Understanding Discrimination in the Workplace: An In-Depth Look at Microaggressions

Within employment law, claims regarding allegations of a hostile work environment based on discrimination in the workplace are common; however, frequently, people have a limiting idea of what discrimination in the workplace can look like.  While blatant forms of discrimination are easy to characterize, the implicit, and maybe even unintentional, words and behavior can marginalize employees, potentially leading to an actionable claim of a hostile work environment.  Whether the harassment in the workplace is explicit or implicit, if it is reoccurring and creating a hostile work environment, employees may have legal recourse, such as filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or pursuing a civil lawsuit.

Most members of marginalized groups have unfortunately been in situations, either at work or not, where someone makes a comment or does something that feels hostile or offensive to a particular part of their identity, regardless of whether the person commenting realized it.  These instances may be characterized as microaggressions.  According to Columbia University professor of psychology and education Derald Wing Sue, M.S., Ph.D., a microaggression can be defined as “…slights, indignities, insults, put-downs, and invalidations that [members of marginalized groups] experience in their day-to-day interactions with well-intentioned individuals who are unaware that they are engaging in an offensive or demeaning form of behavior.”  In fact, sometimes, the person making the offensive statement may genuinely believe that their statement was a valid compliment.  While the term microaggression is often used in relation to race, any marginalized group can face microaggressions.

Within the workplace, most microaggressions are likely to be verbal, for example:

• Asking a person of color where they are from, and if they say an American city, following up with, “No, where are you really from?”
• Jokes or comments regarding pronunciation towards someone who is not a native English speaker.
• Statements based on assumptions regarding someone’s abilities based on their age.
• Saying things such as, “You don’t sound/look gay,” towards a homosexual employee.
• Telling an employee that they don’t look disabled.
• Assuming a degree of criminality because of an employee’s citizenship status.

However, they may be non-verbal as well, for example:

• Refusing to sit next to an African American employee based on the assumption that they are more likely to be violent or aggressive.
• Refusing to interact with LGBTQ employees due to the assumption that they are more likely to be predatory.
• Pushing a disabled employee in a wheelchair without their consent.
• Depending on the title, always assigning female employees to specific tasks such as making coffee or taking notes during meetings.

If you feel you have or are currently experiencing a hostile work environment based on discrimination, please feel free to contact Borrelli & Associates, P.L.L.C., to schedule a free consultation through one of our websites, www.employmentlawyernewyork.com, www.516abogado.com, or any of our phone numbers: (516) 248-5550, (516) ABOGADO, or (212) 679-5000.