Discrimination when you work as a retail worker takes place when you are not treated as if you are equal to other retail workers. The discrimination is normally related to a personal feature you have which may make you look or act differently from other retail workers but it doesn’t affect your ability to do the job.
How a Retail Worker May Experience Workplace Discrimination
There are both state and federal laws which cover the different aspects of discrimination in the workplace. Generally, state laws are usually much the same as federal laws. This means that any employer who employs retail workers is not permitted to discriminate based on any of the retail worker’s specific characteristics which include:
- marital status;
- gender;
- color;
- age;
- a physical or mental disability.
- political affiliation;
- parenthood in many cases;
- national origin including one’s ancestry;
- religion;
- race;
- pregnancy status;
- sexual orientation.
There are situations when an employer thinks it is necessary to discriminate when hiring a retail worker by saying the business would suffer negatively if there was no discrimination. This is both unacceptable and illegal. If you believe you have suffered discrimination, you have the right to file a complaint.
How Discrimination Can Occur for a Retail worker
There are a number of ways a retailer who acts as an employer can discriminate against one of its retail worker due to a personal but protected feature.
These could be any of the following:
- cutting the retail worker’s shift time which decreases wages earned;
- refusing to offer the retail worker any further training opportunities;
- refusing any chance of promotion;
- being paid less than another retail worker even though the tasks are identical;
- being excluded or set apart from other retail workers;
- deliberately not providing crucial information so that the retail worker can do a better job;
- being allocated retail work tasks that are impossible to perform;
- being abused or verbally insulted because of a retail worker’s protected/personal features.
Filing a Discrimination Claim as a Retail Worker
As soon as you are sure you have been a victim of discrimination, you should file a report of the event with your supervisor describing the discrimination. It might be something your employer can solve and put right before you submit your complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC).
If your employer takes no notice of your complaint, you shouldn’t give up, but move onto the next step. If your retail company hires more than 15 workers, you can file a complaint with the EEOC if your employer hasn’t responded to your complaint.
You are given 180 days following the incident to file your complaint. However, it's a good idea to file the claim as soon as you can after the discrimination has taken place so that the events are still clear in your mind. This also applies to any witnesses you may have asked to support your claim of discrimination.
How to File a Claim for Discrimination as a Retail Worker
In order to file your workplace discrimination complaint as a retail worker it is a good idea to file the claim in person at your nearest EEOC office. However, if you don’t have the confidence to do that you can do it by mail or online.
You should, at the start, submit an online enquiry with the EEOC so it can make a decision if it is the best agency to file your claim. With your complaint you should also include the following information:
- your full name and contact details;
- your employer’s name and contact information;
- a description of the discrimination including the dates;
- any notes or emails from your employer or other retail workers that reveal your discrimination has taken place;
- names, addresses, and contact details of any witnesses who are prepared to support your allegations of discrimination.
As soon as the EEOC is in receipt of your complaint it will initiate an investigation. If it is important to sort out the discrimination as soon as possible because you are at risk in some way the investigation will begin immediately.
Throughout the investigation an officer from the EEOC may visit your workplace, ask you for additional information, conduct interviews and evaluate any relevant documents. The EEOC officer may organize a mediation date between you and your employer to determine if it is possible to negotiate a favorable outcome to your discrimination. If no solution takes place and the EEOC has established that without any doubt discrimination has taken place you may receive compensation such as:
- reinstatement to your position as a retail worker if you have lost your job,
- promotion if that was the reason for discriminating against you,
- legal fees and court costs (if applicable)
- front pay,
- back pay.
If the EEOC cannot solve your discrimination claim it will inform you and give you 90 days to file a lawsuit against your employer. However, at this point, or if you haven’t already done so, you may need an employment law attorney who specializes in discrimination cases to work on your behalf.
Help With Your Discrimination Claim
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