Discrimination based on race is one of the most rampant forms of discrimination in the workplace. Being a target or a victim of racial discrimination in your workplace can affect your life in many ways and even cause depression in the long run. Luckily, you have protections against discrimination and harassment in a workplace under federal and state laws.

If you suspect that you are a victim of racial discrimination at your workplace, you should meet a reliable attorney as soon as you can to review your unique case. After reviewing your case, your attorney will explain your legal rights and appropriate remedy to the issue, including filing a complaint with the appropriate state or federal agency or perhaps a lawsuit.

This article contains relevant information you need to know and understand if you are a victim of racial discrimination in your workplace.

Understanding Employment Racial Discrimination

Racial discrimination in a workplace is illegal under both federal and state laws. However, it still affects many employees and job applicants almost every day. Typically, racial discrimination exists when your employer treats you unfairly and differently due to the physical characteristics of your race or national origin. Some of these characteristics include:

  • Your hair color

  • Your skin color

  • Your facial texture

  • Your eye color

  • Your hair texture

It is worth noting, racial discrimination in a workplace could also involve ethnicity or national origin discrimination where your employer takes adverse actions against you because you are from a particular country.

According to Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), discrimination against a person because of their race is illegal in any aspect of hiring or employment. For instance, it will be unlawful for your employer to take any of the following employment actions against you because of your ethnic origin or race:

  • Refuse to employ or hire you

  • Refuse to pick you to undertake a training or skill enhancement program

  • Refuse to give you a promotion where you rightfully deserve

  • Discharge or fire you

  • Harass you

  • Demote you

  • Deny benefits

  • Assign different responsibilities

Even if your employer were wrong about your ethnic origin or race, it would not count as a defense argument if you file a complaint or a lawsuit against them for racial discrimination. For relevant legal advice on the appropriate step to take to hold your employer accountable for their racial discrimination, you should hire an attorney with significant experience in this specific area of law.

How to Know if You Are a Target of Racial Discrimination in Your Workplace

Some discrimination cases are clear, meaning employees and job applicants can easily tell if they are targets of racial discrimination due to their personal or physical characteristics. However, it can be challenging to know if you are a target of racial discrimination in most cases.

The sooner you detect signs of racial discrimination in your workplace, the better for an appropriate remedy to the issue. As mentioned above, racial discrimination can happen in the entire employment process.

Therefore, if you are a job applicant, you should pay attention to your interviewer's questions to note any discriminatory remarks or acts during the interview process. Questions about any of the following is an indicator or a sign of racial discrimination:

  • Your nationality

  • Your background

  • Your spouse's ancestry

  • Your ancestry

  • Your lineage

  • Your cultural heritage

  • Your parents' ancestry

On the other hand, if you are an employee, you can look out for the following signs to know if you are a target of racial discrimination at your workplace:

  • Exclusion from events and meetings

  • Retaliation against you for associating with employees of other races

  • Reduced pay or hours

  • Sudden changes in your job performance reviews

  • Frequent or repeated jokes from other employees about your race or ethnic background

  • Increased workload or modification of your duties in the workplace

  • Your employer only promotes employees of a particular race, even if they are less qualified than you

Steps to Take If You Believe You Are a Target of Racial Discrimination in Your Workplace

If you believe that you are a victim or a target of racial discrimination in your workplace, you should take the necessary steps to protect your interests. Here are vital steps you should take to protect your legal rights:

  1. Keep a Journal

Once you notice that you are a target of racial discrimination in your workplace, you should begin writing down harassment and discriminatory acts that you have experienced because of your race or ethnic origin. When writing these racial discrimination acts in your journal or diary, you should include the following vital information:

  • Time, place, and date you experienced the unlawful employment discrimination based on your race

  • Names of employees involved

  • Names of witnesses, of any

Once you have all the above vital information in your journal, you should keep it somewhere safe or at home and not at your workplace.

  1. Report the Racial Discriminatory Acts in Writing

Nowadays, most employers have race and ethnic origin discrimination policies and guidelines in their employees' handbooks. If your current employer has this handbook, you should follow the highlighted guidelines to report the racial discrimination acts and harassment you have experienced.

Even if your employer does not have discrimination policies in place, you can write a report of your racial discrimination encounters and send it to your supervisor or relevant person in human resources via email.

  1. Keep Records

Ensure you keep all your records safe, including all emails, documents, and text messages you have received from your employer concerning your racial discrimination or harassment complaints. If you have documents or emails you have received, and you believe they are harassing or discriminatory, you should keep them safe as well.

You will need all this information when building a racial discrimination claim against your employer for an award of compensatory damages that you deserve in this case.

  1. Do Not Quit

Undoubtedly, racial discrimination, whether as a job applicant or as an employee, is unpleasing and a stressful experience. However, you do not have to call it quit before exploring your options and available remedies to the situation. If you quit before taking the necessary steps to report the issue, winning a racial discrimination lawsuit against the employer might be challenging.

  1. Contact a Dependable Attorney

If you are experiencing a hostile or stressful workplace due to your race or skin color, you should contact a dependable attorney for legal guidance on what to do to preserve your rights. The attorney you will choose to hire will protect your legal rights and interests to be free from illegal harassment and discrimination in your workplace.

For that reason, you should do prior thorough research and seek recommendations before hiring an attorney for legal representation on your claim. Tips listed below can make your hunt for a reliable attorney hassle-free:

  • Consider the attorney’s reputation

  • Consider the attorney’s cost of services

  • Consider the attorney’s experience

  • Consider the attorney’s location

  • Consider the attorney’s availability

  • Consider whether or not your prospective attorney is licensed

Reporting Racial Discrimination Case to Appropriate Agencies

Before you consider filing a lawsuit against your employer for harassment or racial discrimination, you should file your complaints with the appropriate federal or state agency first. Your attorney will know the appropriate agency to file your complaints, depending on the specific facts of your racial discrimination case.

Before you try to file a lawsuit against your employer for racial discrimination, you must first exhaust all your administrative remedies under federal and state law. Below are agencies that handle racial discrimination cases under federal law and state law, respectively:

  • The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

  • The Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH)

Since the state law offers several protections to employees who are targets of racial discrimination in their workplace, your attorney will file your racial discrimination complaints with the DFEH instead of the EEOC. Typically, you have up to one year from the date you experienced racial discrimination at your workplace to file a claim with the DFEH.

Fortunately, with the availability of technology, you can submit this complaint online using the DFEH website or by phone at the comfort of your home. Once the officials at the DFEH receive your complaint, they will review it and decide whether to investigate the matter or not.

If the DFEH officials or representatives determine that the state cannot handle your case, they will dismiss it. When that happens, you will still have a legal right to file a lawsuit against your employer to recover damages associated with racial discrimination in a workplace.

If you do not want to go through the DFEH or EEOC investigation process to resolve your racial discrimination claim, you will have to obtain a "right to sue" notice to take your claim to court.

Proving a Racial Discrimination Claim in Court

If it is impossible to resolve your case at the administrative level, you will have to sue your employer for violating racial anti-discrimination laws. When you take your claim to court, the burden of proof will be on your attorney because your employer does not have to prove that they did not commit the alleged discriminatory acts.

To hold your employer accountable for their racial discrimination acts against you, your attorney will have to prove the following elements in court:

  • You were subject to an employment action like termination or demotion because of your race or ethnic origin.

  • Your particular race or skin color was one of the substantial reasons for the discrimination because your job performance or reviews was satisfactory.

  • Other employees of a different race retained their job or did not experience similar discriminatory acts.

The court will expect your attorney to prove the above elements beyond a reasonable doubt, meaning the evidence they will present in front of a judge must be convincing for an award of compensatory damages. Below are some of the acceptable evidence your attorney can apply to prove you deserve damages for unlawful racial discrimination at your workplace:

  • Social media messages

  • Emails

  • Eyewitnesses testimonies

  • Surveillance videos

Damages You Might Receive If Your Racial Discrimination Claim is Successful

The type of damages you will receive when you win a racial discrimination claim will typically depend on the severity of the harm you have experienced due to your employer’s unlawful discriminatory acts against you. Typically, in a racial discrimination claim, the court will award you the following type of damages if you win your case against your employer:

Economic (Money) Damages

Economic damages in a racial discrimination claim may cover losses associated with:

  • Front pay

  • Back wages, including interests

  • Pension benefits

  • Pain and suffering

  • Emotional distress

  • Bonus payments

  • Filing the lawsuit, including your attorney's fees

Equitable Remedies

If the court finds your employer guilty of the alleged discriminatory acts, you might also receive equitable remedies in an attempt to make you "whole again." For instance, if you were subject to an employment termination based on your race or ethnic origin, the judge may require your employer to re-employ or rehire you.

Even if you were a qualified job applicant and the employer did not hire you because of your race, the court might require them to hire you if your racial discrimination claim is successful.

Punitive Damages

Under certain circumstances, the court may also award you punitive damages. Unlike other types of damages, punitive or exemplary damages are available in a racial discrimination claim to punish the employer for their egregious and unlawful conduct against you.

The Bottom Line

We all have a legal right to work in an environment free of all kinds of employment discrimination. If you suspect that you are a target of racial discrimination in your workplace, you should speak with an attorney as soon as possible for the much-needed legal assistance on the case.

Find an Employment Law Attorney Near Me

If you need legal assistance filing a racial discrimination claim against your employer for racial discrimination, profound attorneys at Stop Unpaid Wages can help you. Call us at 424-781-8411 wherever you are in California for an obligation-free consultation with our experienced attorneys if you have experienced discrimination based on your race or skin color at your workplace.