Working While Black Handbook (2021) : simplebooklet.com

1974197719801984198719901990Approximately 17% of Black men were out of the labor market and 1970 black men had extremely low levels of educational attainment. Sixty-three percent of Black people had less than a high school degree, and only 13 percent of them attended college. Only 6 percent of black males had a bachelor’s degree or higher in 1970.e Supreme Court decision in Milden v. Brad-ley rules that schools may not be desegregated across school districts. is allows for legal segregation of students of color in inner-city districts from white students in white suburban districts.In 1977, Congress enacted legislation requiring that at least 10 percent of federal funds granted for local public works programs had to be used to obtain services or supplies from businesses owned by minority group members.Fullilove v. Klutznick, the United States Su-preme Court held that the U.S. Congress could constitutionally use its spending power to reme-dy past discrimination.In 1984 the average hourly black-white wage gap for men 18.1% and 8.5% for women.U.S. v. Paradise - In response to a series of NAACP-initiated lawsuits in the 1970s, the Ala-bama Department of Public Safety was required to implement a promotion scheme in which half of the department’s promotions to certain ranks would go to black ocers if enough qualied blacks were available. e Court upheld the one-black-for-one-white promotion plan.Metro Broadcasting v. FCC - In a 5-to-4 deci-sion, the Supreme Court held that the FCC’s minority preference policies were constitutional because they provided appropriate remedies for discrimination victims and were aimed at the advancement of legitimate congressional objec-tives for program diversity.02The history of workplace gains to end discrimination continues. When we organize we win!1970Since 1990 white applicants received, on aver-age, 36% more callbacks than Black applicants and 24% more callbacks than Latino applicants with identical resumes. Found in a study pub-lished in the Proceedings of the National Acade-my of Sciences5National Black Worker Center

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1993199320082009200920102019e Nineteenth Century Civil Rights Act 1993 ensured all person’s equal rights under the law and outline the damages available to complaints brought under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII, the American Disability Act of 1990, and Rehabilitation of 1993.e Family and Medical Leave Act 1993 provided employees the right to take unpaid time o from work in order to care for a newborn or recently adopted child or to look aer an ill family member.Title II of the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act of 2008 made it is illegal to discriminate against employees or applicants because of genetic information.Lilly Led better Fair Pay Act of 2009 claried that a discriminatory compensa-tion decision or other practice that is unlawful occurs each time compensation is paid pursuant to the discriminatory compensation decision or other practic-es and thereby extends the time in which an employee can bring a lawsuit.Fair Labor Standards Act July 2009 Established that non-exempt workers are entitled to a minimum wage of not less than $7.25 per eective July 2009.Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010 allowed openly gay, lesbian, and bisex-ual Americans to serve without discrimination in the armed forces.e Crown Act. is bill prohibits discrimination based on a person’s hair tex-ture or hairstyle if that style or texture is commonly associated with a particu-lar race or national origin.02The history of workplace gains to end discrimination continues. When we organize we win!6Handbook For Working While Black

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Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 US Code § 1981Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 US Code § 1981addresses the employees’ rights to be free from racial discrimina-tion in the workplace. Race discrimination in the workplace constitutes as any unfavorable treatment against a job applicant or employee, specically because of his or her race related characteristics such as skin tone, hair or facial features. Examples of racial discrimination in the work-place include racial slurs, racist jokes/cartoons, racial stereotypes, paraphernalia like swastikas, nooses or singing along to racist song lyrics. Below is a rened list of workplace discrimination:03• Harassment in the workplace that is based on race and leads to hostile work conditions • Directing obscene gestures or words towards spe-cic racial minorities• Unfairly disciplining employees on the basis of race• e use of racial and ethnic slurs e use of anti-quated “outdated” terms to denote race• Terms that point to assumptions regarding someone’s ethnic background.• Phrases like “you people” or “your people” that reference someone’s ethnic background.• Assigning employees of a dierent race to dier-ent job duties• Being treated dierently than other employees who were in the same situation• Being denied certain benets because of your race. Being asked about your race during the hir-ing process• Denials of a promotion based on raceSigns of Racism & Discrimination at work7National Black Worker Center

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HiddenHidden RacismRacism in in thethe WorkplaceWorkplaceImplicit bias and subconscious bias are associations made by in-dividuals in an unconscious state of mind, meaning that they are not aware of their discriminatory tendencies. Implicit biases are shaped by experience and based on learned associations between particular qualities and social categories, including race and/or gender. ese are dicult to identify by employers so employees should provide HR specic examples to contextualize certain“neu-tral” comments, and alert employers as to what the employee be-lieves is racist.038Handbook For Working While Black

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C O N F I R M A T I O N B I A SInclination to draw conclusions about a situation or person based on your personal desires, beliefs and prej-udices rather than on unbiased merit.Example: First reviewing a resume and forming an opin-ion based on ones name, where they’re from, or went to school.A T T R I B U T I O N B I A SA phenomenon where you try to make sense of or judge a person’s behavior based on pri-or observations and interactions you had with that individual that make up your perception of themExample: Finding someone unt for a job because of something unusual on their re-sume or unexpected behavior during the interview03A F F I N I T Y B I A STendency people have to connect with others who share similar interests, experiences and back-ground.Example: Companies only hire for a“culture t” but not to help your team grow and diver-sify. Being isolated by employees and management.9National Black Worker Center

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Consistently Consistently Overlooked-Overlooked-When you are more than quali-ed for the position or promotion, but you are constantly overlooked in favor of your white counterparts.Hostility-Hostility- Informing a Black woman that she is too aggressive, a Mus-lim man criticized for not drinking during social events, or an Indian immigrant being mocked for their accent. Victims may also be accused of not tting in the oce cultureOvercritical-Overcritical- If no matter how hard you work and complete assignments in a timely fashion, the employer still nds a way to criticize your work.Retaliation-Retaliation-Any negative employment decision by an employer in response to a complaint,such as de-motion, termination, or sudden writ-ten reprimands for performance..Stereotyping-Stereotyping- Colleagues using words such as “they” and “us” to cre-ate a divide. Also, making deroga-tory comments about a particular element of a person’s culture or customs.SIGNS OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION• • Under the legal theory Under the legal theory of temporal proximity, an of temporal proximity, an employee may be able to employee may be able to demonstrate workplace retal-demonstrate workplace retal-iation if he or she lodges verbal iation if he or she lodges verbal or written complaints of race discrimination or written complaints of race discrimination and is then passed up for an expected promo-and is then passed up for an expected promo-tion shortly aer.tion shortly aer.• • An employee cannot be retaliated against for sup-An employee cannot be retaliated against for sup-porting or making a complaint on behalf of another porting or making a complaint on behalf of another employee who is experiencing race discrimination.employee who is experiencing race discrimination.• • Employer must provide a non-discriminatory reason Employer must provide a non-discriminatory reason for passing the employee up for promotion.for passing the employee up for promotion.0310Handbook For Working While Black

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A company may be liable for racial discrimination if it is aware, or should have been aware, of one or more incidents of racial discrimi-nation in the workplace, and it does not address those incidents with the harasser and the victim to ensure that they do not happen again. Pleading ignorance may not be sucient, and essential-ly raties a harasser’s discriminatory conduct. Employers should regularly update their anti-discriminatory policies to reect changes in the law or review their policies with sta members.HOW TO RESPOND TO RACIAL DISCRIMINATION03Employees Employees have a number have a number of informal options of informal options if they believe they have if they believe they have been subjected to racial been subjected to racial discrimination.discrimination.1. Employees must notify their employers of their concerns.2. Employees should document incidents of discrimination as soon as they occur and continue to update management or Human Resources. Take notes and try to include as many details as you can- what racial comments were made, who was present when it happened, what anyone’s response- anything you believe is relevant.3. If an employee believes that he did not get a promotion or bonus because of his race, he would have to show the following:a. He is a member of a protected classb. He is entitled to receive the promotion or bonus as part of his jobc. He was denied the promotion or bonusd. Coworkers with the same job title, but of a dierent race, received the promotion or bonuse. e company would then have to show a legitimate nondiscriminatory reason for denying the bonus such as a documented performance issues, or nancial strain. 11National Black Worker Center

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4. Employee’s should also read the employee handbook and review the discrimi-nation and harassment section. e handbook should direct you to your manager, to a higher-ranking supervisor or to a designated person in human resources.5. Employee’s may escalate if there is not a satisfactory resolution. Employee’s should seek legal assistance and escalate claim in court.a. If the employer employs at least 15 employees, the complaint must be led with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. b. Otherwise employees can pursue a case in court under the federal Statute 42 42 U.S. Code §1981U.S. Code §1981.6. e employee may also seek assistance from advocacy organizations such as the Black Workers Centers, NAACP, e National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA), Unions if you are a member. If you are not a member of the Union, you are still fully recovered by the collective bargaining agreement that was negotiated between your employer and the Union, and the Union is obligated to represent you.0312Handbook For Working While Black

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PERILS OF WORKING WHILE BLACKFor Black people, the workplace is a mineeld. Regardless of class, ed-ucation or background,we face ra-cialized microaggressions in even the most liberal of workplaces. From having co-workers reach out to touch our hair to being forced to act as our organization’s unof-cial (and unpaid) Diversity O-cer, Black workers are tired of be-ing treated like mystical unicorns instead of skilled employees. e perils that Black workers deal with are so widespread and consistent that they fall into predictable cat-egories. ese categories are also known as microaggressions. Mi-croaggressions may seem minor; but compounded over time, they are the equivalent of a thousand little knives that can slowly slice away at your condence, health and psychological wellbeing.0413National Black Worker Center

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Now You See Me, Now You Don’trough the malicious magic of systemic racism, Black workers are both hy-per-visible and invisible. We are conveniently invisible to our non-Black co-work-ers when positions of power become available or when it is time to make a crucial decision. We are asked to share our opinions and ideas in meetings, only to have them ignored or co-opted by our colleagues. We oen don’t receive credit for our successful contributions and are overly punished when our suggestions don’t work out as planned. Yet, when it comes to marketing materials for our companies, our co-workers suddenly remember that we exist. Black workers get invited to ev-ery photo shoot or public opportunity to upli our organization’s brand. We are hyper-visible in brochures and on websites, oen sitting right in the middle of a group of colleagues who just ignored us in the meeting before the photoshoot.is microaggression falls in the same category as accusations of “reverse racism,” the idea that the success of a few Black people is evidence that we receive systemic privileges and advantages. “You only got your job because of armative action,” our non-Black colleagues claim. ey point to Oprah and Obama and say, “See??! Black people aren’t oppressed, in fact, you have too much privilege.”Really?? First of all, the data shows that armative action has mostly beneted white women. Secondly, armative action,dened as pref-erential job opportunities based on race, has been in place since the creation of the United States. Since 1619, white people have had access to employment when Black workers did not. At the start of our country’s history, Black work-ers were enslaved and tortured while White workers were paid. In the present day, hiring managers choose job applications with White sounding names over Black sounding ones. Black privilege does not exist.Black PrivilegeO V E R A C H I E V I N G S L A C K E R SBlack workers have to work twice as hard to get half as far. Black women are the most educated demograph-ic of the United States but still only earn 64 cents for each dollar made by White men. e number of Black students in college has increased dramatically in the last 50 years, yet the myths about our laziness remain. In America’s imagination, Black workers are slackers, lazy. We come in late and leave early. When in reali-ty, we’ve been responsible for many of this country’s achievements, from the cotton gin to technology for GPS devices. It’s time for White workers who spread the lie of Black laziness to take several seats.B L A C K L I K E M EEven in the time of COVID-19, during the summer, people are running to the beach and other public spaces. at means we only have a few more weeks before non-Black colleagues with a suntan come to us to say, “Look! I’m almost as black/dark as you!” When will they understand that Blackness comes with more than just a darker skin color? We battle systemic racism in the form of state-sanctioned murders, dis-proportionate deaths from COVID-19 and redlining to prevent us from building generational wealth. No, Becky, you are not Black like us.0415National Black Worker Center

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B E H I N D T H E S M I L EIn spite of the regular microaggressions and overt dis-crimination we face in the workplace, Black workers oen stie their frustrations behind our smiles. Our annoyance, disappointments and righteous anger are misinterpreted as refusal to be a team player or, worse, outright intimidating aggression. Our careers falter based on the perception that Black people are inher-ently threatening and dangerous. In response, we are forced to be overly polite and hide behind wide smiles, faking happiness even as our souls are cut by a million microaggressions.B L A C K C O N S C I E N C ERegardless of a Black worker’s job title, they are oen perceived as the organization’s conscience in issues of racial equity. Our colleagues hear discriminatory comments and stay silent while waiting for us to ad-dress them. Black workers are ready for our non-Black co-workers to step up and take responsibility for the inequitable cultures they have maintained and helped to create. It is not enough to pull us to the side aer a meeting to complain, “Oh my goodness, I can’t believe s/he said that!! Don’t they know it’s 2020? I can’t be-lieve they still have such bigoted ideas.” at response places undue burden on Black workers to put their jobs at risk while our colleagues keep themselves safe.16Handbook For Working While Black

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J U S T O N E D R O PHiring one Black worker to ll quotas tokenizes us and reduces our value to just the color of our skin. ose pioneering Black workers are le alone to navigate the racist culture in their workplace without support. When we eventually burn out under these conditions, supervisors use our departure as an excuse to not hire more people of color.BLACK ATTACKAmy Coopers and their male counterparts exist ev-erywhere. We as Black workers run into them on an almost daily basis where they attack us as we do our work. “Are you sure you belong here?” they ask, as we deliver their packages, make home visits or do com-munity-based outreach. Our mere presence in their neighborhoods feels threatening to them. Even when we ignore their questions, they insist that they have a right to police us as we go about our daily tasks. Black workers always have to be on the defensive just to do our jobs.GATHER TOGETHERWhite people congregate in large single-race groups all the time. But when Black workers gather for lunch or stop for a moment to greet each other in the hallway, our White co-workers get suspicious. Are they worried we are planning a violent takeover or a race war? Most of the time, we’re just discussing funny comments from a meeting or what we plan to have for lunch. We have the right to spend time with whoever who want, yet White workers try to push into those spaces be-cause the sight of two or three of us gathering makes them so uncomfortable. e basic freedom to gather is a right that Black workers are deprived of on a regular basis.ALL WORK, NO PERKSBlack workers are promoted at a much lower rate than White workers. is fact remains even when we have shown loyalty to our company and earned stellar reviews. As we are stuck in dead-end jobs, we watch person aer person be promoted ahead of us. We are called on to train our new supervisor since our lon-gevity means that we are the only ones who know how things are run. But our salaries and job titles oen don’t reect our expertise.Despite these microaggressions, Black workers are here and are ready to lead. We hold insight and knowledge that are invaluable for our workplace. Investing time and resources into remov-ing these obstacles to our success will benet both Black workers and the companies they work for.0417National Black Worker Center

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Let it goFor a long time, the most common default response was choosing not to address oensive comments in the workplace. Because they are pervasive yet subtle, they can be emotionally draining to confront. Yet silence places an emotional tax on Black employees, who are le wondering what happened and why, questioning their right to feel oended, and reinforcing beliefs that they are not safe from identity devaluation at work.Ella F. Washington, Alison Hall Birch and Laura Morgan Roberts in their article When and How to Respond to Microaggressions provide three main ways to react:18Handbook For Working While Black

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Respond immediatelyis approach allows the transgression to be called out and its impact explained while the details of the incident are fresh in the minds of everyone involved. Immediacy is an important component of correcting bad behavior. But this approach can be risky. e per-petrator might get defensive, leaving the target feeling like they somehow “lost control,” did not show up as their best self, and will be labeled an overly sensitive whiner, a trouble-maker, or the stereotypical angry Black person.Respond laterA more tempered response is to address the perpetra-tor privately at a later point to explain why the micro-aggression was oensive. Here, the risk lies in the time lag. A follow-up conversation requires helping the per-son who committed the microaggression to rst recall it and then to appreciate its impact. e Black employ-ee bringing it up might be deemed petty — like some-one who has been harboring resentment or holding on to “little things” while the other party, having “meant no harm,” has moved on. Such accusations are a form of racial gaslighting, which can be very damaging.0419National Black Worker Center

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We recommend the following framework for determining which course is best for you in any given situation and then, if you decide to respond, ensuring an eective dialogue to react:Discern.Discern. Determine how much of an investment you want to make in addressing the microaggression. Do not feel pressured to respond to every incident; rather, feel empowered to do so when you decide you should. Consider:• e importance of the issue and the relationship. If either is or both are important to you, avoidance is the wrong ap-proach. Express yourself in a way that honors your care for the other party, and assert yourself in a way that acknowledg-es your concern about the issue.• Your feelings. Microaggressions can make you doubt the le-gitimacy of your reactions. Allow yourself to feel what you feel, whether it’s anger, disappointment, frustration, aggrava-tion, confusion, embarrassment, exhaustion, or something else. Any emotion is legitimate and should factor into your decision about whether, how, and when to respond. With more-active negative emotions such as anger, it’s oen best to address the incident later. If you’re confused, an immediate response might be preferable. If you’re simply exhausted from the weight of working while Black, maybe it is best to let it go —meaning best for you, not for the perpetrator.• How you want to be perceived now and in the future. ere are consequences to speaking up and to remaining silent. Only you can determine which holds more weight for you in any specic situation.0420Handbook For Working While Black

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We recommend the following framework for determining which course is best for you in any given situation and then, if you decide to respond, ensuring an eective dialogue to react:Disarm. Disarm. If you choose to confront a microaggression, be pre-If you choose to confront a microaggression, be pre-pared to disarm the person who committed it. One reason we pared to disarm the person who committed it. One reason we avoid conversations about race is that they make people defen-avoid conversations about race is that they make people defen-sive. Perpetrators of microaggressions typically fear being per-sive. Perpetrators of microaggressions typically fear being per-ceived — or worse, revealed — as racist. Explain that the conver-ceived — or worse, revealed — as racist. Explain that the conver-sation might get uncomfortable for them but that what they just sation might get uncomfortable for them but that what they just said or did was uncomfortable for you. Invite them to sit along-said or did was uncomfortable for you. Invite them to sit along-side you in the awkwardness of their words or deeds while you side you in the awkwardness of their words or deeds while you get to the root of their behavior together.get to the root of their behavior together.Defy. Defy. Challenge the perpetrator to clarify their statement or ac-tion. Use a probing question, such as “How did you mean that?” is gives people a chance to check themselves as they unpack what happened. And it gives you an opportunity to better gauge the perpetrator’s intent. One of the greatest privileges is the freedom not to notice you have privilege; so microaggressions are oen inadvertently oensive. Acknowledge that you accept their intentions to be as they stated but reframe the conversation around the impact of the microaggression. Explain how you initially interpreted it and why. If they continue to assert that they “didn’t mean it like that,” remind them that you appreciate their willingness to clarifytheir intent and hope they appreciate your willingness to clarify their impact.Decide.Decide. You control what this incident will mean for your life and your work — what you will take from the interaction and what you will allow it to take from you. Black people, as well as those with various other marginalized and interjectional identi-ties, are already subject to biased expectations and evaluations in the workplace. Life is suciently taxing without allowing micro-aggressions to bring you down. Let protecting your joy be your greatest and most persistent act of resistance.21National Black Worker Center

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04A note of advice for non-Black allies old and new: e work of allyship is dif-cult. You will make mistakes as you learn — and you will always be learning. For anyone accused of committing a microaggression or counseling someone who has been accused, here are a few notes on how to respond:• • Remember that intent does not supersede impact. Seek to understand the experiences of Remember that intent does not supersede impact. Seek to understand the experiences of your Black peers, bosses, and employees without making them responsible for your edica-your Black peers, bosses, and employees without making them responsible for your edica-tion.tion.• • Believe your Black colleagues when they choose to share their insights; don’t get defensive Believe your Black colleagues when they choose to share their insights; don’t get defensive or play devil’s advocate. Get comfortable rethinking much of what you thought to be true or play devil’s advocate. Get comfortable rethinking much of what you thought to be true about the world and your workplace and accept that you have likely been complicit in pro-about the world and your workplace and accept that you have likely been complicit in pro-ducing inequity.ducing inequity.Although more organizations are encouraging candid discussions on race in the workplace, we cannot ignore the historical backlash that Black employees have endured for speaking up. Cultural change takes time and intention. So while we encourage timely and strategic dialogue about microaggressions, it is ultimately up to each individual to respond in the way that is most authentic to who they are and how they want to be perceived.22Handbook For Working While Black

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05KNOW YOUR RIGHTSAll employees have a right to:• • Not be harassed or discriminated against (treated less favorably) because of race, col-Not be harassed or discriminated against (treated less favorably) because of race, col-or, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national or, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, disability, age (40 or older) or genetic information (including family medical origin, disability, age (40 or older) or genetic information (including family medical history).history).• • Receive equal pay for equal work.Receive equal pay for equal work.• • Receive reasonable accommodations (changes to the way things are normally done Receive reasonable accommodations (changes to the way things are normally done at work) that are needed because of their medical condition or religious beliefs, if re-at work) that are needed because of their medical condition or religious beliefs, if re-quired by law.quired by law.• • Expect that any medical information or genetic information that they share with their Expect that any medical information or genetic information that they share with their employer will be kept condential.employer will be kept condential.• • Report discrimination, participate in a discrimination investigation or lawsuit, or op-Report discrimination, participate in a discrimination investigation or lawsuit, or op-pose discrimination (for example, threaten to le a discrimination complaint), with-pose discrimination (for example, threaten to le a discrimination complaint), with-out being retaliated against (punished) for doing so.out being retaliated against (punished) for doing so.23National Black Worker Center

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Where to File a complaint:• • e US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Divisione US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is responsible for administering and enforc-ing some of the nation’s most important worker protection laws.• • e U.S. Equal Opportunity Commissione U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of a person’s race, religion, color, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetic information.• • Labor UnionsLabor Unions are composed of elected leaders of labor union negotiate specic items of employment including: Pay and Benets, working conditions, complaint procedures,hiring and ring guidelines, help with unfair labor practices.0525National Black Worker Center

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Steps to File a complaint with the EEOCSteps to File a complaint with the EEOCA discrimination inquiry can either be completed through their online portal, in person, or over the phone.OnlineOnline1. 1. If you are submitting the inquiry online, you must submit the application through the If you are submitting the inquiry online, you must submit the application through the portal.portal.2. 2. You will receive an interview with EEOC and they will determine whether this is the You will receive an interview with EEOC and they will determine whether this is the right area for youright area for you3. 3. If EEOC is the appropriate area, they will proceed with ling the chargeIf EEOC is the appropriate area, they will proceed with ling the chargeIn PersonIn Person1. 1. You may le a charge discrimination closest EEOC center to where you liveYou may le a charge discrimination closest EEOC center to where you live2. 2. Bring with you any documents that may assist in your claimBring with you any documents that may assist in your claim3. 3. You may also bring anyone else with you especially if you need language assistance.You may also bring anyone else with you especially if you need language assistance.By TelephoneBy Telephone1. 1. Call 1-800-669-4000Call 1-800-669-400026Handbook For Working While Black

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Steps to ling a complaint with e US Department of Labor’s Wage and Steps to ling a complaint with e US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division(WHD)Hour Division(WHD)1. Contact them at 1-866-487-9243 or visit www.dol.gov/agencies/whd. You will be di-rected to the nearest WHD oce for assistance.2. e information below is useful to le a complaint with WHD:• • Your nameYour name• • Your address and phone number (how you can be contacted)Your address and phone number (how you can be contacted)• • e name of the company where you work(ed)e name of the company where you work(ed)• • Location of the company (this may be dierent from where you worked)Location of the company (this may be dierent from where you worked)• • Phone number of the companyPhone number of the company• • Manager or owners name (who should we ask to speak to?)Manager or owners name (who should we ask to speak to?)• • Type of work you didType of work you did• • How and when you were paid (e.g., cash or check, every Friday)How and when you were paid (e.g., cash or check, every Friday)27National Black Worker Center

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Steps at Workers Can Take If ey’re A Victim Of Racial Discrimination (from our friends at Employment Law)Racial discrimination involves treating an employee or an applicant in an unfavorable manner because of their race or characteristics associ-ated with race. Racial discrimination can also occur because of an indi-vidual being married to or associated with someone of a particular race or color. Racial discrimination is illegal, and if you have been the victim of racial discrimination in the workplace there are laws in place to help you.How Racial Discrimination OccursRacial discrimination occ urs when an employer discriminates against an employee directly due to an attribute that they have because they belong to a protected class as determined by Title VII of the Human Rights Act, 1964. ere are many ways that racial dis-crimination can occur in the workplace. It can involve being turned down for a promotion that you are qualied for simply because of your skin color or ethnic background, being paid a lower rate, being laid o, denial of benets, being denied opportunities, and even being red. You could be subjected to racial slurs, subjected to the display of racially oensive symbols or comments, or subjected to derogatory or oensive remarks about your heritage or color. If you believe you are a victim of racial discrimination, you should document everything and maintain thorough evidence to support your claim.28Handbook For Working While Black

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What To Do If You Have Suered Racial DiscriminationIf you have been a victim of racial discrimination in the workplace, there are laws to protect you. You should rst address the matter with your employer. Speak with a supervisor or with human resources (HR) about the incident. Be sure to document how your employer responds, and if they address the matter. If the issue is not resolved, then you will take the next step and le a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). ey will investigate the incident and work to resolve the matter. ey will review your evidence and they will speak with your employer. ey will work to make sure that the discrimination matter is resolved, and that you are treated fairly. If they nd that your employer knowingly and willingly broke the law, they le a lawsuit against them on your behalf. You have a limited time to pursue a charge against your employer. You have 180 days to le a charge unless state laws give you longer.29National Black Worker Center

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What To ExpectWhen you le a racial discrimination claim against your employer, you can ask to be compensated for any dam-ages that you suered because of the discriminatory acts. ese damages include; Injunction Relief: court order requiring that the defendant stops race discrimination back pay: the amount in wages that the employ-ee should have received had the unlawful racial discrimination had not occurred front pay: represent a plainti ’s lost salary and bene-ts, caused by the unlawful racial discrimination, from the time of trial through some point in the future compensatory and punitive damages: compensatory damages awarded to plaintis designed to give justice to them aer being wronged by racial discrimination and punitive damages are designed to prevent others from being hurt by the same or similar actions of racial discrimination. If they nd that your employer knowingly and willingly broke the law, they le a law-suit against them on your behalf. You have a limited time to pursue a charge against your employer. You have 180 days to le a charge un-less state laws give you longer.30Handbook For Working While Black

Working While Black Handbook (2021)

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