gender discrimination

New Protections for Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Employees Take Effect

August 13, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

California has long been a pioneer of gender rights in the workplace. Since 2011, gender expression and gender identity have been protected classes under California’s anti-discrimination law. And on July 1, 2017, new employment protections for transgender and gender-nonconforming employees took effect in California. The Department of Fair Employment and Housing now enforces regulations which expand protections for gender identity and gender expression in the workplace. According to The National Law Review, the following provisions are now effective:

Gender identity has been expanded to include those employees who are transitioning. Activities during the transition phase are protected, such as: changes in name or pronoun usage; use of bathroom facilities; and medical procedures associated with a transition (such as hormone therapy or surgeries). Employers may not discriminate against transitioning employees for engaging in any of these activities, or other actions related to the transition.
Employers may not inquire about, or request documentation about, an employee’s gender, gender expression, or gender identity. Employers can also not request that employees provide such information unless it is on a voluntary basis for record keeping purposes.
Single-occupancy bathroom facilities under an employer’s control must be labeled with gender neutral terms (such as “unisex”, “gender neutral”, or “all gender restroom”). Employees must be allowed to use the facilities which correspond to their gender identity, not the gender assigned to them at birth.
Employees must be allowed to carry out job duties which correspond with their gender expression or gender identity – not the gender assigned to them at birth.

The Press-Enterprise also notes that employers cannot impose any standards of grooming, dress, or appearance which are inconsistent with an employee’s gender identity.

Teacher’s Union: Gender Discrimination Pervades Contract Talks

March 31, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

Frustrated with stagnant negotiations with city leaders, the teachers’ union in Boston is accusing the city of gender discrimination and bias.

The union is comprised mostly of women, and talks regarding a new contract between the union and the city have been stalled for a good year now. The president of the union noted that more than three-fourths of the city’s teachers are women, and the city has repeatedly treated them poorly and with disrespect. He asserted that there was “little doubt” that if the union were male-dominated rather than female-dominated that a contract would have been settled long ago.

According to The Boston Globe, city spokespersons declined to respond to allegations of gender discrimination, except to say that conversations between the two sides are still underway and that the city “hopes” for a faster resolution that will ultimately help to best serve the students in the district. Continue Reading ›

Women Face Employment Consequences for Reproductive Health Choices

February 5, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

During a recent Senate confirmation hearing to the post of Health and Human Services Secretary, Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), stated he did not believe companies were allowed to terminate women from their jobs for their reproductive choices. Specifically, he indicated that the right to use birth control was not something that affected women’s employment status.

In fact, as our gender discrimination attorneys know, this is far from true.

Price is a conservative politician, and as such, he has been vocal and active in his anti-abortion stance. And in 2015, he voted for a resolution that would have eliminated protections for women in the District of Columbia from being fired due to their reproductive health choices. That resolution indicated at the top that it opposed the vote by the D.C. Council in favor of the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Act, the purpose of which is to shield women from discrimination at work on the basis of the decisions they make in favor of their reproductive health. However, a the recent confirmation hearing, he insisted that the measure he voted for in D.C. would not have meant that employers could discriminate against workers based on their reproductive choices. In a back-and-forth with Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Price stated he did not think employers ought to be able to or are currently allowed to discriminate against someone based on their health status or the medications (including birth control) that they use. Continue Reading ›

Women Settle With Police, City for Gender Discrimination By Chief, Supervisors

November 28, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

Three women who reached settlements in their gender discrimination claims against a city and local police department in Iowa say that while the compensation has vindicated them, they have lost much over the last few years. They lost their jobs, of course. But says her once promising career was effectively ended. All say their lives won’t ever be the same.

One described it as the most difficult time her life. She used to wonder why women wouldn’t come forward with complaints about discrimination, why it was so under-reported. Now, sadly, she knows.

“You’re second-guessed and your told that you’re making things up,” she said. “You’re told that you’re crazy.” Continue Reading ›

Transgender, Racial Discrimination in Workplace Alleged Against GE

September 30, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

A black, transgender man is accusing GE (General Electric) of discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation after he was reportedly fired from his job of two years. He cites the treatment he received prior to his supervisors learning that he was transgender versus after. The complainant alleges in an employment lawsuit the company violated not only federal and state laws, but also a city ordinance that prohibits workplace discrimination.

While the company insists plaintiff was fired for repeated tardiness, plaintiff says there is a good reason for that. He said rather than allowing him to use the male bathroom near his work station, he was forced to use a bathroom that was much farther, on the other side of the property. Then when he returned, he would be reprimanded for returning late from his breaks.

The worker was employed on the production line at the company. On one occasion, he was pulled off the line to meet with a supervisor. It was during that meeting that he revealed he was transgender. From that point forward, he says, he was singled out repeatedly and go additional reprimands for alleged offenses that co-workers were not called out for. Continue Reading ›

Sex Discrimination Lawsuit Filed by Mayoral Assistant Fired After Ending Relations With Boss

September 9, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

A former executive assistant to the mayor of Jackson, Mississippi has filed a gender discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuit against her former boss, accusing the married father of having simultaneous affairs with her and the city attorney and others. The gender discrimination lawsuit alleges plaintiff was fired after ending the relationship, and accused the mayor of firing at least two other city employees who refused the mayor’s sexual advances.

The mayor has vehemently denied the allegations, calling the allegations both “vicious” and “scandalous,” citing this as “egregious character assassination” that was politically motivated.

Although it was no secret the mayor had previously been unfaithful to his wife (he wrote about it in a book and conceded it during a newspaper interview), the issue here is whether alleged relationships with subordinates created a hostile work environment for those employees. Specifically, plaintiff alleges that while the relationship with her supervisor was consensual, she suffered career setbacks after ending it when she reconciled with her husband. First, he began doling out benefits to other workers over here. Then, she alleges, he forced her to continue the relationship by “making it clear” that he intended to terminate her if she refused to further engage in a sexual relationship. Continue Reading ›

Gender Pay Inequality Lawsuit Filed by Top Employment Hearing Officer

July 27, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

A recent lawsuit filed by a Colorado judge alleges that female prosecutors, assistant city attorneys and other judicial officers make tens of thousands of dollars less on average than their male peers. That’s according to a recent lawsuit filed by a top-level career services judge, who asserts she earned less than male workers whom she supervised.

The gender discrimination lawsuit was filed in a federal district court in Denver by a plaintiff who alleged that when she complained about this discrepancy, her superior demoted her. She is now seeking compensatory damages and injunctive relief.

The lawsuit asserts that female workers in both the city’s district attorneys’ office and city attorney’s office were paid less than their male peers who worked the same jobs. In the city attorney’s office, men who worked in both non-supervisor and supervisory roles earned on average between $21,000 and nearly $23,000 more than their female counterparts. Meanwhile, in plaintiff’s district attorney’s office, men who worked in both non-supervisory and supervisory roles made between $8,000 and $11,200 more than the women who worked the very same jobs in the same office. They also generally are not given the same job titles as the men in their offices – even when they are largely performing the same work. Continue Reading ›

Former Video Game Developer Files $3.1M Employment Lawsuit for Discrimination, Misclassification, Wrongful Termination

July 14, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

A former employee of Valve, one of the country’s largest video game developers, alleges her work environment became hostile and she was ultimately fired after she underwent a gender reassignment surgery.

She alleges she was mocked by supervisors and forced to become an independent contractor when she asked for the accommodation to move to Los Angeles during her surgery and recovery. Then, days after she raised concerns about the company’s alleged use of underage workers being employed full-time as translators, she was fired.

In its response to plaintiff’s lawsuit, A.M. v. Valve Corp., company administrators say they had no choice but to terminate plaintiff because her position was being relocated back to the company’s headquarters in Washington state. However, plaintiff insists she offered to return to Washington, but the company refused. Continue Reading ›

California Equal Pay by Gender – Is Race Next?

May 7, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

Assurance of equal pay is an important issue in California and across the country.

Before last year, California had one of the toughest equal pay laws on the books. It got even tougher in December when lawmakers passed the California Equal Pay Act, which formally went into effect Jan. 1, 2016. The law requires women and men who do substantially similar work to be paid equally – no matter how their jobs are officially described. The goal was to avoid situations in which companies would hide behind job titles to pay women less for doing the same work as men. For example: Housekeepers at a hotel shouldn’t be paid less than the janitors at the same facility who clean bathrooms and common areas – much the same work in both cases.

But now, there is a proposed amendment to that law which would include a provision to ensure those of different races or ethnicity are not given the short stick when it comes to equal pay.

Sexual Harassment Training Under Scrutiny by California Investigator

May 5, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

Amid growing allegations of widespread sexual harassment at the University of California Berkely, California’s top sexual harassment investigator is initiating a comprehensive review of training policies throughout the state.

The California Department of Fair Housing, responsible for enforcing the state’s civil rights laws, has created a task force that will specifically focus the effectiveness of current sexual harassment awareness training. The effort is being overseen by the department’s director, Kevin Kish.

The announcement came just two months after a number of allegations of misconduct by faculty arose at the university, which became national news and sparked a conversation about how we handle gender discrimination at universities and colleges. Continue Reading ›