Congressman convenes panel at community center
Special to the American
On Saturday morning, Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay and a panel of federal, state and local worker rights experts heard compelling testimony from a packed audience that attended Clay’s Community Forum on Employment Discrimination at the New Northside Family Life Conference Center. The public service event offered citizens a chance to learn the facts about employment rights and to receive one-on-one assistance if they felt they had been discriminated against or harassed at their job.
Forum participants told the panel of a wide range of workplace problems including alleged cases of racial discrimination, ethnic intimidation, alleged police misconduct and dangerous work conditions.
“What I heard this morning confirmed my suspicions that discrimination and harassment in the workplace are widespread and often go unreported,” said Clay.
“Today we brought together experts from all three levels of government to give citizens a truly comprehensive picture of what their rights are at the workplace and what they need to do if they feel they have been discriminated against or harassed. We were able to offer them expert assistance from the agencies that are best equipped to help them.”
Joining Clay on the panel were James Neely, District Director of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; Donna Cavitte, Executive Director of the Missouri Commission on Human Rights; Ruby Bonner, Director, St. Louis Civil Rights Enforcement Agency; and noted employment rights attorney Donna Harper.
The three participating government agencies share responsibility for investigating discrimination and harassment complaints filed locally. The panel urged any employee who believes that he or she has been the victim of discrimination or harassment to file a formal complaint as soon as possible, in order to protect their rights.
One of the biggest problems in combating employment-based discrimination is confusion about what rights workers have on the job. The panelists emphasized that unless an employer actually violates federal, state or local statutes, they can essentially run their businesses any way they see fit. Consequently, many complaints about how employers conduct themselves simply do not rise to the level of legal violations.
One key factor that often makes the difference between a successful complaint and one that is dismissed is the existence of detailed notes that document the time, place and circumstances of any alleged harassment or discrimination. The panel also urged all workers to insist on receiving copies of all employment-related documents at the time they are signed.
Based on the strong public response to the program, Clay is considering making the forum an annual event.
