Employment Discrimination or Harassment

Suffering discrimination in the workplace is demoralizing and emotionally devastating. Sadly, it happens all too often in California and across the country. Discrimination takes a number of forms. For example, an employee may be unfairly passed over for a promotion or may receive a lower salary. Under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), California employees are afforded wide-ranging protections against discrimination based on a number of different attributes including race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, gender, sexual orientation, age, and pregnancy. Employers who discriminate face serious consequences and victims of discrimination are entitled to compensation. If you are in need of an employment lawyer because you have been discriminated against in the workplace, it is important that you contact an experienced Los Angeles Employment Discrimination Lawyer who will review the facts of your case and who will make sure the employer is held accountable for violating the law.

FEHA does not apply to every employer in California. According to Cal. Gov. Code §12926(d), the FEHA only applies to employers with at least 5 employees. It also does not apply to employees who are employed by their parents, a spouse, or child. Furthermore, FEHA also does not apply to nonprofit religious associations or corporations.

According to Cal. Gov. Code §12940, if you are in a protected class, employers are not permitted to discriminate against you in hiring, firing, selection for training programs, compensation, or privileges of employment. While the most common types of workplace discrimination complaints are related to sex, race and disability, there are a number of other protected classes include:

• Age
• Color
• Ancestry
• National origin
• Gender identity
• Sexual orientation
• Physical disability, mental disability, or medical condition
• Pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions
• Genetic information
• Religious creed
• Marital status
• Military or veteran status

In order to pursue a claim for employment discrimination, the plaintiff must show three things:

• Protected class: That he or she is in a protected class.
• Job competence: That he or she was performing his or her job competently but was discriminated against.
• Discriminatory motive: Evidence of a discriminatory motive.

For example in Kelly v. Stamps.com Inc., (2005) 135 Cal. App. 4th 1088, Megan Kelly sued her former employer, Stamps.com, for pregnancy discrimination arguing that she was fired because she was pregnant. Stamps.com countered that Kelly was not fired due to her pregnancy but because as part of a reduction in force. However, Kelly provided a prima facie case of discrimination: she was pregnant, employment records showed she performed her job competently, she was fired, and her boss’s comments about her having mentally checked out suggested that he believed that she was no longer mentally engaged in her job because she was pregnant. The court disagreed with Stamps.com’s argument as to why it fired Kelly, finding the reasons it provided were merely pretextual.

There are several actions that could be involved in a case of employment discrimination, including:

• Preferring certain groups in recruiting
• Excluding certain groups in recruiting
• Paying equally qualified people different salaries
• Making firing and lay-off decisions based using discriminatory practices
• Denying certain groups of employees compensation, benefits and privileges that offered to similarly situated employees

For example, if an employer advertises for a job opening in primarily Asian neighborhoods and in Asian newspapers, this may be a violation of the law if the result is that the vast majority of applicants are Asian and that only Asians are hired.

If you believe that your employer has discriminated you against or that an employer discriminated against you during the recruitment process, you should discuss the specifics of your case with an experienced employment lawyer right away. Employment discrimination is illegal. Not only may the discriminating party face serious consequences, you may be entitled to compensation. The staff at VAKILI & LEUS, LLP has years of experience successfully representing clients in matters involving wage-and-hour claims, employment discrimination and other employment law violations. Keep in mind that there are time limits to filing claims. Contact us at 1-855-52LA-LAW (1-855-525-2529) to schedule a free, no obligation consultation regarding your concerns related to your employment.