Employment - Discrimination

SUMMARY OF STATE AND FEDERAL LAWS REGARDING UNLAWFUL DISCRIMINATION

California employees are protected from unlawful discrimination in the workplace under both Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII") [42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.] and California's Fair Employment and Housing Act ("FEHA") [Gov. Code 12900 et seq.]. An employee usually chooses to sue under either Title VII or FEHA in state or federal court - although it is usually to an employee's advantage to sue under FEHA in state court.

The FEHA applies to any employer with 5 or more employees, and all employers are subject to harassment claims under the FEHA. The FEHA prohibits discrimination based on:

Race;

Color;

Religious creed;

Sex;

National origin;

Marital status;

Ancestry;

Physical or mental disability;

Medical condition;

Sexual orientation;

Age (if 40 or older); and

Pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions of any female employee.

The FEHA prohibits the following actions by an employer:

Failing or refusing to hire;

Refusing to select for a training program leading to employment;

Discharging from employment or from a training program leading to employment;

Failing to take "all reasonable steps necessary" to prevent discrimination and harassment;

Failing to make reasonable accommodation for the known physical or mental disability of an applicant or employee;

Failing to accommodate a pregnant employee's request for transfer to less strenuous or hazardous duties; and/or

Otherwise discrimination with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.

AVAILABLE REMEDIES TO AN EMPLOYEE SUFFERING UNLAWFUL DISCRIMINATION

The remedies for violation of Title VII or the FEHA may include one or more of the following:

Backpay (lost past wages);
Reinstatement;
Front pay (lost future wages);
Injunctive relief;
Reasonable attorney fees and costs of litigation;
Compensatory damages for pain and suffering;
Punitive damages [available if a private employer acted with malice or reckless indifference to an individual's legal rights].

FACTORS THAT STRENGTHEN AN EMPLOYEE'S CASE FOR UNLAWFUL DISCRIMINATION

In our experience, the following factors can strengthen (or weaken) a person's case for unlawful discrimination:

The willingness of eyewitnesses to the unlawful acts to agree to provide a signed statement supporting your case. For instance, if one of your former co-workers is willing to sign a statement under penalty of perjury that he/she was told on numerous occasions by the company president that "I try not to hire women as much as possible because they don't work as hard as men," that is strong evidence supporting a claim for gender discrimination;
The existence of letters, emails, or other correspondence that supports your claims. For instance, if you have a printed copy of an email from the company president saying "Sorry, but we can't re-hire you after your maternity leave because we hired someone else to fill your spot while you were gone," that could be strong evidence supporting your claim for gender discrimination;
Prior disciplinary issues documented in your personnel file [this may weaken your case unless the discipline was issued for pretextual reasons];
Litigation against multiple former employers [this may also weaken your case].

We EMPHASIZE that all cases involve unique sets of facts and circumstances, and you should feel free to call us for a free case evaluation NO MATTER if any or none of the above factors apply to you or your case.

Employment Law

Contact Us Today For A Free Case Evaluation...

Employment - Discrimination