In all states, not just Rhode Island, racial discrimination has historically been an unfortunate reality in the workplace.  In fact up until recent decades, it was seen as perfectly acceptable to discriminate against people based on their skin color or ethnicity.  These days, measures and laws are being put in place, both at the state and federal level, to ensure that no one has to suffer from the humiliation and unfairness of racial discrimination.  Despite all efforts, the fight against racial discrimination has certainly been an uphill battle, and incidents of racial discrimination, both intentional and inadvertent, still happen from time to time.

If you feel you have been the victim of racially motivated discrimination, or even if you feel that your company has policies that they may not be aware result in discrimination, it is your right to take action to get the situation corrected so you can receive appropriate compensation for the wrongs against you.  All employers are required to display posters in the workplace detailing the labor laws.  These posters can be great sources of information to help you determine what your rights are and what rules govern your office.  These posters will also contain information about who you can contact in the event that you feel you have been discriminated against.  They are your first port of call to start filing a claim against your employer for racial discrimination violations.

In Rhode Island, equal opportunity is rigidly enforced at the state level.  If you have experienced discrimination, you certainly have the law on your side.  If you have reviewed your rights and feel you have a claim, contacting a lawyer is the best way to get that claim verified.  There are plenty of law offices in Rhode Island that deal specifically with racial discrimination, and they can decide the validity of your case and whether a claim should be made against your employer at the state or local level.  There are statutes of limitations on the amount of time you can take to file your formal claim, however, so you'll want to contact legal counsel as soon as possible after the alleged discrimination has taken place.  In most cases, the limit is 180 days from the day of the alleged incident, which may sound like plenty of time, but when you consider the amount of time that your legal team will need to prepare to make your case as strong as possible, you'll want to get started right away.

Even if you feel that it is a case where your employer did not intentionally discriminate against you, steps need to be taken to adjust policies so that a similar discrimination problem does not occur in the future.  Making employers aware and accountable for their unfair practices is the only way to eliminate such practices in the future