Category Archives: Discrimination Harassment
School District Employee Files Racial Discrimination Lawsuit After Losing Out on Promotion in Favor of Less Qualified Employee
If you have a public sector job that you have held for more than a few years, you are in a better position than most people. You have more job security and more generous health insurance benefits than most people have, and you might even have a retirement pension; this counts as an embarrassment… Read More »
Does Offensive Music Make a Hostile Work Environment
We are approaching the time of year when Christmas carols start playing on the speaker systems of virtually every restaurant and retail store. No matter how much holiday cheer you possess, and no matter how delightful it is when neighbors knock on your door and sing “Deck the Halls” in harmony in exchange for… Read More »
Court Orders Company to Pay $1.2 Million to Warehouse Employee Who Suffered Bullying by Coworkers
Adults often reassure children that the teasing they endure from their classmates about things that employment law would consider protected characteristics, such as their physical appearance or manner of speaking, are a sign of immaturity. Unfortunately, it is usually wishful thinking to assume that, just because people are old enough to be in the… Read More »
Woman Sues Employer Over Gender-Based Pay Discrimination
The gender pay gap is well known. Women get paid less than men of similar professional background in exchange for the same work. Comedians of both sexes make jokes about it, and some people even commemorate the day each year by which women’s pay catches up to the amount that men earned by the… Read More »
Can an Employer Discriminate Against You Because You Are Not Good Looking Enough?
Everyone knows that you are not supposed to judge people based on their physical appearance, but most of us do not apply that precept consistently in our daily lives. Finding a community of people who judge each other based on their actions instead of their looks is sounding more and more like a utopian… Read More »
Abusive Treatment by an Employer Is Still Abuse, Even When It Is Not Discrimination
Many employment discrimination lawsuits arise from work environments where a work supervisor harasses employees because of one or more protected characteristics of the employees, such as their race, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, or family status. To file a discrimination complaint against your employer, you must first contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, whereupon… Read More »
Is Accent Discrimination Legal?
If the cultural and linguistic diversity of Los Angeles disappeared, it would be a shadow of its former self. According to a 2019 report by World Population Review, 224 languages are spoken in Los Angeles. This means that a large portion of workers in the Los Angeles area speak more than one language in… Read More »
When Is “Mean Girl” Behavior at Work a Hostile Work Environment?
Children and teenagers are notoriously antagonistic to their peers, and both before and after the advent of the age of cyberbullying, parents have assured their children that once they grow up and enter the workforce, they will be surrounded by people who behave much more reasonably and professionally. Unfortunately, this does not always happen. … Read More »
Systemic Racial Hostility or Discrimination in the Workplace
It is difficult to work in an environment where you may be treated unfairly because of your race. Racism in the workplace is not always overt – it will be unlikely that there is a policy in place that favors one race over another. But deliberate actions by management or staff motivated by malice,… Read More »
California Civil Rights Department Dismisses Caste Discrimination Lawsuit Against Tech Company
Employment laws in California and at the federal level prohibit discrimination based on protected characteristics which relate to a person’s physical appearance, personal history, or family background. For example, skin color, national origin, and religion are protected characteristics. Should the law officially recognize caste as a protected characteristic, separate from the aforementioned characteristics which… Read More »
