Because of the origin of the coronavirus, some Americans have begun to stigmatize Asian Americans. Because companies have an ethical and legal duty to fight discrimination in the workplace, your company must combat stereotypes in the workplace related to the coronavirus.
Asians Have Felt Discriminated for Some Time
Some studies have found that white adults are less likely to have negative stereotypes against Asian Americans than other races and are the highest-earning. However, Asian American discrimination is not a new problem. In fact, many Asian Americans have felt that they face obstacles in the workplace due to their ethnicity. Asians have long reported on the presence of the “bamboo ceiling,” and 31% of Asian Americans have reported workplace bias. If you aren’t sure if the policies you have put in place discriminate against Asian Americans, a Los Angeles workplace lawyer may be able to help.
While Asians are not more likely than any other group to suffer from the coronavirus, stereotypes persist. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are concerned that stigmatization could have a negative impact on the mental health of Asian Americans.
Employment discrimination attorneys Los Angeles have an in-depth knowledge of employment law and can consult you in creating policies that will allow you to educate your workforce about the coronavirus and the importance of not stereotyping.
One way to avoid fears is to create an open forum where employees can discuss fears anonymously. This can allow you to dispel any misconceptions. Employees should also be educated on how the coronavirus spreads not only to stop discrimination but to also help workers protect themselves.
Fighting Asian Discrimination
One of the challenges of fighting any form of discrimination is that it is often below the surface. You may have a supervisor underneath you who made a decision regarding an Asian employee, such as removing him from a project, and you may not know if this decision was motivated by his race. A perceptive Los Angeles workplace discrimination lawyer might find that the decision might have been made because of his race.
Laws Prohibiting Discrimination
There are both state and federal laws that prohibit discrimination in the workplace. These laws are also often updated. For this reason, your business may want to work with employment discrimination attorneys Los Angeles regularly or even hire a full-time employment attorney Los Angeles.
Employee Litigation
An employee may accuse you of workplace discrimination and hire an attorney for experiencing discrimination at work. In this circumstance, you will not want to do anything that may be perceived as an act of retaliation.
Employers may face severe penalties if they punish an employee for hiring an attorney for experiencing discrimination at work because this can be used as evidence against the employer. Instead, you should speak to a Los Angeles racial discrimination lawyer regarding how you can create a more inclusive workplace and create better policies.
