ALT-2 Importance of Knowing your Rights Discrimination Whistle Blower Laws and
Whether you are faced with a routine traffic stop, or a coworker that refuses to understand that you do not appreciate ethnic humor, knowing your rights is of paramount importance.
With today's lawsuit hungry society it is growing more and more difficult each day to determine what can be considered harassment or discrimination. It is important to be aware of both your rights in the workplace and society in general, you would think they would be the same but most would find that varies greatly as well.
Having a basic knowledge or what can be considered discrimination or harassment can not only help you, but might enable you to help a coworker defend his or her rights. There are federal protections in place called "Whistleblower Laws" that are in place to protect worker who stand up for themselves and for others in the workplace from retaliation by both management and their employers. Such retaliation can include sudden changes in working conditions, position changes, schedule cutbacks and at worst wrongful dismissal.
Issues ranging from uneven workloads for similar job positions and unwanted advances to a racy swimsuit calendar can fall into these categories. It is important to make yourself aware and help others to be aware not only of their rights but what everyone considers going too far. If people make their boundaries clearly known, it makes not infringing on someone else's rights and feelings that much easier. It also enables everyone to spot possible infringing on those rights and boundaries much easier too.
