Discrimination Lawyer

California provides broad protections for employees against discrimination and discriminatory actions and policies. These protections are based on an employee’s:

• race
• religious creed
• color
• national origin
• ancestry
• physical disability
• mental disability
• medical condition
• marital status
• gender and gender identity
• sexual orientation
• age
• pregnancy
• childbirth or related medical conditions.

These protections are in accordance with the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), the New Parent Leave Act (NPLA), and the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).

CFRA applies to employers with 50 or more employees. The NPLA applies to employers with 20 or more employees. FEHA applies to all employers who employ five or more employees with few exceptions, the exceptions being:

• family members employed at the business (e.g., parents, children, spouse); or
• religious associations or corporations not organized for private profit.

These protections are meant to protect employees against discrimination in the employers:

• hiring process;
• termination or discharging process;
• selection for training programs leading to employment;
• promotion;
• demotion;
• reasonable accommodation;
• overall management and discipline of employees; or, among other things,
• compensation, terms, conditions, and privileges of employment.

If you experienced wrongful termination based on discrimination, this is a particular threat to your employment rights – you should seek the assistance of a wrongful termination attorney in Los Angeles to clarify your options and next steps.

Even though they are quite similar with respect to the cause of the treatment, discrimination is different than harassment in the workplace.

Discrimination is when someone at the place of business treats his or her employees differently on the basis of the above listed protected classes. This discriminatory treatment occurs while the person committing discrimination performs described job duties. Discrimination can impact a person’s ability to move up in the organization or take advantage of certain job-related benefits.

Workplace harassment, on the other hand, occurs when a person at the place of business mistreats another person based on one of the above-listed protected classes but the harassment does not flow from the harasser’s job duties. Harassment usually creates a hostile work environment.

For example, a supervisor may deny a person a well-earned promotion based on that person’s race – a white person may get the promotion over a black person who was better qualified. This is discrimination. When, however, the supervisor calls a black person a racial slur on a regular basis, this is harassment.

California is an at-will state, so in many circumstances, an employer can fire someone without cause. An employer can choose not to hire someone without giving a reason why. An employer can even overlook someone’s earned promotion without cause. Employers cannot, however, remain passive with respect to preventing discrimination and protecting employees against it.

According to Cal Gov Code § 12940 and confirmed in Trujillo v. North County Transit Dist., (1998) 63 Cal. App. 4th 280, 286, employers are required to

take all reasonable steps necessary to prevent discrimination and harassment from occurring.

When reasonable steps are not taken, an employer effectively engages in unlawful employment practices.

If you believe you have been discriminated against in the workplace, that hunch is likely indicative of the same. To prove discrimination, though, there will have to be real indicators and not just a hunch. Plus, employers know all too well that discrimination can get them into serious trouble, so many will take steps to hide their actions by not leaving any kind of paper trail. Indicators could be a pattern of treatment to a specific group of people or specific treatment of one particular person who is a member of a protected class.

Some signs to look out for and to keep track of include:

• Changes in performance reviews
• Changes in job duties
• Reduced workload or hours for no provided or apparent reason
• Exclusion from meetings or events that your colleagues attend
• Different means to enforce the same rule depending on the person or group of persons
• Complaints of racial or sexist communications that do not get addressed
• Failure to hire or promote persons of protected classes.

If you believe discrimination is occurring or has occurred, make note of the event, the date it occurred, to whom it affected, and how it was handled. You also want to keep in mind that an employer or person representing the employer in an executive, management, or supervisory role can discriminate even if the employer or agent of the employer is of a protected class, too, or of the same protected class of the discriminated person.

If you believe you have been discriminated against in the workplace, that hunch is likely indicative of the same. To prove discrimination, though, there will have to be real indicators and not just a hunch. Plus, employers know all too well that discrimination can get them into serious trouble, so many will take steps to hide their actions by not leaving any kind of paper trail. Indicators could be a pattern of treatment to a specific group of people or specific treatment of one particular person who is a member of a protected class. Some signs to look out for and to keep track of include:

• Changes in performance reviews
• Changes in job duties
• Reduced workload or hours for no provided or apparent reason
• Exclusion from meetings or events that your colleagues attend
• Different means to enforce the same rule depending on the person or group of persons
• Complaints of racial or sexist communications that do not get addressed
• Failure to hire or promote persons of protected classes.

If you believe discrimination is occurring or has occurred, make note of the event, the date it occurred, to whom it affected, and how it was handled. You also want to keep in mind that an employer or person representing the employer in an executive, management, or supervisory role can discriminate even if the employer or agent of the employer is of a protected class, too, or of the same protected class of the discriminated person.

6. Do I File a Discrimination Complaint With Human Resources Or The DFEF Or EEOC First?

There are times when complaining to the Human Resources office is your best and most efficient means of solving any discriminatory practices in the office. There are other times when it is best to file a claim with a state or federal agency. Sometimes, you can even choose to file a lawsuit immediately.

Human Resources

Typically, you do not have to go to Human Resources first if you believe you have been discriminated against in the workplace. This is especially true if you were not hired or were let go based on discrimination. If, for example, you are harassed in the office due to a protected class, then you should go to Human Resources to have it addressed – but if it isn’t satisfactorily addressed, you do not have to return to Human Resources to report it. Also, if you require reasonable accommodations due to a disability, pregnancy, or another medical condition, you should go to Human Resources first. If the matter is not sufficiently addressed, however, you should take other steps to report the discrimination.

State & Federal Agencies

Depending on the circumstances, employment discrimination can be a violation of California law or both California law and federal law.

• If the violation is based on federal employment laws, then the complaint may better be filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
• If the violation is based on California employment law alone (e.g., for discrimination based on transgender or sexual orientation), you may have to file a complaint with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH).

You may also be able to file a complaint at both agencies at the same time. This is known as cross-filing, and all you need to do is indicate with either agency that you want to cross-file. Keep in mind, however, that California law allows for complaints against smaller employers that federal law does not cover. As such, if your workplace has only between 5 and 14 employees, you can only file a claim with the DFEH – the EEOC only enforces federal law when the employer employs 15 or more employees (or 20 or more employees for age discrimination claims). For complaints filed with the DFEH, the DFEH may try to negotiate a settlement. If that doesn’t reveal a solution, then the DFEH will investigate the discrimination complaint. When a violation is found, the DFEH will try mediation to solve the matter. If the employer still does not settle, the DFEH may file a lawsuit on your behalf. If not, then you have the right to file your own lawsuit.

Local DFEH Offices

Department of Fair Employment and Housing — Headquarters 2218 Kausen Drive Suite 100 Elk Grove, CA 95758 Toll-Free: (800) 884-1684 Phone: (916) 478-7251 TTY: (800) 700-2320

Local EEOC Offices

If you have a strong workplace discrimination case in California, there are remedies available to you. These remedies can include the following:

• Back pay, which includes any unpaid wages, past lost wages you could have earned but for the discrimination, and past lost benefits
• Front pay, which includes the loss of any future wages and/or benefits and is paid when it isn’t reasonable for the employer to hire or reinstate an employee
• Reinstatement, which means the person is hired after a wrongful termination
• Hired, which means the person is hired after wrongfully turned down for a position
• Promotion, which means the person is promoted after being wrongfully denied the promotion
• Injunctive relief, which means the employer may have to stop whatever discriminatory practices it had been employing and take steps to prevent future discrimination
• Compensatory damages, which reimburses victims of employment discrimination for things like out-of-pocket expenses, e.g., seeking medical help for emotional harm, mental anguish, etc. – under federal law, these damages are capped according to the number of employees at your workplace
• Punitive damages, which is awarded when the employer was intentionally discriminatory against a person based on race, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or genetic information – under federal law, these damages are capped according to the number of employees at your workplace
• Liquidated damages, which are damages offered to a victim of sex discrimination under the Equal Pay Act or a victim of age discrimination and awarded to punish an employer for its especially malicious or reckless act of discrimination – liquidated damages typically are equal to the amount of back pay the victim receives.

The aim of remedies and compensation is to place the victim of employment discrimination in the same position or nearly the same position he or she would have been if the discrimination had never occurred. The relief a victim receives is dependent on the facts and circumstances. Some victims may be entitled to certain remedies and compensation while others are not. For example, victims of age discrimination are not entitled to compensatory damages but are entitled to liquidated damages.

There is a deadline to file a workplace discrimination claim in California. The time limits are strict, too, so it is important to act as soon as possible.

• Under California law, you have one year of the date the discrimination occurred (or the date you believe it occurred) to file a claim with the DFEH.
• Under federal law, you have 300 days of the date the discrimination occurred (or the date you believe it occurred) to file a claim with the EEOC.

So, at most, you have one year to file a discrimination claim in California. A year can come and go before you know it. You will want to keep as much evidence and notes about the discriminatory event as possible and file your claim. If the claims process is daunting and causing more stress than necessary, it may be in your best interest to seek legal counsel. Keep in mind two things:

1. Your livelihood is at stake; and
2. Your claim can be upended simply because you didn’t meet the deadline.

Time is of the essence when you want to file a discrimination lawsuit in Los Angeles. It is important to seek an experienced discrimination employment lawyer as soon as possible. An attorney can walk you through the steps and make sure you file a thorough and persuasive claim with both the DFEH and the EEOC. Contact us at Sirmabekian Law Firm to schedule a free initial consultation. We will review your case, your options, and strategies that can lead to a successful end.