Racial Discrimination

Racial discrimination is when a person is treated less favorably than another person in a similar situation because of his or her race or color. Under both federal and California state law, it is illegal for employers to discriminate based on a number of different individual characteristics including race. Despite both federal and state law, race discrimination remains a problem in the workplace. Racial discrimination takes on a number of forms. In some cases, employers refuse to hire qualified candidates or refuse to promote qualified employees for no other reason than their race. In other cases, harassment of employees with certain skin colors is tolerated. Employers who discriminate based on the race or color of an employee or job applicant face serious consequences and victims of such discrimination are entitled to compensation. If you are in need of an employment lawyer because you have been the victim of racial discrimination in the workplace, it is important that you immediately contact an experienced Los Angeles Racial Discrimination Lawyer who will make sure your employer is held accountable for violating the law.

Under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Cal. Gov. Code § 12940(a), employers are prohibited from discriminating against employees or applicants based on a number of attributes including race or color. FEHA only applies to employers with at least 5 employees, and is enforced by California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing.

Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of race and color, as well as sex, national origin, and religion. It generally applies to employers with 15 or more employees, including federal, state, and local governments. It is enforced by the Equal Employee Opportunity Commission.

There are a number of actions by an employer that if done in a discriminatory manner would be a violation of law. An act of discrimination may occur in relation to one of the following actions:

• Failure to hire
• Termination
• Denial of training
• Failure to promote
• Performance reviews
• Work assignments
• Pay cuts
• Demotions
• Discipline
• Transfers
• Work environment
• Harassment

Under California law, in order to bring a race or color discrimination claim, the employee must be able to prove the following:

• That the employee or applicant belongs to a particular race
• That the employee's job performance was satisfactory, or that the employee or applicant was qualified for the job and was not hired
• That the employee was subjected to discriminatory conduct
• That other employees not of the same race or color were not subjected to the discriminatory actions of the employer

A statute of limitations law gives the time limit that a plaintiff has to bring a claim against another person or entity. In the case of a California racial discrimination claim, the amount of time depends on whether the claim is brought under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act or Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. Under Title VII, the statute of limitations is normally 180 days after date of the discriminatory act. If the employee chooses instead to pursue remedies under FEHA, a complaint must be filed with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing within one-year of the alleged discriminatory act. Failure to timely file a claim will mean that you will be forever barred from pursuing compensation in your racial discrimination case, even if your case has merit.

If you are concerned about discriminatory practices in your workplace, you should discuss the specifics of your case with an experienced employment lawyer right away as there are time limits to filing claims. Employment discrimination based on race or color 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 a variety of employment related cases including wage-and-hour claims, employment discrimination and other employment law violations. 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.