If you are a victim of discrimination in the workplace, you may be entitled to damages or other remedies. State and federal laws protect employees against discrimination on the job, and there are clear steps employees can take to hold their employers accountable.
While Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 only applies to employers with 15 or more employees, the New York State Human Rights Law applies to all employers regardless of size. Additionally, while not all forms of discrimination are prohibited, the most common forms of workplace discrimination—including discrimination based on race, sex, age and disability—are against the law. With this in mind, if you believe that you may be a victim, it will be worth talking to a lawyer about your legal rights.
5 Tips for Documenting a Claim for Workplace Discrimination
When you talk to a lawyer about filing a workplace discrimination claim, it will be important for you to be able to share as many details as possible. With this in mind, we recommend taking detailed notes about what you have experienced. Write down everything you can recall—from when discriminatory events happened to where they happened and who was involved.
These notes will be important documentation in support of your claim. While they may not serve as evidence in an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) proceeding or in court, they will help your lawyer determine where evidence may be available. You may have access to additional documentation as well—and, if you do, you will want to keep this documentation in a safe place until you can share it with your lawyer.
Here are some more tips for documenting your claim for discrimination in the workplace:
1. Keep Taking Notes
Along with taking notes to document the discrimination you have experienced to date, you should keep taking notes on an ongoing basis. Any time you experience something that you believe may be discriminatory (or any time there is a development related to a past discriminatory act, such as a denial of a reasonable accommodation), you should write down:
- A detailed description of what occurred
- The date and time of occurrence
- The location of occurrence
- The individual(s) involved
- The names of any witnesses
You should also write down what you did in response to the discriminatory act or omission, if anything. The more details you can record, the better.
2. Preserve Any Relevant Emails, Texts or Direct Messages
If you have any emails, texts, direct messages or other communications that you believe may be relevant to your discrimination claim, you should preserve these to share with your lawyer. You can do so by printing out copies or taking screenshots. Printing out physical copies will help ensure that you still have access should you lose access to your employer’s systems for any reason.
Communications don’t necessarily have to be overtly discriminatory to serve as documentation of a workplace discrimination claim. If a communication is part of a pattern of discrimination, or if a communication serves as evidence of discrimination when put into context, make a copy and take notes about why it is relevant.
3. Preserve Any Relevant Employment Records
In addition to preserving any relevant communications, you should preserve any relevant employment records as well. These may include things like:
- Your application for a different position within the company (if you believe you were denied on a discriminatory basis)
- Your employment and compensation history (if you believe that you are receiving unequal pay or were passed over for a pay raise or promotion)
- Your request for a reasonable accommodation (if denial of your request is the basis for your discrimination claim)
- Any reports you have filed with your manager, supervisor or HR department
- Performance evaluations, pay stubs, W-2s, and other employment records that may be relevant to your workplace discrimination claim
If your company has an employee handbook or a specific workplace discrimination policy, you should keep a copy of this as well (if possible). While you can file a discrimination claim regardless, if your employer is violating its own documented policies and procedures, this could play a central role in your claim.
4. File a Report with Your Employer’s HR Department (if Possible)
If your employer has a human resources (HR) department, you should file a report with HR. When filing your report, it is important to be as thorough and accurate as possible. Only report facts that you know to be true, and avoid making assumptions about why you have been treated the way you have.
Before you file your report, be sure to make a copy (or take a photo with your phone) for your records. If you are not comfortable preparing and filing a report on your own, you can hire a lawyer to assist you.
5. Focus On How You Have Been Treated Differently from Your Coworkers
To have a discrimination claim, it isn’t enough that you experienced an adverse employment action or that you were denied an opportunity you believe you deserved. Filing a discrimination claim requires proof that you were treated differently from your coworkers because of your race, sex, age, disability or another protected characteristic.
With this in mind, as you take notes and collect documents that might be relevant to your claim, you should think about not only showing how you have been treated, but also showing why you have been treated that way. These are equally important, and you will need to be able to prove both in order to file a successful claim for workplace discrimination.
Request a Confidential Consultation with a New York Workplace Discrimination Lawyer
When documenting a potential workplace discrimination claim, it is important to be careful about taking any records from your employer’s servers or facilities. Our lawyers can explain everything you need to know, and, if you have a claim, we can take appropriate legal action on your behalf. To request a confidential consultation with a New York workplace discrimination lawyer at Bell Law Group, please call 516-280-3008 or contact us online today.
