Los Angeles Employment Attorney Blog

Helen Keller was an amazing person who overcame her deafness and blindness to become a world champion for the rights of those with disabilities. Before she was 2 years old, an illness rendered her blind and deaf. She first learned to communicate with sign language as a child. Later, still as a young person, Helen Keller was profoundly influenced by Charles Dickens' book entitled American Notes that chronicles the education of a deaf and blind child.

Helen Keller did not allow her disabilities to limit her ambitions or stop her from tackling new challenges. She was the first deaf and blind person to graduate from college. She wrote books, met with presidents, and toured the world to encourage those with disabilities and advocate for women's rights.

Helen Keller made history and changed people's perspective on the abilities of those with disabilities. She toured 39 countries advocating for people with disabilities, children's rights, women's rights. Here, in the U.S., she helped change laws and establish programs to help people with disabilities.

Many people with disabilities face not only the challenge of their disability but also ignorance and prejudice when seeking employment. Employers, be a champion for people with disabilities to find and keep meaningful employment. You may just employ the next Helen Keller.

Abel Law Offices employment attorneys serving Los Angeles, Ventura, and Orange Counties believe that it is important to keep the public informed on new cases dealing with employment law and to present information to educate employees and employers. Employees with disabilities and resulting limitations have rights under both Federal and California state law. And, employers have certain obligations when confronting the issue of an employee with a disability limitation.

This week the California Court of Appeal decided and published its decision in , Carmine Scotch v. The Art Institute of California-Orange County Inc.. Plaintiff Scotch had alleged discrimination based on disability in violation of California's Fair Employment Housing Act. He asserted that he was discriminated against because he was HIV positive. He claimed that the Art Institute of California-Orange County, Inc. (AIC) failed to engage in the required interactive process to accommodate an employee with a disability limitation and failed to provide a discrimination free workplace.

The trial court granted judgment in favor of AIC. On appeal, the court affirmed the judgment. In its decision many important principles of disability discrimination law are discussed and seminal cases cited. While Scotch was unsuccessful, the case poignantly emphasizes the need for an employer to engage in an interactive process to make reasonable accommodation for an employee with a disability limitation.

If you have limitations because of a disability, your employer must engage in an interactive process to make reasonable accommodation to the workplace so that you can perform the essential duties of your job. If this is not occurring, you may have legal remedies. If your business is challenged with dealing with this type of situation, your business should engage experienced Los Angeles employment lawyer for legal advice and guidance.

Contact the Abel Law Offices, employment law lawyers serving Southern California, to schedule an appointment to discuss your disability employment matter.

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.

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.

A bright, hard working, productive, and reliable young man dedicated himself to his job. And he was good at it. He worked hard and played hard. A die-hard Dodgers' fan as are many Los Angeles residents. His supervisor praised him for his performance and accomplishments. Unfortunately, the young man was stricken with a disease which left him paralyzed. In time, with love, care, and the grace of God, he recovered. However, he uses a cane to walk.

His mind and his work habits were as good as ever. He went back to work. Again his supervisor praised him for his outstanding performance. He was recognized as a remarkable person who overcame tremendous adversity. That is until a new supervisor arrived. Almost immediately, this bright, hard working productive, and reliable young man wasn't doing a good job and couldn't perform his duties. His supervisor wanted to talk to the young man about the young man's medical condition, which was supposed to be private, and about the young man's use of a cane.

The young man, already hardened to some degree by the stares of the unsympathetic, callous remarks such as "gimpy", protested his new supervisor's criticisms as inaccurate."I can do the job and have been doing the job." His work history and his protests were ignored.

Instead, he was fired not long after that initial conversation. He was told that he couldn't perform his job; and, anyway, the job was being eliminated. Shocked and hurt, the young man was forced to leave his job. He also faced the difficult place of finding a new place to live without having a job.

The young man combed the local newspapers and the internet for job openings. And, he was surprised, but not too much so, to see his job being advertised. The advertisement described the exact duties the young man had when working for the company. And the duties did not include walking around a large facility, but rather was a desk job. So, the job wasn't eliminated, only he was because he walked with a cane. The supervisor, apparently, didn't think that portrayed the right image for the company. [Based on a real life situation, but modified to afford the victim privacy).

Sound familiar? Know someone who has suffered this type of treatment? It is against the law for an employer to discriminate against a person because of a medical condition or physical disability if the person can perform the job duties (California Fair Employment and Housing Act). A charge of discrimination can be filed with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH);or the person can consult with an experienced employment attorney for a legal analysis of the potential claim. Bruce Abel with offices in Los Angeles, Orange, and Ventura Counties, has 26 years of experience successfully handling employment discrimination and physical disability discrimination cases.

More information may found in a publication by the California Department of Justice's Office of the Attorney General entitled Civil Rights Handbook or visiting the DFEH website.

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.