San Francisco, CA employment attorney Traci M. Hinden talks about when you should report harassing or discriminatory behavior. She encourages employees to take a step back when something in the workplace feels uncomfortable and consider whether the conduct is normal or appropriate. She notes that workplace behavior can reflect broader social issues and emphasizes that employees should pay attention when comments or conduct are demeaning or inappropriate, particularly when they target a person’s gender or identity. She gives examples such as being addressed in a disrespectful manner instead of by one’s name, intentionally using the wrong pronouns when someone is transgender, or deliberately using a person’s former name, and she emphasizes that this type of conduct should be reported.

She also notes that discrimination is not always obvious or intentional and may sometimes appear discriminatory even when the employer did not intend to discriminate. For example, if an employee of one ethnicity is passed over for a position in favor of someone of another ethnicity, the decision may or may not have been based on ethnicity and could instead have resulted from differences in qualifications. She encourages employees in these situations to take a step back, conduct some research, and consider what qualifications or characteristics the selected candidate had that may have led the employer to choose them before making a complaint or raising the concern.