gender discrimination

California Employment Litigation Law Firm Facing Gender Bias Lawsuit of Its Own

January 30, 2019 | by Nassiri Law

A California employment litigation law firm is battling allegations of gender discrimination, with plaintiffs in two lawsuits alleging the firm discriminates against female law firm partners in wages, promotions and opportunities. There are currently two cases pending – at least one plaintiff a party to both, one in state court the other in federal. The employment lawsuit filed in federal court is bound by arbitration, as an appellate panel recently ruled. However, the California state court claim is not subject to arbitration and reportedly asserts a cause of action under the Private Attorneys General Act. As Los Angeles gender discrimination lawyers can explain, PAGA, amended in 2016, allows employees to recover civil penalties on behalf of themselves, other employees and the state for labor code violations as outlined in in California Labor Code Division 2, Part 13, Sections 2698-2699.6.

Defendant in this case argues the state lawsuit should be tossed because it “rehashes many of the claims made against defendant” by plaintiff in the earlier lawsuit” – namely retaliation after filing a complaint of discriminatory practices and policies that adversely affected female employees.

One plaintiff alleges that shortly after a former colleague’s discrimination lawsuit was filed in January 2018, her former employer, a defense-side labor and employment law firm, hired an investigator to conduct what she alleges was a “sham investigation” regarding a connection she had with one of her clients. The true purpose of that investigation, she asserts, was to find grounds to discredit and/or terminate her before she joined the first plaintiff’s lawsuit or else filed her own. Continue Reading ›

California Gender Discrimination Lawsuit at Tech Firm Alleges Systematic Disparate Wages

January 2, 2019 | by Nassiri Law

Women who work in tech are known to be at higher risk of gender disparity. Interestingly, in the early days of electronic computing, many of these jobs were strongly associated with women (as it was considered an unimportant, deskilled work). However, once it became clear that computers would be indispensable in almost every corner of industry and government, the female programmers who once held all the requisite skills suddenly were pushed out, boxed out of their jobs, denied promotions and replaced by men (especially when the women in question were married or had children).

In Silicon Valley, our California employment attorneys know the claims of gender discrimination have been well-documented. While companies insist they are doing their best to address these problems, the reality is progress has been slow and uneven.

Recently, another such gender discrimination lawsuit, was filed against tech giant Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, accused of systematic pay disparity that resulted in women consistently being paid less than their male counterparts for the same work – even when they had more experience or more seniority at the firm than their male counterparts. In one case, plaintiff said she was asked to step into the role of a recently-deceased supervisor, for which she was promised a promotion and a raise. Yet it wasn’t until another co-worker in a different department stumbled across financial documents with the firm that she – and others – learned she received far less pay (and no change in title) for taking over her predecessor’s responsibilities. Per The Mercury News, plaintiffs are seeking class action status. Continue Reading ›

Report: Female Prison Guards Face Daily Gender Discrimination, Sexual Harassment

November 26, 2018 | by Nassiri Law

Gender discrimination and sexual harassment attorneys in California know women who work in federal prisons housing male inmates tend to go into the job expecting they will be targeted for unwanted attention from the resident populace. This isn’t to say such behavior is tolerable, but it’s the reason these workers wear over-sized uniforms, slick their hair into tight buns, do almost everything possible to hide any trace of femininity. But worse than abuse they face from the inmates, they told The New York Times and detailed in gender discrimination lawsuit depositions, is the fact their male colleagues encourage this behavior – and even participate in it. On more than one occasion, this has resulted not only in a hostile workplace, but an extremely dangerous one. Further, they allege that when these incidents are reported, they face retaliation, including blackballing and termination, the male colleagues who harass them reportedly rise in their field.

Our Los Angeles sexual harassment attorneys are aware of cases wherein female prison workers have been groped, taunted daily, subjected to incessant inmate masturbation and threatened with rape. Anytime they reported this, the women say, their supervisors downplayed it, encouraged them to “let it go.” Once when a female worker refused, she said her supervisors required her to undergo an unwanted medical exam that required her to expose her breasts in front of a colleague. In another case, a case manager was reportedly raped by an inmate. When the 24-year employee reported it, she was criminally charged with raping her attacker. She was later acquitted by a jury, but her retirement savings was depleted for her defense fund and her daughter had to drop out of college because she couldn’t afford it.

This isn’t the first time abuses of female prison employees have come to light. In 2010, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released a stunning report, indicating sexual harassment and retaliation claims were not only unusually high within the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, but also that they were routinely mishandled. And this is not a small problem, given that more than 10,000 women work within the federal prison system. Women who have lodged complaints say they have been essentially blocked from any future in the corrections system – even when their claims prevail. This is evidenced by the fact that a Congressional oversight committee last year learned that prisons were continuing to grant high-level administrators huge bonuses, even though the complaints regarding sexual harassment were pervasive, the handling of them clearly unlawful. Continue Reading ›

Employer Discrimination Lawsuits: Facebook Job Ads Allow Unlawful Hiring Bias

September 15, 2018 | by Nassiri Law

When an employer sets out to recruit young people, men, white people, Christians, those without disabilities or other groups, this can be a violation of federal and state labor laws against employment discrimination. Specifically, such claims might be filed under the following umbrellas:

Age discrimination
Gender discrimination
Racial discrimination
Religions discrimination
Disability discrimination

A number of lawsuits filed recently against social media giant Facebook and numerous employers who advertise and head-hunt for workers on its platforms accuse the defendants of discriminatory advertising and hiring. If a person in a protected class is denied opportunity in the workforce because of their membership in that class, this is illegal.

In California, state law (specifically the Fair Employment and Housing Act and the California Family Rights Act) prohibits employment discrimination in the process of hiring, promotion/ demotion, transfers, wages, termination and other aspects of employment. Los Angeles employment discrimination law firms work to combat these types of acts by holding offenders accountable. Continue Reading ›

Nike Gender Discrimination Lawsuit Alleges Hostile Workplace for Women

September 7, 2018 | by Nassiri Law

A number of former female employees of sportswear powerhouse Nike are alleging in a gender discrimination lawsuit they were systematically maligned and denied key professional opportunities simply because of their gender.

The gender discrimination lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Oregon, alleges the maker of sports apparel willfully and intentionally discriminated against female employees with respect to their wages, promotions and other conditions of employment, causing and fostering a work environment that was hostile. The women are seeking class action status, with the two primary claimants having previously worked at the company’s headquarters in Oregon. One now works for the firm’s primary rival. The women say females at the firm were judged significantly more harshly than their male counterparts, which in turn resulted in lower wages, reduced stock options and less in bonuses. When they reported the disparate treatment to human resources, their allegations (including those involving sexual assault and harassment) were mishandled or else blatantly ignored.

In a written statement, the company insisted they vehemently oppose any form of discrimination and that its pay and benefits for workers and that the “vast majority” of its workers live by values that include respect for all others. Earlier this year, a group of women at the company presented the CEO and president with information gleaned in an internal gender discrimination survey. The CEO swiftly responded with a full restructure of the team, which included announcing the president would soon be retiring. The president was largely blamed by plaintiffs for not only creating but exacerbating gender discrimination on the job. He was reportedly being groomed to take over as CEO until all this came to light. Continue Reading ›

Transgender Employment Discrimination Standards Tested in U.S. Courts

August 31, 2018 | by Nassiri Law

California is one of the few states that prohibits transgender discrimination in housing and employment. Cal. Gov’t. Code Section 12940(a) stipulates it’s unlawful for an employer to refuse to hire or employ someone or to discharge from employment or to discriminate against a person in compensation or in terms, conditions or privileges because of one’s gender identity.

However, many other states lack such protections, and now, one transgender discrimination in employment case out of Michigan could go before the U.S. Supreme Court, potentially making it lawful for workplaces around the country to take adverse employment actions against workers on the basis of their sexual identity.

As reported by Lawrence-Journal World, the Kansas Attorney General is joining with officials from 15 other states, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to expressly declare transgender workers not protected by federal workplace anti-discrimination laws. In particular, they are requesting the U.S. Supreme Court reverse a ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Michigan, which decided the word “sex” used in the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 – particularly in Title VII – does include transgender status and gender identity. Continue Reading ›

Lawsuit Against Google Raises Questions of Gender Discrimination in California

October 4, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

Recently, Google has been the target of a wide variety of discrimination lawsuits. From issues of political speech raised by the infamous “anti-diversity manifesto” to the gender issues which plague the technology and venture capital sectors, the tech giant is facing the potential of significant civil liability for violations of state and federal employment law. According to Reuters, Google is also facing an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor into gender discrimination in its pay practices. Now, a new lawsuit alleging gender bias in pay and promotions could be the latest – and greatest – of Google’s legal woes. Continue Reading ›

Female Doctors Allege Gender Discrimination in Pay

September 18, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

Gender discrimination can occur in all industries, at all education levels and all income tiers. Recently, a trio of female physicians in North Carolina filed a gender discrimination lawsuit alleging the male doctors within their health system were paid substantially more than them, despite comparative levels of education, experience and expertise.

Also sometimes referred to as “sex-based discrimination,” it occurs when an employee is treated differently due to their gender. Title VII prohibits discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment – including hiring, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoffs, firings and fringe benefits. Whether directed at male or female employees, it’s illegal when it has a negative impact on a person’s employment and it’s not job-related or necessary to the operation of the business.

The North Carolina case involves three female doctor plaintiffs who allege their male counterparts are paid substantially more money for doing the exact same work. Continue Reading ›

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 ›