial group from employment opportunities.
- Unfair job training or firing an employee due to their race.
- Paying less or giving fewer benefits to people of a particular race.
- Failing to promote an employee due to their race.
- Segregating employees with respect to their race.
Also, employment agencies can’t create employment policies based on race. In case of employment discrimination, an employment attorney should be called to file a claim. An employment attorney can present your claim and can get legal compensation for your case.
- State Anti-Discrimination Laws
All states don’t have the same laws for workplace racial discrimination. The basics are the same, but the legal procedure differs. You can search for your state laws regarding race discrimination for more precise details.
