Dear dragondam:
An employee facing discrimination has a wide range of decisions to
make regarding what actions, if any, to take. These decisions require
careful consideration. Unfortunately, an employee who feels he or she
is being discriminated against may have very strong emotions that
interfere with their objectivity, such as anger and depression. The
employee may also feel overwhelmed by the number of decisions he or
she has to make about how to try to address the discrimination.
First, the employee has to decide whether or not take any action at
all. If the discrimination is not causing significant economic or
emotional harm, then it may not be worth pursuing. Alternatively, if
the person doing the discriminating is unlikely to be in a position to
continue to discriminate in the near future, the employee may decide
to wait on taking any action. It is also important to consider if the
action was really discriminatory. Have there been many incidents
suggesting that discrimination is occurring, or is it possible that
the employee is overreacting to or misinterpreting an isolated
incident? The employee must ask him or herself these questions and
make sure that they understand their situation as completely as
possible.
Assuming the employee decides to take action, many possibilities
exist. The employee may choose to pursue one or more of these courses
of action. The employee may decide to seek employment elsewhere. The
employee could decide to keep a log of discriminatory incidents and
collect documents to establish that he or she has been discriminated
against. The employee may confront the person engaging in the
discriminatory conduct, may complain to a coworker, his or her manager
or someone more senior, and/or may file a complaint with the
organization's human resources department. The employee may research
what laws at the local, state, and federal levels regulate the
discriminatory conduct, and the employee may retain a lawyer to pursue
redress utilizing the judicial system. Depending upon the nature of
the discrimination, the employee could also contact the Department of
Labor and/or the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission in the
United States, or their equivalent in other countries.
In making these decisions, the employee has to consider how much harm
is being done to them, how much effort and expense are they willing to
put forth to try to stop the discrimination, how long are they willing
to wait for a result from their efforts, what is the likelihood of
success, and what undesirable effects may occur. Complaining about
discrimination may result in even more discrimination or even the loss
of a job. Some types of discrimination are easier to prove than
others, and some types of discrimination are more strongly prohibited
by law than others. Resorting to the legal system can require
significant time and expense and may not result in a decision for
several years.
Coping with discrimination is often an emotionally difficult task, but
the employee must set aside their emotions as best they can to focus
objectively on their situation. It is only through knowledge of
themselves, the situation, and the courses of action available to them
that employees can make the decisions that will be best for them.
Sincerely,
Wonko |
