Restorative Justice and Discrimination

Through a restorative justice process, victims of discrimination have an opportunity to define accountability for the person who harmed them. Every situation is different, and no two conflicts will be resolved with the same outcomes. Resolutions should be tailored to the harm done, the needs it created, and how those needs can be safely met. This individualized approach can expand the definition of justice in exciting and meaningful ways, and helps the Commission think outside the limits of traditional legal remedies.

Some options for addressing discrimination may include:

• A mediation, conference, or circle that centers the victim’s experience. These can include the person(s) who committed discrimination, or they can just involve the victim and any support people they wish to bring into a healing circle to process the harm caused by the discrimination.
• An apology to the victim by the company and/or person who committed discrimination.
• A public acknowledgement of the discriminatory actions.
• With all parties’ consent, a public dialogue with the entity or person who committed discrimination where the larger community could be heard (e.g., a company’s staff has the opportunity to express their reactions to an executive who discriminated against an employee).
• Changes in a company’s hiring, recruitment, training, and promotional practices to address inequities and biases (e.g., targeted recruitment of candidates from under-represented groups).
• Changes in a business’s or other public accommodation’s customer service policies to specifically prohibit the kind of discrimination that occurred and detail appropriate behavior (e.g., all people may use their preferred dressing rooms, and staff may not comment on which dressing room any customer should use).
• Financial compensation for lost wages, opportunities, or emotional distress.
• Financial or in-kind donations to, or volunteer service with, community organizations working on behalf of groups who may experience similar discrimination, with the consent of those organizations, and in a way that does not perpetuate or cause additional harm.
• An employer publishing pay and benefits information to expose inequities, and committing to solving those inequities.
• Strengthened protections against retaliation in a workplace, so future victims of discrimination are more empowered to speak out.
• Individualized and precise actions to prevent recurrence of discrimination (e.g., terminating a supervisor at a workplace who continually discriminates against members of a protected group despite repeated warnings).
• Scheduled reviews and check-ins to ensure compliance with anti-discrimination measures.