When tackling your work responsibilities, the last thing you want is to deal with harassment or discrimination. After all, your workplace should be a place where you can feel safe and encouraged to share your ideas. You should feel excited to do your work when you are at your workplace. Unfortunately, the reality is that workplace harassment and discrimination happen quite a lot.
If you have fallen victim to workplace harassment or discrimination, you should know that you may have legal recourse. You may be qualified to recover damages for the harm you have suffered due to the harassment or discrimination.
To build a strong workplace harassment or discrimination case, you should retain the services of a skilled employment lawyer. You should also gather as much evidence as you can. Without evidence, you cannot win your workplace discrimination or harassment claim even if you have an attorney by your side.
There are several ways of gathering the evidence you need to win your workplace discrimination or harassment claim. One excellent way of doing this is to keep a journal of your harassment or discrimination. It might be challenging to write down what you are going through if, for example, you are experiencing sexual harassment. But if you can get the courage to journal your workplace discrimination or harassment, you will highly benefit in the end.
Principles of Journaling Your Workplace Harassment or Discrimination
There are some crucial things to note when it comes to journaling your workplace harassment or discrimination. Firstly, it is best that you refrain from writing down your experiences on your workplace computer. If you write down your experiences on your workplace computer, confidential information could get leaked to the rest of the office. Crucial information could also be erased, intentionally or by mistake, or transferred. You do not want certain information to end up in the wrong hands. It is best to keep your journal private.
Secondly, be as detailed as possible in your journal. Include dates, the context of what occurs, and the offense, among many other details. The more details you have, the easier it will be for you to prove your case. When you have enough details, you don’t have to worry about stumbling over details when asked to recall them.
Thirdly, you need to separate your observations from emotions. When journaling, it is easy to mix up what you see with how you react to an event. You need to avoid thinking of your journal as a personal diary where you can write about hurt feelings or vent about how uncomfortable your boss or colleague makes you feel. You should stick to writing down facts. If, for example, your boss told you your dress is super tight and then winked at you, write down that event in that exact way instead of writing, “my boss harassed me.”
Lastly, take time to review your journal. When reviewing your journal, look for details you might have gotten wrong and correct them. If you find you forgot to include something in your journal, include it.
Contact Us for Legal Help
If you have fallen victim to workplace harassment or discrimination and need the help of a qualified employment lawyer, contact our New Jersey employment lawyer at The Trabosh Law Firm.