Top 3 Tips When Reporting Discrimination and/or Harassment to Your Employer

Employees who report discrimination and/or harassment to their employers often put a target on their back. If you are reporting your supervisor for discrimination, for example, you might reasonably be worried about the fact that this person has supervisory authority over your employment and has the power to retaliate against you. To protect yourself and ensure you are properly documenting evidence in support of your discrimination/harassment and potential retaliation claim, keep the following three tips in mind.

(1) Submit Your Complaint in Writing—Preferably Through Email

If your employer is going to retaliate against you for complaining, the last thing you want is a “he said, she said” dispute about whether you ever complained about the discrimination in the first place. If your complaint is in writing (for example, through email), then you will have concrete proof that you submitted your complaint to your employer on a specific date. If you initially have a verbal conversation during which you complain about discrimination and/or harassment, then be sure to follow up that verbal conversation with a written email confirming what was discussed and confirming that you complained about discrimination and/or harassment. Be sure to save the written record to ensure you have supporting evidence in the event your employer terminates you and you lose access to your work email and/or chat logs.

(2) Your Complaint Should Be Clear and Explicit—Not Vague

A critical element of a retaliation claim is engaging in protected activity—i.e., complaining about unlawful conduct (in this case, discrimination and/or harassment). It can be uncomfortable to tell your employer that you believe a co-worker or supervisor is engaging in discrimination/harassment. But the last thing you want to do is “beat around the bush” and submit a vague complaint about being mistreated or targeted without tying it to discrimination or harassment. It is not always unlawful for an employer or supervisor to target or mistreat an employee. Your supervisor might just not like you, and not liking you is not necessarily unlawful. However, when the targeted treatment is motivated by something unlawful (such as discrimination), then it becomes unlawful.

If you believe your supervisor is discriminating against you based on your sex, you need to be very explicit about that when submitting your complaint to ensure that you are putting your employer on notice that the treatment you are complaining about is actually discriminatory (and thus, unlawful). Simply reporting your supervisor for “targeting” or otherwise mistreating you—without tying it to your race or other protected category—can make it easier for your employer to dispute that you engaged in protected activity.

Takeaway: “I believe my supervisor is targeting me and treating me differently” is vague and easier for your employer to dispute, while “I believe my supervisor is targeting me and treating me differently because of my sex,” is clear and explicit, and harder for your employer to dispute.

(3) Follow Your Employer’s Reporting Policy

If your employer has a handbook and/or manual or other written policy outlining the process in which employees can submit complaints, follow the policy and submit your complaint through the channels outlined in that policy (but be sure to submit or document your complaint in writing). Most policies will state that you may submit your complaint to a supervisor and/or HR. I always recommend that employees include HR in their complaints, even if they decide to initially submit their complaint to their supervisor. If you are complaining about your supervisor, always submit your complaint to a higher-level supervisor and/or HR to ensure your supervisor does not try to hide your complaint.

If your employer does not have a written policy outlining how employees can submit complaints, then you have a few options depending on who you are complaining about. If you are complaining about a co-worker, you should submit your complaint to your supervisor and/or HR. If you are complaining about your supervisor, then you should submit your complaint to your supervisor’s supervisor and/or HR.