Employment Issues
Employment Discrimination
Employment Discrimination (Hostile Work Environment, Sexual Harassment)
Employment discrimination causes devastating damage to victims. It leads to unemployment, underemployment, and hostile work environments. The victim’s earning power and workplace satisfaction are damaged both as the discrimination occurs and for years afterwards. Often, workers subjected to discrimination feel they are powerless. They fear retaliation if they speak up about their experiences. They may tolerate illegal forms of harassment and ultimately lose their jobs. Worse, they may struggle to explain to future potential employers why they resigned or were fired from an organization that mistreated them.
Both Federal and California law prohibit employment discrimination and harassment that is based on the victim’s protected status. The law also protects individuals who complain about harassment. Workers who suffer illegal employment discrimination are entitled to recover damages, including lost wages and benefits, emotional damages, punitive damages, and legal fees. Further, if the employer took adverse action against an employee because of a claim of discrimination, the employer faces additional liability for retaliation, which may include wrongful termination.
Federal law prohibits discrimination against members of several protected classes. This means that taking adverse action against or harassing an employee because they are a member of one of these classes constitutes a violation of federal discrimination law. These classes include race, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy), disability, age (40 or over), citizen status, and genetic information. California anti discrimination law also protects these classes plus additional classes that include marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, AIDS/HIV, medical condition, political activities or affiliations, military/veteran status, and status as a domestic violence victim.
If you are experiencing workplace discrimination and harassment, an employment discrimination lawyer at Pacific Coast Injury Law Center can help. To protect your legal rights, it is crucial to get a confidential consultation as soon as discrimination occurs. For example, if suffering from sexual harassment that includes a hostile work environment and the wrongful denial of a promotion, it is vital to get legal advice before quitting the job or choosing to tolerate the mistreatment. Without properly documenting the events and taking actions that preserve legal rights, the employer can claim the actions against the employee took place for a nondiscriminatory reason, such as poor performance, and avoid liability. Discrimination law has time limits, so contact a personal injury lawyer in Riverside(Southern California) specializing in employment law right away.