Los Angeles Employment Attorney Blog

In my 26 years as a Los Angeles employment law attorney, it still surprises me how many just can't believe they are being unlawfully discriminated against at work. People respond to ads, get hired, and think they will have the opportunity to flourish and grow professionally. In some cases that ends up being true. However, there are many who still fall victim to repugnant discrimination in the workplace despite our California and Federal laws enacted to protect employees from discrimination.

Victims of discrimination experience a range of emotions such as anger, frustration, humiliation, anxiety, and depression. The subtle acts of discrimination become a harsh reality that keeps the victims up at night and irritable during the day. Their work life becomes a living hell and frequently the more they speak up, the worse it gets. Employers may have the right policies, but not the right attitudes or the right managers and supervisors. So what should you do if you are the victim of unlawful discrimination in the workplace? Here are a few things that you can do so that you will not feel like a helpless victim. 

1) React decisively on the first unlawful discriminatory act. Email or write your supervisor detailing the unlawful employment discrimination. If the dsicrimination has been on-going, then document your plight.  Documentation may help you if you later file a lawsuit.  Request a written response.

2) If your employer has a Human Resources Department, make a formal complaint and make sure you keep a copy. In your complaint, you should be specific and state the precise nature of the discrimination. For example, if you are being discriminated against because of your age, you might state that you are over 40 years old and that employees under the age of 40 are routinely picked for promotion and you are denied promotion even though you earned it.

3) Keep a diary marked "for my lawyer". Write down what, when, how, who, and where regarding the race, national origin, gender, disability, age or religious discrimination.

4) Even though your job is important, stand up for your rights. Utilize all resources offered by your employer to try to get relief.

5) If you are suffering emotionally, get counseling.

6) If others witness the discriminatory acts, try to get the witnesses to sign a writing memorializing what was observed or heard.

7) Make a copy of your personnel file.

8) File a charge of discrimination with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). You would be well advised to seek the counsel of an experienced Los Angeles employment lawyer becasue the way charges are written can make a difference if a lawsuit is filed. If you want to file a lawsuit instead of having the DFEH investigate, request a Right-To-Sue Letter from the DFEH.

9) Consult with a Los Angeles employment law attorney who is familiar with the Los Angeles courts and judges, the local court rules, and understands the jury pool.

Los Angeles is faced with almost impossible budget deficits and cuts. City leaders are scrambling to meet the challenge. Unions and the Mayor are looking for ways to fairly and prudently handle a 530 million dollar budget deficit. Los Angeles City Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is doing a commendable job in an unenvious position of trying to manage an enormous budget of over 7 billion dollars, but one that falls far short of the city's needs. Desperately looking for ways to do the right thing and avoid laying off thousands of Los Angeles employees, the Mayor is considering early retirement incentive offers to those nearing retirement.

The plan is appealing and might be welcomed by those who would qualify.  After a person has devoted 30 or 40 years to public service, early retirement with a financial incentive probably is appealing. And, the Mayor should be congratulated on tackling this problem. However, according to the April 22, 2009, issue of the Los Angeles Times, Mayor Antonio Villagraigosa was quoted as referring to those nearing retirement as "deadwood."

Mayor, you need some new speech writers. Deadwood is, to say the least, a politically incorrect reference to older workers. If people approaching the commonly thought age of 65 as retirement age are deadwood, then 6 of the 9 justices of the United States Supreme Court would qualify as "deadwood." Under that same view that those approaching retirement age are "deadwood", the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court would qualify as "deadwood". Agree or disagree with these justices, they are not deadwood by any stretch of the imagination.  Rather, they are all stellar examples of people over the age of 60 who are productive, intelligent, and hard working professionals.  Andy Rooney, Mike Wallace, and Clint Eastwood are other great examples of hard working, productive people well over the "retirement" age.

It would be better to refer to those employees nearing "retirement age" as the mature part of the workforce who have enjoyed full and productive careers, not deadwood. More appropriately, these workers should be considered beautiful aged oak trees who have stood the test of time. Our Los Angeles mature public servants deserve our respect.  There is dignity in age. Anyways, Mayor, wasn't Deadwood an HBO western series?

Age discrimination is often subtle.  But whether it is subtle or obvious, it should be opposed. If you believe you have been discriminated against because of your age, you have rights and remedies under federal and state law.Consult with a mature Los Angeles employment law attorney or contact the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) or the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) tracks charges of employment discrimination. Recently, the EEOC released charge statistics reflecting the individual charge filings for the time period covering 1997 through 2008. Well, with the laws in place and government enforcement of violations of the law, wouldn't you think there would be less discrimination? Despite the laws and the on-going efforts to enforce the law by EEOC, the number of charges in all categories have increased.

Individual employment discrimination charges increased almost 20% from 2007 to 2008. In 2007 there were 82,792 discrimination charges compared to 95,402 in 2008. Of the 9 categories of discrimination tracked, each and every category reflected an increase of filings from 2007 to 2008. For example, race discrimination filings increase from 30,510 race discrimination charges in 2007 compared to 33,937 in 2008. And there was almost a 20% increase in sex discrimination charges from 2007 to 2008. There were 11,000 more individual filings in 2008 than there were in 2007 (approximately a 20% increase) alleging retaliation for engaging in protected activities or some other type of retaliation.

 

Having laws isn't enough. Then, what is the solution? We need to educate employers, supervisors, and employees on the importance of diversity in the workplace and providing a discrimination free work environment. We need to train our employers, supervisors, and employees on effective and efficient methods to redress employee grievances and minimize discrimination in the workplace. Sexual harassment training is already a mandate, but it obviously that is not enough.

Employers could save tens of thousands of dollars or even millions of dollars by implementing effective training and educational programs to ensure their employees know, understand, and implement the laws mandating discrimination free workplaces. For example, a Phoenix, Arizona company, Wheeler Construction, agreed to settle claims by two individuals who alleged both had been the victims of natinoal origin harassment and then had been retaliated against for complainting about about the national origin harassment. Wheeler Construction will pay $325,000.00 to settle the EEOC lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.  Chester V. Bailey, the director of the Phoenix EEOC office said "These victims attempted to speak out and address their unlawful treatment, and their comlaints were ignored."

Employers should spend more resources on preventing and promptly addressing employee greivances alleging discrimination in the workplace instead of marshaling assets to fight claims. A discrimination free workplace means a more productive workforce and high morale. It's time to get smart.  Educate against hate.

Bruce Abel, Attorney-At-Law, is a 26 year veteran handling employment discrimination cases for employers and employees. Mr. Abel has offices in Los Angeles, Orange, and Ventura Counties. He is available to consult with businesses on effective training methods and resolution protocols regarding employment discrimination laws.

50 years ago California led the forefront when it enacted what is now referred to as the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) which is codified in California Government Code Section 12920 and following. This act declares that it is in the public interest for California employers to provide a discrimination free workplace and prohibits discrimination based on a number of protected categories such as race, national origin, age, gender, medical condition, and physical disability. California created the Department of Fair Employment and Housing Department (DFEH) to investigate and enforce this statutory scheme. Individuals, however, may also may sue in court to enforce the provisions of FEHA.

DFEH is a progressive and aggressive agency. It utilizes its resources to educate, investigate, and, when appropriate, seek remedies for employees who are victims of discrimination, harassment or retaliation in violation of FEHA.There are offices throughout the state, including Los Angeles, toll free numbers, and an excellent internet site with useful information, explanations of the law, and forms.

If you believe that you are or have been the victim of an unlawful employment practice such as race discrimination, you have the right to file a charge of discrimination with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). After contacting the DFEH, an appointment will be scheduled for you to be interviewed about the facts pertaining to the discrimination, harassment or retaliation. To assist the person wishing to file a charge of discrimination, the DFEH sends the complainant a pre-complaint questionaire. This document can be obtained by contact a DFEH office or on-line on the DFEH Publications page.

Based on the interview and the pre-complaint questionnaire, the DFEH personnel draft a formal complaint using DFEH's form. Then you will sign it and it will be served on your employer or past employer whichever the case may be. It is not hard. Don't delay because there are time limits within which charges of discrimination must be made. Generally, a victim of discrimination must file a charge of discrimination within one year of the wrongful act. It is a good idea to consult with an attorney who knows employment law before signing the charge of discrimination because the charges of discrimination are pre-requisites to a lawsuit and are also admissible in a lawsuit.