Ways to Prevent Sexual Orientation Discrimination in your workplace.

You should be well aware that discrimination exists in the workplace, including discrimination related to sexual orientation and gender expression. As an employer, you must maintain your workplace free of any discrimination, including sexual harassment. If you allow sexual discrimination to flourish in your workplace, you may have to pay a high price for the affected employee morale, low productivity, and lawsuit complaints.

Sadly, this issue is often neglected or not spoken about, leaving employers and employees in the dark when dealing with this discrimination. If you experience such issues at the workplace, in that case, you may speak to your sexual orientation discrimination attorneys in New York City.

This article discloses what sexual harassment is and provides some effective ways to prevent your workplace from this.

What is sexual harassment?

It is any welcome sexual advances or conducts on the job that can create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment. Any kind of sexual nature that makes an employee uncomfortable in the workplace has the potential to be sexual harassment. Below listed are some examples of sexual harassment –

• Baseless corrective actions and improvement plans.
• Making demeaning comments about female co-workers.
• Wrong termination.
• Discrimination during the hiring process.

Sending emails to co-workers that contain sexually explicit language and jokes.

Derogatory remarks, comments, or name-calling.

Ways to prevent sexual orientation discrimination –

Establishing workplace policies to prevent discrimination –

Protecting your employee’s rights starts with good working conditions at the workplace. To prevent this discrimination in your workplace, start by establishing workplace policies and procedures that aim for discriminatory practices. By implementing a framework that prevents discrimination, you administer a basis from which you can perform corrective actions. These policies make it clear that anyone involved in discrimination against co-workers based on gender identity or sexual orientation will be liable to face punishment. Moreover, this policy helps prevents a hostile work environment from forming.

Providing anti-discrimination training –

With the above-mentioned policies, employers should administer employees, specifically supervisors and managers, with discrimination prevention training. This training should cover a variety of topics including –

• How sexual orientation and gender identity can be covered under the law?
• Your organization’s responsibilities when third parties make discriminatory requests.
• How can one treat and accommodate a transgender employee?

Preventing unintentional discrimination –

Sometimes discrimination at the workplace or among employees is unintentional and based on senseless bias or impartial decision-making. You may be unfamiliar that some seemingly fair hiring practices can be discriminatory for a specific class of workers. A regulated reading test, for example, can be used to discriminate against job candidates with learning disabilities.

In contrast, this discrimination is completely senseless and based on your neutral decisions. It can harm the thoughts of candidates and even employees working in the organization.

So, what to do to prevent this?

As recruiters and leaders, one must be up to date and know all the discriminatory platforms and systems. Statistical analysis and validation tests can help determine whether alternative processes and policies are required. If you can do your job with such understanding, the path to success will become much smoother.

Have a plan in place to examine claims –

Having anti-discrimination policies is one thing, but you have to be committed to following through on them. So make sure you have a plan to examine these claims of sexual orientation discrimination. Moreover, inform employees about the process and what they can expect to boost them to come forward.

How can a Sexual Orientation Discrimination Attorney help?

Hiring knowledgeable and experienced sexual orientation discrimination attorneys can make an essential difference in a workplace discrimination case. These professionals can work with you to understand your situation, define illegality, and determine any potential argument your employer can use against you in the courtroom. They can also help you make sense of the complex federal and state laws relating to sexual orientation and employee rights.

Each state’s law offers different protection and different filing deadlines. An experienced sexual orientation discrimination lawyer knows the rule of law best suited for your case. These professionals can help ensure your case is filed with the appropriate agency or court within the proper time frame to ensure your case has a chance of getting heard.

Do you want to talk to an attorney about sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace?

If you feel that you have been discriminated against in the workplace based on your sexual orientation and need legal assistance, Cohen & Fitch LLP's team of attorneys specializing in sexual orientation discrimination can offer you strong representation in New York City. You can contact them at (212) 374-9115 to talk to their skilled attorneys and find out how they can support you with your case.