How do I record incidents of discrimination or retaliation?

On Behalf of | Jul 20, 2021 | Employment Law

No worker should have to tolerate discrimination or harassment at the workplace. If you experience discrimination due to your race, gender, national origin or other identifying factors, you can file a civil rights complaint against the perpetrator. To bolster your case, you should consider how to make and keep documents concerning your incident.

Your harasser may attempt to discredit you by offering up information that supposedly disproves your case. But if you document the facts of your harassment, you stand a better chance of proving your claim.

Making your own records

Inc.com explains that in the immediate aftermath of an act of workplace discrimination or harassment, you should write down all the details of the event. These include the following:

  • The date of the incident
  • The time when it happened
  • Where the incident took place
  • What you have said during the incident
  • What the perpetrator said or did in response

Also, record the names of any workers or anyone who had witnessed the incident. And do not keep this document at work. Put it somewhere where you know it will be safe, like at home or a secured storage unit such as a safe.

Keep records of your job performance

In the event a superior employee has been harassing you, the perpetrator may attempt to denigrate your job performance. You will want to keep as many records of your job performance as possible, like copies of your performance evaluations and letters attesting to how well you perform. Consider acquiring a copy of performance documents from your personnel file if at all possible.

Make sure whatever you do is something your company policy allows. You do not want your employer to accuse you of violating company rules. Like your personal records, keep your work documents at home so that someone at work cannot alter or destroy them. These records may be the critical factor that shows your workplace has mistreated you.

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