Orange County Employment Lawyers Blog

Employee Lawsuits Describe a Pattern of Pregnancy Discrimination at Amazon

May 6, 2019 | by Nassiri Law

Workers at Amazon fulfillment centers across the country – including right here in San Bernardino, CA – allege they were victims of pregnancy discrimination by their employer.

As reported by CNet.com, one worker said she was fired just two months after she reported her pregnancy to her bosses, who in the interim complained about her increased bathroom breaks and slowed pace over the course of subsequent 10-hour shifts.

Our pregnancy discrimination attorneys in San Bernardino have learned approximately half-a-dozen women are suing the technology giant, claiming pregnancy discrimination. Continue Reading ›

$7 Million Awarded in California Police Gender Discrimination Claim

May 1, 2019 | by Nassiri Law

A woman who served as chief of police in Baldwin Park, about 20 minutes outside of Los Angeles, has been awarded $7 million in a California race and gender discrimination employment lawsuit filed five years ago. The case was among the few gender discrimination claims in California to actually go to a jury trial.

Gender Discrimination in Police Departments

Federal law prohibits harassment on the basis of a person’s gender. This includes sexual harassment, of course, but also harassing a woman or making comments about females generally, as noted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Individuals of either gender can be either victim or harasser, and those involved can be supervisors, co-workers or clients/customers.

Although the law doesn’t bar “simple teasing,” isolated incidents of minimal seriousness and offhand comments, it’s illegal when it’s so severe or frequent that it creates an offensive and hostile work environment OR when the result is an adverse employment action, such as demotion or termination. Continue Reading ›

California Pregnancy Discrimination Alleged By Transit Agency Employer

April 29, 2019 | by Nassiri Law

Female bus drivers who say they were discriminated against for their pregnancies by their California employer the transit authority in California, are suing the agency, saying they were:

Exposed to carbon monoxide fumes;
Not given accommodation for lactation (forcing them to drive while they were uncomfortably engorged);
Refused reasonable modifications and arrangements that caused them physical stress, exhaustion and unplanned, unpaid leave that left them without health insurance coverage.

The four women say this treatment by the Northern California provider is in direct violation of the state’s fair employment housing act, which mandates reasonable accommodations for those enduring pregnancy-related disabilities – just as the companies would accommodate a worker with disabilities. The transit authority, they allege, made work life difficult for pregnant employees, and they are seeking to establish class action status.

What is Pregnancy Discrimination in California?

Older Workers Are Fastest-Growing Cohort – And Among Most Discriminated Against

April 26, 2019 | by Nassiri Law

Older workers are the fastest-growing group of Americans – and also some of the most vulnerable to adverse action on the basis of their age, which is a protected status under state and federal civil rights law. As age discrimination lawyers can explain, the law protects workers from age-based bias starting at age 40, but those over 65 are the most at-risk.

These individuals in decades past did not continue their careers much beyond this time, if at all, but that’s been changing. Reasons for this include:

Wage growth stagnation
Disappearing pensions
Delaying claims to Social Security benefits to maximize payouts
Longer lifespans
Not having much of a retirement to speak of or fearing it will run out way too soon

A survey conducted last year by Gallop found that more than 40 percent expect to work beyond age 65. That’s a sizable uptick since 2004, when 26 percent answered the same, and almost quadruple what it was in 1995. It’s likely to continue this upward trajectory. Continue Reading ›

California CROWN Act Would Combat Race Discrimination Based on Hairstyles

April 23, 2019 | by Nassiri Law

California lawmakers are mulling the possibility of a bill that would protect students and workers from discrimination based on the style of one’s natural hair, including braids, afros and twists. The CROWN Act (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair) would add hairstyle and texture associate with race to anti-discrimination laws in the state.

The measure, which was passed by the state Senate, now faces challenge, will now be considered by the state Assembly. The sponsor of the bill was quoted as saying that dress codes effectively banning “kinky” hair penalize African Americans for their naturally-occurring hair texture. Many black individuals – women in particular – have spent a great deal of money on chemical treatments that are both harsh and damaging in order to fit prescribed Eurocentric standard for what “professional” hair looks like.

Los Angeles race discrimination attorneys know that people who are black – as both employees and applicants – have been denied employment and promotion and even fired for the way they chose to wear their hair. Black children in schools have been made to feel embarrassed and ashamed because their natural hair was considered “unruly” or some kind of a “distraction to others.” Continue Reading ›

Teacher Who is Lesbian Wins California LGBTQ Lawsuit

April 23, 2019 | by Nassiri Law

California is known for its progressive stances on a myriad of issues, including civil rights of LGBTQ individuals. That doesn’t mean they don’t face down discrimination at work or everyday life. What it does mean, though, is that workers LGBTQ workers can successfully fight back on such injustices, a goal to which our LGBTQ employment discrimination attorneys in Los Angeles are committed.

Recently in Hesperia, a teacher was awarded a significant financial settlement after she was allegedly retaliated against with termination for helping LGBTQ students blow the whistle on their mistreatment by school administrators. The former high school English teacher was awarded an $850,000 settlement – and a promise to improve school policies.

The case was filed in 2015, when the ACLU of Southern California contacted the district with allegations of a hostile learning environment for gay and lesbian students. The district has since agreed to review and alter its policies, mandating administrators and staff undergo training on discrimination and clarifying its anti-discrimination procedures and policies. Continue Reading ›

Disability Discrimination in Hiring: What California Job Applicants Need to Know

April 17, 2019 | by Nassiri Law

Employment discrimination against workers and applicants with disabilities unfortunately remains an all-too-common reality, despite California and federal law prohibiting such practices. Statutes require companies to give fair consideration of applicants regardless of disability, so long as the individual can perform essential functions of the job with reasonable accommodations. Proving disability discrimination, however, can sometimes be difficult though because, as our Los Angeles disability discrimination employment attorneys can explain, employers aren’t always blatant about it.

Report: Teen Refused Job by Manager Who Explained, “We Don’t Hire People With Disabilities”

Not so for an incident recently reported by a 19-year-old Virginia man with cerebral palsy. As reported by a local television station, the recent high school graduate explained he arrived for a scheduled interview or an associate position at a home decor retail store. He’d confirmed the appointment via text message before arrival. However when he got there, he said the store manager took one look at him and stated, “Oh, no, we don’t hire people with disabilities.”

EEOC Reports Sexual Harassment Claims Spiked Last year

April 15, 2019 | by Nassiri Law

Last year, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission secured the first budget increase nearly a decade, with $16 million allocated by Congress to allow the agency more resources to focus on claims of workplace sexual harassment. California sexual harassment attorneys in Orange County recognize this is at least partially the reason the agency is now reporting an uptick in sexual harassment claims in the last year.

Preliminary statistics as of October 2019 indicate claims of job-related sexual harassment and gender discrimination rose sharply last fiscal year, which ended in September.

There is more to it, though. The #MeToo movement that has swept the country in recent years amid revelations of numerous, high-profile executives, politicians, celebrities and media members were repeatedly accused of patterns of sexual harassment and abuse. The fact that several corporations were found to be complicit in concealing such occurrences revealed the obstacles accusers faced for many years. So it’s not that we’re seeing an increase in people being sexually harassed at work, but rather improved awareness, earlier reporting and more thorough investigations.

By the Numbers: EEOC Reports Uptick in Sexual Harassment Claims

Is California Age Discrimination Hard-Wired in Facebook Ads?

April 13, 2019 | by Nassiri Law

Facebook recently vowed to rewrite its systems to ensure that employment discrimination wasn’t baked into its advertising platform, excluding workers on the basis of federally-protected classes like race, gender, age, religion and nationality. But there is evidence to suggest that whatever the company’s efforts, the type of discrimination that’s been occurring will continue.

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A recent study published by computer science experts at the University of Southern California, Northeastern University and a non-profit think-tank called Upturn analyzed the algorithms responsible for ascertaining which users see which ads. In other words, where previous criticism of the social media giant largely focused on its targeting (the audience ad buyers sought to reach), these researchers looked at the algorithms responsible for advertisement delivery (who those ads were ultimately going to reach).

California Employee Unpaid Overtime Lawsuit Leads to $2.75M Settlement

April 11, 2019 | by Nassiri Law

Recently, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California approved a $2.75 million settlement in a class action lawsuit filed by workers workers alleging their technology company employer shorted them anywhere from $250 to more than $53,000 each in overtime compensation.

Some 150 workers, all internal sales reps, cited alleged violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (better known as FLSA) in their filing.