There are a lot of state and federal protections in place aimed at keeping you safe in the workplace. Yet, all too often employers fail to adhere to these statutory requirements, which puts you at risk of being harmed by egregious behavior like workplace discrimination and sexual harassment.
The damage caused by discrimination and harassment can be significant, resulting in demotion, loss of hours, pass over for promotion, and even termination from employment. That’s why it’s critical that you know how to take legal action when you’ve been subjected to workplace harassment or sexual harassment.
But before you even get to the point of building your formal legal claim, you need to be aware of some mistakes that you can make along the way. After all, you don’t want to be your own worst enemy in your case, blocking yourself from recovering the compensation you deserve after being discriminated against or harassed.
Mistakes to avoid after being discriminated against
Even though you’re the victim when you’ve been discriminated against, the burden is on you to prove your case. And if you make costly mistakes, then you could end up losing, which will block you from recovering the compensation you need and prevent you from deterring your employer from acting in a similar way in the future. Therefore, you’ll want to avoid the following as you navigate your workplace discrimination case:
- Failing to document: You’ll need to recall discriminatory events with clarity and detail. If you don’t write down the events shortly after they happen, then your memory can get fuzzy and your account may wind up less compelling. This weakens your case and puts you at a decreased chance of obtaining the outcome you want.
- Failing to report: If you want to leave open the possibility of holding your employer accountable for workplace discrimination, then you have to put them on notice of what’s happening. Therefore, you should timely report discrimination to your employer. If you don’t, then you might be prevented from moving forward with your case.
- Misunderstanding workplace discrimination: A lot of workplace discrimination victims fail to recognize that they’ve been victimized. Instead, they write off the events as joking and teasing that they shouldn’t let get to them. Don’t make this mistake. Make sure you know what constitutes actionable discrimination. Only then will you know when you can act to protect yourself.
- Listening to your employer’s explanation: After being victimized by workplace discrimination and filing a claim, your employer might indicate that your claim isn’t actionable. For some, this dissuades them from taking any further action. But your employer has an interest in deterring you from taking action against them. So, don’t buy into what your employer tells you about your workplace discrimination claim, and instead consider pursuing independent legal action to try to right the wrong that’s been forced upon you.
Aggressively pursue your workplace discrimination claim
Your employer isn’t going to make things right unless you force them to do so through legal action. But before heading into your case, it’s necessary to arm yourself with persuasive evidence and strong legal arguments. If that’s something that you need help navigating, then now is the time to read up on the law and what it takes to succeed on a workplace discrimination claim. Hopefully then you’ll be positioned to find accountability and recover the compensation needed to get your life back on track.
