When you go to work, you want your employer, coworkers and clients to treat you fairly. However, many employees are victims of discriminatory acts that make going to work and completing their duties difficult.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, as an employee, you have the right to work in a place that is free from discrimination. Today, many myths still surround workplace discrimination and learning about what they are can help you prevent, identify or put an end to discrimination in your workplace.
1. Discrimination is always intentional
Others cannot discriminate again you at work intentionally or unintentionally. Even if someone does not mean to commit workplace discrimination, you should not ignore the situation and hope it improves on its own over time.
2. Discrimination only happens in difficult workplaces
Many workers assume that since their workplace is generally positive, discrimination cannot occur. Even if you like your job and your coworkers, you can still become a victim of discrimination in the workplace.
3. Discrimination laws only apply to large employers
Many employment laws provide protections to all employees, no matter the size of the company they work for. The Equal Pay Act, for example, makes it illegal to pay men and women differently for doing the same job.
Watch out for the subtle signs that discrimination could be happening to you at work. Some of these signs include a lack of diversity among employees, gendered duties and roles and offensive forms of communication occurring among coworkers and management.
