Orange County Employment Lawyers Blog

California Religious Discrimination Case Won By Muslim Plaintiff

September 16, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

A Muslim woman’s right to don her religious hair covering at work trumps a clothing store company’s effort to maintain an “All-American” image, a federal court in northern California recently ruled.

In Khan v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc., Case No. 11-cv-03162-YGR, U.S. District Court of Northern California, a federal judge granted the plaintiff’s motion for a partial summary judgment in the case wherein religious discrimination had been alleged.

The plaintiff had been represented by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. A separate hearing has been set to determine the exact amount of monetary damages to be awarded.

Costa Mesa Employment Lawyers: Firms Must Properly Classify Workers

September 14, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

A new survey released recently by Inc.com indicates that roughly 20 percent of small business owners are voicing preference for independent contractors over full-time employees.

Part of the reason reportedly has to do with employer requirements under the soon-to-be-enforced Affordable Healthcare Act, but our Costa Mesa wage and hour lawyers recognize that employers likely see other benefits too.

Among the pluses noted by employers:

Workplace Race Discrimination Continues to be a Problem

September 11, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

One would have dreamed that 50 years after Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. made his now-famous speech in D.C. that we would be a nation beyond racism in the workplace and beyond.

Sadly, our Costa Mesa race discrimination lawyers now that is simply not the case, as a series of recent court cases so clearly illustrate.

One of those involves financial advising giant Merrill Lynch, which is gearing up to pay out the third-largest racial discrimination settlement ever on record: $160 million. The settlement amount was negotiated after some 1,000 black investment brokers and trainers, employed at the company from 2001 to the present time, alleged that supervisors routinely steered more profitable business to white workers.

Another Age Discrimination Claim Settled by AT&T

September 8, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

Telecommunications giant AT&T has settled yet another age discrimination claim, this time for $250,000 following a series of incidents surrounding a Missouri employee.

Our Costa Mesa age discrimination lawyers applaud any action that holds employers accountable. However, given that this is a relatively paltry sum for such a large firm and that this is far from the first time such claims have been made against this company in particular, we wonder how effective such settlements ultimately are in terms of deterrence.

This is particularly true when you’re talking about a company that rakes in $125 billion annually.

Age Discrimination Scrutiny Befalls Mandatory Retirement Policies

September 5, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is coming down hard on professional services firm Price Waterhouse Coopers, insisting that the large company do away with its mandatory partner retirement age policies.

Our Costa Mesa age discrimination attorneys know it’s not the first time the government has taken aim at the firm for this practice, which would impact some 60 partners. The EEOC contends that such policy is discriminatory. However, it has not, even up to this point, taken any legal action to strong-arm the firm into compliance, though it has started to fire off similar warning shots to other large accounting firms, such as KPMG and Deloitte.

In response, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants has warned the EEOC to back off, contending that the polices are legal because they are applicable only to partners, and not employees. However, the EEOC maintains those workers are in fact employees.

Report: Non-Compete Agreement Lawsuits on the Rise Nationally

September 3, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

The terms of California employment contracts are increasingly finding their way into courtrooms, as companies sue former workers for violation of “non-compete agreements.”

Our Costa Mesa employment lawyers recognize that such agreements are serving to limit entrepreneurial growth, with businesses defending the practice as a simple protection of their own investments and interests.

Really, it’s a way to stifle potential competition (which could prove harmful to consumers). It may also serve to keep workers tethered to a potentially toxic work environment because they fear the legal ramifications if they leave to seek other related employment or strike out on their own.

Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act Introduced in Congress

August 30, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

An effort to mitigate the harm done by the 2009 U.S. Supreme Court decision Gross v. FBL Financial Services is underway in both the U.S. House and Senate in the form of the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act.

Our Costa Mesa age discrimination attorneys know that the Gross decision had been a major disappointment to advocates against age discrimination, as it made it effectively made it tougher to prove such a claim.

Essentially, the Supreme Court ruled that plaintiffs who allege age discrimination was the “but for” or deciding factor in a negative employment decision. By contrast, plaintiffs who allege discrimination based upon religion, sex, race or national origin need only prove that discrimination was a “motivating factor.”

Disability Discrimination Proliferates Nationwide

August 28, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

It’s been nearly a quarter century since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. One would think the learning curve would be over.

And yet, our Orange County workplace disability lawyers hear daily about cases in which workers with disabilities have been treated unfairly. Just in the last month, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has posted news of dozens of cases of discrimination based on disability across the country.

We’ve taken a sample of these to highlight, just to offer up some examples to help you recognize discrimination disability when you encounter it.

Age Discrimination Rampant in Technology Industries, Insiders Say

August 26, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

In most fields, experience is seen as a benefit, something valued and sought-after.

However, in the high-tech world and Silicon Valley in particular, experience, or more specifically, age, may actually work against you.

In fact, age discrimination in California appears to be especially acute in the technological fields, according to a recent article published in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Report: Sexual Harassment Protections Scant for Unpaid Interns

August 23, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

On the surface, it would have seemed a very straightforward case of sexual harassment.

A senior male employee corners a younger female worker with unwanted comments about her body, tells her she should participate in an orgy with him and suggests that she remove her clothing before coming into meet with him. The allegations were further substantiated by the fact that a number of other women had made similar claims.

However, our Costa Mesa sexual harassment attorneys understand that her lawsuit was swiftly dismissed, a decision upheld by a federal appellate court. The reason? According to the court, the plaintiff had no standing in the case because she was an unpaid intern, and therefore not an employee, entitled to civil rights protections under the law.