Orange County Employment Lawyers Blog

Transgender Discrimination Illegal in California, Championed by White House

April 8, 2019 | by Nassiri Law

Discrimination of transgender professionals is nothing new, though Californians may not realize the employment protections trans workers are afforded in this state don’t apply to all.

That’s because even as the California Fair Housing and Employment Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of one’s sexuality, gender and gender identity, the federal government does not. But military personnel who are transgender went from being told at the tail end of the Obama administration that they could serve openly and have access to psychological and gender-affirming medical care, the Trump administration has effectively ushered in a new “don’t ask, don’t tell” phase for service members who are transgender.

As noted in a report by the non-partisan Palm Center, while this is not a “ban,” neither was “don’t ask, don’t tell” under former President Bill Clinton. Nonetheless, both policies did/will have the impact of systematically removing transgender individuals from the military or, just like DADT, ensure their gender identity is kept silent and invisible.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission still continues to insist (as it was prior to Trump’s election) that LGBT discrimination in employment was a form of gender discrimination under Title VII. That stance has been resisted by the Department of Justice under Trump, though several courts have sided with the EEOC on this. Nonetheless, the transgender military policy formally went into effect this month. Continue Reading ›

Gender Disparity in Los Angeles Workplaces Continues Despite Established Law

April 6, 2019 | by Nassiri Law

A few months ago, Hollywood took on a depiction of the first-ever gender discrimination case argued in the U.S. Supreme Court by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was later appointed to that same court as a justice by President Bill Clinton. The film is about a little-known tax case, Moritz v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, in which Ginbsurg successfully argued that a $600 caregiver tax credit shouldn’t be denied to a man solely on that basis.

While it’s difficult to imagine in 2019 that so many laws – employment and otherwise – once distinguished so blatantly between men and women, what may be even more troubling is the fact that gender discrimination is still such a problem in practice. Our Los Angeles sex discrimination employment attorneys know that these cases still abound in all aspects of employment, including hiring, firing, wages, assignment of jobs, promotions, layoffs, benefits and other conditions of employment. Although these cases can be difficult to win, often plaintiffs – like the man in the $600 tax credit case – don’t do it looking for a windfall. They do it to ensure they and others won’t continue to face the same disparity.

Recently in Los Angeles, a charter school agreed to an $8,000 settlement in a gender discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over an alleged gender-based disparity in pay among school tutors.

California Supreme Court: Payroll Company Not Liable in Employee Wage-Hour Dispute

April 4, 2019 | by Nassiri Law

Payroll processing companies can’t be held liable for the errors that employees of other firms claim resulted in their being shortchanged, the California Supreme Court ruled recently, reversing an appellate court’s decision.

In a case that originated in Los Angeles Superior Court, employees filed a third-party claim for damages against the payroll company contracted by the worker’s employer. Defendant payroll company attorneys argued California’s Labor Code doesn’t allow employers to assign duty for accuracy in wage statements to third parties. Bloomberg reported in December an estimated there are 1,100 payroll process service companies statewide.

Los Angeles employment lawyers had been watching the case closely, knowing that if the high court ruled in plaintiffs’ favor, it would have meant those firms could be subject to liability in California wage-and-hour employment litigation. Continue Reading ›

Report: Discrimination Against American Jews on the Rise

April 2, 2019 | by Nassiri Law

Los Angeles religious discrimination attorneys know that the disparate treatment received by Muslims has been on the rise the last two decades. What is also now being reported by the Pew Research Center is that many now also perceive a substantial rise in discrimination against those of the Jewish faith and nationality.

The percentage of Americans saying Jewish people face “at least some” discrimination spiked by 20 percent just in the last three years. It is now up to 64 percent. The share of those saying Jewish people face “a lot” of discrimination at work, in education and housing nearly doubled in that same time frame, going from 13 percent to 24 percent. Although views on this are varying depending on party lines (with Democrats being more likely than Republicans to indicate they’ve seen a spike in discrimination) both sides see a shift.

The survey was conducted this month among more than 1,500 adults, who also stated there is either some or a lot of discrimination in America against those who are Muslim, black, Hispanic, gay, lesbian and women. Muslims in particular are recognized as suffering discrimination, with more than 8 in 10 respondents agreeing they face some discrimination and more than half saying they face a lot. Among the nine groups about which respondents answered, this was the highest.

Talk to a Private L.A. Employment Attorney Even if Required to Start With EEOC

March 30, 2019 | by Nassiri Law

There are many types of Los Angeles employment discrimination cases wherein you, the worker, must first file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission before you are free to take your case to court. Yet there is no requirement indicating you can’t hire a private employment attorney, and the truth is, you may be entitled to more than the EEOC will provide. When you discuss this possibility with a job discrimination attorney ahead of time, you’ll be able to glean some guidance on what to report, what evidence to bring and suggestions for wording your complaint in ways that could give you a stronger stance.

This may be especially important in light of the recent findings of a dual-published report by the Center for Public Integrity and VOX, indicating that the EEOC may not have enough personnel to adequately investigate each claim.

Report: EEOC Falls Short in Settling Discrimination Claims

Race discrimination claims are among the most commonly-filed. In fact, black workers alleging racial discrimination comprised 25 percent of all EEOC claims, which is notable because there are many different kinds of discrimination. Only 15 percent of those are resolved with some compensation being returned to the complainants. Continue Reading ›

Will a Los Angeles Employment Lawyer Take My Discrimination Case?

March 28, 2019 | by Nassiri Law

You may be unsure about whether a Los Angeles employment lawyer will be willing to take your discrimination case. It’s important to understand what constitutes discrimination (not all unfair treatment will qualify) and whether you have or could acquire the evidence necessary to establish a case. If you do have evidence you were treated unfairly in employment or hiring on the basis of being part of a class that is protected by anti-discrimination laws, then a Los Angeles employment attorney will probably want to speak to you.

Employment lawyers do offer free initial consultations, so it is usually worth your time to reach out, explain your situation and arrange a meeting. A few things to keep in mind before you arrive.

Understanding Employment Discrimination

Age Discrimination Alleged by Former IBM Workers

March 27, 2019 | by Nassiri Law

The technology sector has been noted for its extensive examples of alleged California age discrimination complaints, particularly in Silicon Valley, home to some the tech industry’s high rollers. IBM is a firm that has repeatedly been accused of unlawfully discriminating against employees on the basis of age.

Four former employees of the company allege top executives at the firm were calculated in violating the law during a round of layoffs that specifically targeted older workers. It sounds outrageous, but as our Los Angeles age discrimination attorneys know, these are just four of an estimated 20,000 workers over the age of 40 who have been discharged the last six years.

The workers say the company violated federal laws like the Age Discrimination in Employment and the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA) in trying to alter the makeup of the company’s senior administration roles by replacing the majority of baby boomers at the helm with younger workers and recent college graduates perceived as more tech-savvy. Continue Reading ›

Federal Law Requires Workplace Accommodation for PTSD

March 23, 2019 | by Nassiri Law

A man who survived the deadliest shooting in U.S. history – and watched his father-in-law gunned down before his eyes (his wife’s aunt and cousin were among the wounded at the concert) – has filed a lawsuit alleging his employer discriminated against him by failing to accommodate his mental health condition when he returned to work. Los Angeles workplace discrimination attorneys can explain that while employers aren’t expected to provide opportunities for accommodation when a person can’t do what’s necessary to complete the core functions of the job, reasonable accommodations that don’t impose an undue hardship on the company are mandated by federal law.

The American Psychiatric Association first identified post-traumatic stress disorder as a named condition in 1952, though references to it date at least all the way back to ancient Greek literature. The reality is, it’s not uncommon for an individual to experience a traumatic event, and the APA estimates roughly 7-8 percent of all Americans suffer from PTSD. About 10 percent of women and 4 percent of men while experience PTSD in their lifetimes. It can afflict people who have seen the front lines of a war, but also those impacted by natural disasters, mass shooting casualties and interpersonal violence. PTSD rates are higher among soldiers than the general population, but the condition affects far more than military personnel.

Unless a person applying for accommodation requires some form of workplace accommodation during the application or interview process, he or she need not disclose a disability to an employer upfront. Disabilities only need to be disclosed when an employee requires accommodation to perform an essential function of the job. Continue Reading ›

Christian Fired for Refusing Work on Sundays, Wins $21M Religious Discrimination Case

March 20, 2019 | by Nassiri Law

Jurors awarded $21 million to plaintiff in a religious discrimination lawsuit after she, a devout Christian, was fired from her hotel dishwasher position, in part for refusal to work Sundays. As our Los Angeles employment attorneys can explain, an employer who fails to make reasonable accommodations for a worker’s sincerely-held beliefs can be found in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

At the crux of whether an accommodation is reasonable is if the requested accommodation would impose an undue hardship, defined as a more than minimal burden on the business. A religious practice can be considered “sincerely-held” to a person even if it’s newly-adopted, not observed with consistency or varies from the commonly-followed tenants of the religion.

The 60-year-old mother-of-six plaintiff in this case, in addition to being a dishwasher and immigrant from Haiti, is part of a Catholic missionary church that aids the poor. According to her federal lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Miami, she informed her employer – a posh downtown hotel – that she informed her employer of the need for accommodation when she first started her job, and specifically cited her religious beliefs. Sunday, according to Christian religious texts, is supposed to be a day of rest and devotion to God. Continue Reading ›

Facebook Vows to Block Discriminatory Employment Advertisements

March 15, 2019 | by Nassiri Law

It is illegal – in California and across the U.S., per the EEOC – to discriminate against a job applicant based on their race, color, religion, gender (including gender identity, sexual orientation and pregnancy) national origin, age (over 40), disability or genetic information. Yet one of the most frequently-used forums to lure new hires has essentially been facilitating just that, according to critics and a few employment lawsuits filed by the National Fair Housing Alliance, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Communication Workers of America.

Social media giant Facebook has faced years of criticism that it allowed companies advertising job listings to use key categories allowing employers to cherry-pick who their ads would be shown to based on age group, gender and race. The New York Times now reports Facebook has agreed it will stop doing this.

It’s not just prospective employees that have been complaining either. Those advertising credit and housing have also been allowed to screen their ads so that they would only show to a certain subset of social media users. (Housing and credit are also regulated by federal anti-discrimination laws that bar selection of applicants on such bases.) Continue Reading ›