Legal Question in Employment Law in District of Columbia

offensive behavior in the workplace

My supervisor and several other salespersons make comments all the time about a certain race group being, among other things, different and special. When clients come in & complain that too many ''__'' people are in the store, my coworkers voice agreement. Almost every day some conversation focuses on criticising particular race groups that buy from our store. It offends me & I have said this to them many times. I think they treat certain groups differently but not in easy to see ways. They deny that they are doing anything wrong & get insulted that I think they are. Maybe because I am also white,they think its ok to speak in front of me like that, Although I've always been told by my dad that we have Native American ancestry in our family - Maybe this is why it bothers me so much. Regardless, I really feel this behavior is very wrong. What else can I do? I know I could just quit but I feel it is wrong to let these folks treat others this way. The company hires most people who seem to act the same way, so I don't feel comfortable going to the CEO. If only someone could hear ''undercover''... !! Can they? What else can I do? I? What if I don't get my promotion because I don't think their way - how could I ever prove it?


Asked on 3/12/05, 7:29 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Re: offensive behavior in the workplace

You don't indicate how many years you've invested in this company, but if it isn't very many, you'd be better off changing your work environment by finding a new job rather than attempting to change the culture of your current one. It's simply not going to happen---at least in your lifetime.

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Answered on 3/13/05, 11:43 am


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