Every week, I encounter new potential clients who have fallen victim to workplace discrimination.  Among other topics, unlawful conduct includes Age Discrimination, Disability Discrimination, Injury Discrimination, National Origin Discrimination, Pregnancy Discrimination, Race Discrimination, Religious Discrimination, Retaliation, Sex Discrimination, and Sexual Harassment.  Sometimes, it is impossible for me to help.  Often, people wait too long to speak out or fail to preserve their claim.  Sitting back and letting others treat you unlawfully is not the right approach to take.  Below is my quick guide for dealing with employment discrimination in Missouri.

Step 1 – Review Company Policy

Look up your employee handbook that you probably haven’t thought about since getting hired or being handed the latest revision.  Often, these will have procedures to follow in the event of workplace misconduct.  If they do, follow them.

Step 2 – Report to your Employer

Let your direct supervisor and/or manager know what happened, and do so in writing if possible.  Give him/her the important facts.  Once you have put management on notice, they should investigate your claim.

Step 3 – Follow-up with HR

See if they investigated your complaint, and find out what they determined and what remedial measures are being taken.

Step 4 – Seek Legal Representation

If you have experienced the treatment, reported it pursuant to company policy, and nothing has been done to remedy the situation, you need to contact an employment law attorney.  You should also contact counsel if your employer has retaliated against you for making a claim.  Your lawyer will work with you to properly file your charge of discrimination with state and federal agencies.

TIP:  Please document your experience as well as possible.  This can make your case down the road.