No employee should ever have to deal with discrimination in the workplace. It’s up to employers to ensure that they have policies in place that protect workers from this type of behavior. The policies have to make it clear that discrimination of any sort isn’t allowed.
There are other ways that employers can take a stance against discrimination. Taking the initiative to do these can help to prevent employees from having to deal with problematic and illegal discrimination.
One possible way that employers can stop discrimination in the workplace is by holding training sessions at least once per year. This is a time when employers can reinforce the anti-discrimination policies and remind employees what’s acceptable and what isn’t. This can help build a company culture that simply doesn’t permit discriminatory practices.
Employees shouldn’t have to deal with discrimination from anyone they come into contact with when they’re working, including vendors, contractors and customers. Employers should make it clear that such behavior simply isn’t acceptable — and that anybody who can’t treat the company’s employees respectfully isn’t welcome.
The employer should also have a clear path for reporting discrimination complaints. Employees should be given a safe way to file these complaints, and they shouldn’t have to worry about retaliation after they make a report. Additionally, there should be a plan for investigating and handling these claims.
Anybody who’s been discriminated against at work should remember that they have legal rights that offer protection. If your employer has failed to step up and put a stop to the discrimination after you’ve made them aware of the problem, you may have a reason to pursue a claim.