Unfortunately, even though our society has collectively made progress in the right direction, mistreating others based on their race is still something that occurs at an unacceptable, alarming amount. According to the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), just in the fiscal year of 2022 alone, there were approximately 318 filings for race discrimination. This is sadly among many other filings for varying discrimination types (i.e., sex, national origin, religion, color, age, disability, retaliation, etc). So, if you experience or witness race discrimination, particularly in your workplace, you may be next up for bringing a complaint forward. That is, please read on to discover how race discrimination is legally defined and how a seasoned employment discrimination attorney in Gloucester County, NJ, at The Vigilante Law Firm, P.C., can help you put a stop to it via a lawsuit.
How is race discrimination in the workplace legally defined?
Essentially, the U.S. EEOC defines race discrimination as when an applicant or employee gets treated unfavorably by another party in their workplace setting (i.e., employer, manager, coworker, client, etc.) simply because they are of a certain race. Or, this may also apply if this applicant or employee possesses personal characteristics typically associated with a certain race (i.e., hair texture, skin color, facial features, etc). Further, such discrimination may still exist for an applicant or employee married to or otherwise closely associated with another person of a certain race.
What does race discrimination in the workplace look like?
There is no cookie-cutter example of what race discrimination in the workplace looks like. Some behaviors and actions may be overt while others subliminal. They may be directed towards you or others who share your workplace. They may happen one time, quite frequently, or sporadically throughout a few years. No matter, if you pick up on such, you should notify your workplace’s Human Resources Department and the U.S. EEOC. Without further ado, below are the most common cases of race discrimination that you should look out for:
- An employer may deny fringe benefits from an employee of a certain race without a clear explanation.
- A manager may exclude an employee of a certain race from projects or meetings their direct team participates in.
- A coworker may display racially offensive symbols at their workstation in the view of an employee of a certain race.
- A client may use racial slurs or say offensive, derogatory remarks when speaking with an employee of a certain race.
It is unfortunate, and frankly not okay, if one of the above examples hits too close to home for you. To learn more about how to file a race discrimination lawsuit, please get in touch with one of the competent New Jersey employment lawyers from The Vigilante Law Firm, P.C. Better yet, schedule your initial consultation with our firm today.
