My friend is being racially discriminated at work?

Question

what is the burden of proof that is need to prove this, There are many incidents where she has been verbally assulted by two white girls in her office but if she says anything back to them she is the one who is disiplined by the white directors my friend is a manager as is one of the other girls this has been happening for along time no matter what has happened it is always her who is in the wrong in the eyes of the management and is disiplined she has had more disiplinaries then she can count.

Answer 1

Technically speaking, if she makes an allegation then the firm is legally obliged to support her while the claim is being investigated. If the discrimination is of a racist nature, then she is also well within her rights to pursue criminal action and can involve the police. However, these things are enormously difficult to 'prove', especially if the abuse is endemic within the firm. If she had, for example, a tape recording (use a mobile) which could be used as evidence, then she should in the first instance approach a trade union representative (if she's in the right industry) and see what level of support she might receive. Failing that, or if it doesn't apply, the Citizens Advice Bureau would be able to help her. One thing she MUST do is make a noise, no matter what the consequences are - this kind of behaviour has to be rooted out of our society at all costs.

Answer 2

Your friend should keep a log of each incident, exactly what happened and when, and to whom she reported. She should then bring the log to the HR department or the boss over the person who is ignoring the problem.

It is very difficult to prove that the discrimination is based on race. You have to have blatant comments or establish a precedent in the company for racial discrimination.

Answer 3

She needs to keep a record of every time these women verbally assault her,what was happening and what was said. After collecting a sufficient amount,present it to the directors and inform them that if action is not taken to stop this racial abuse,she will report them to a tribunal. Tell her to take notes during the meeting with the directors too. Best of luck to her.

Answer 4

Harassment/Hostile Work Environment
Title VII prohibits offensive conduct, such as racial or ethnic slurs, racial "jokes," derogatory comments, or other verbal or physical conduct based on an individual's race/color. The conduct has to be unwelcome and offensive, and has to be severe or pervasive. Employers are required to take appropriate steps to prevent and correct unlawful harassment. Likewise, employees are responsible for reporting harassment at an early stage to prevent its escalation.

Retaliation
Employees have a right to be free from retaliation for their opposition to discrimination or their participation in an EEOC proceeding by filing a charge, testifying, assisting, or otherwise participating in an agency proceeding.

Answer 5

When they verbally abuse her, are they using ethnic or racial slurs? If so, she should not respond in any way. If she defends herself or lowers herself to their level, it compromises her position. The next time it happens, she should not talk to managers in her department. Instead, she should go directly to Human Resources and file a formal complaint. If she has witnesses to these episodes, it would help. If HR doesn't respond, then she needs to contact whatever state agency handles discrimination cases.

Answer 6

You never said if you are in the UK, if you are she should get one of those small recorders and get evidence and take it to a racial equality office check with your local council for nearest office.
Any other person who may witness discrimination could be asked to make a statement.
I lot of people do not like to get involved but know one should be subjected to abuse at work.

Answer 7

Here's how it goes: Your friend would have to file a complaint with your state's Equal Employment Opportunity Council or equivalent. She would have to give SPECIFIC examples (on this day at this time this person said ABC to me), and unless she wants this to turn into a she-said-she-said your friend would have to produce witnesses that saw or overheard what was going on and are willing to testify on her behalf. If your friend can do that, there's an excellent chance that she would win her complaint. But if your friend doesn't have anyone else to corroborate her story, her chances of winning her complaint are slim to none because it would be her word against theirs, they would all say the same thing to protect their jobs, and your friend would have the added strike of all the disciplinary actions racked up against her. Good luck!

Answer 8

Tell your friend she has options.. She can even file for harrassment! It isn't right she gets racially discriminated... She should look up her rights! There are laws against this...She should file a complaint to the person above her directors..

Answer 9

Since at the moment it's a she said she said thing it gets tough and often swept under the company welcome mat so to speak. Well as we all have seen from YouTube those video cameras sure seem to work wonders in exposing the truth. Might not be bad idea for your friend to "record" the truth.

Answer 10

Your friend needs to log everything in her diary, times and dates record any conversations and contact her union. Has your friend been given the opportunity to have union representation at her hearings.There are laws to prevent such intolerable behaviour. It seems to be like covert bullying. The advice I would give to your friend would be to look for another job, ( jump before she is pushed) and sue them for constructive dismissal. Pass on my best wishes to her and tell her not to give up.