California Racial Discrimination Attorney

More than 60 years after the Civil Rights Act was supposed to guarantee equal treatment for employees regardless of race or national origin, racial discrimination still continues to plague workers throughout California. Employers violate workers’ rights in a startling number of ways, depriving them of the opportunities and benefits they are entitled to under the law.

The situation will not improve until employees stand up for their legal rights. But that can be difficult because employers are often so skilled at burying evidence of illegal discrimination in the workplace. To enforce your right to work in an environment free from illegal discrimination, it is vital to work with a California racial discrimination attorney with the knowledge and experience necessary to obtain the full range of remedies available. At Justice Law Corporation, our team is dedicated to achieving the most advantageous outcome possible for our clients in every situation. We fight to recover the compensation our clients deserve for past wrongdoing and to ensure employers comply with the law going forward, creating a better workplace for all.

Racial Discrimination Takes Many Forms

Discrimination involves unfavorable treatment provided on the basis of a characteristic. In an employment setting, that unfavorable treatment could be a direct negative action, such as terminating employment or issuing an unjustified poor performance report.

However, discrimination can also be the absence of a benefit. When employers provide preferential treatment and benefits to certain workers but not to others, they are discriminating against the workers who have been denied benefits. This form of discrimination is often much harder to detect, particularly when employers don’t publicize the benefits provided to their employees.

Certain employees might receive better insurance plans, parking subsidies, stock options, paid training, and educational reimbursement. Employers might encourage some employees to take on additional responsibilities and offer career development opportunities while denying the same assistance to others. When the difference that determines how an employee is treated is based on racial or ethnic characteristics, the discrimination becomes illegal.

Employers aren’t required to treat all employees the same. For instance, an employer can pay a higher wage to employees with more education or experience. But when other factors are equal, race should not be the reason that some workers receive better treatment than others. Yet far too often, that is precisely what happens.

Looking for Patterns of Behavior

Racial discrimination has been prohibited in the workplace for decades. Employers realize that they cannot overtly establish written policies that use race or ethnicity as a benchmark for preferential treatment. Most supervisors will not openly admit that they are making decisions based on an employee’s racial background.

That can make it challenging to uncover evidence of racial discrimination in the workplace. However, an experienced California racial discrimination attorney will take advantage of numerous tactics to demonstrate that employees are suffering from the effects of racial discrimination on the job. One indication of unlawful discrimination is revealed by patterns of behavior. It is helpful to consider many different types of conduct on the part of an employer, such as:

Who is getting promoted?
Who is getting laid off first?
Who is getting preferential hours or assignments?
Who is getting hired for desirable jobs?
Who is being targeted when job openings are advertised?
Who is receiving poor performance reviews?
Who is getting particular benefits?
Who is getting pressured to accept a cut in hours or take early retirement?

It takes considerable time to collect and review evidence to establish a pattern of discrimination. At Justice Law Corporation, we know how to use legal evidentiary tools to uncover critical evidence, but it is important to begin working with an attorney early on to allow time to gather evidence and build a strong case.

Harassment in the Workplace

While racial discrimination often involves official actions by employers, such as promotions or the awarding of benefits, it can also involve “unofficial” acts by co-workers, management, customers, and outside vendors. When an employer tolerates an atmosphere of racial harassment, that employer is violating the law.

Employers have an obligation to take reasonable steps to prevent harassment. They are supposed to inform employees about what constitutes harassment and take action to end harassment when it occurs. When an employee complains of harassment, the employer must investigate the complaint and cannot retaliate against the employee who filed it.

The term “harassment” covers many different situations. When someone makes insulting or disparaging remarks, that can be considered harassment, but offensive jokes also constitute harassment, even if someone insists they are meant to be for fun. The harassing comments could directly address race or color, or they might be aimed at traits associated with race or national origin, such as remarks about hairstyles, accent, or food.

Physical intimidation can constitute harassment even if no words are spoken. Whenever conduct is unwelcome and directed at a worker because of their race, color, ethnicity, or national origin, it has the potential to be considered illegal harassment. An employer can certainly be held liable for such conduct when it is committed by a supervisor, but the employer could also be responsible for harassing conduct by a fellow employee, customer, or outside vendor if the employer fails to take reasonable steps to correct the situation.

Harassment becomes illegal discrimination when it creates a hostile work environment for employees. So, how severe does the conduct need to be to create an environment that is sufficiently hostile to become illegal? It could be a single incident if it is severe. Or it could be a recurring pattern of minor incidents, such as an employee complaining to the supervisor about a co-worker who continually makes fun of a foreign accent. If the supervisor does very little to change the co-worker’s behavior, a California racial discrimination attorney at Justice Law Corporation may be able to hold the employer liable for racial discrimination due to a hostile work environment.

Retaliation for Exercising Your Rights

State, federal, and sometimes even local laws give you the freedom to assert your rights in the workplace, including the right to work in an environment free from illegal discrimination. Your employer is not allowed to do anything to “get even” with you when you seek to enforce your rights.

If you complain about offensive cartoons posted by a co-worker, for instance, your employer can’t use that as grounds to justify denying you a promotion or giving you a poor performance review. If you file a formal complaint or lawsuit, you cannot be terminated, demoted, or penalized in any way for your actions. If an employer treats you negatively because you’ve chosen to blow the whistle on unlawful practices, that constitutes illegal retaliation. It gives your racial discrimination lawyer another basis on which to seek remedies on your behalf.

Laws Against Racial Discrimination in the Workplace

The team at Justice Law Corporation may use federal or state laws to seek remedies for employees adversely affected by workplace racial discrimination. These remedies could include:

Compensation to make up for wages or benefits denied in the past
Hiring, reinstatement, or promotion
Compensation for expenses or denied opportunities
Changes in workplace policy
Compensation for emotional distress

In addition, employees have the satisfaction of gaining recognition for the harm they have suffered because of the employer’s wrongdoing, and the knowledge that the environment for others will be better in the future, thanks to their efforts.

Federal Law

The cornerstone of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of race is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This statute makes it unlawful for employers to discriminate in the terms and conditions of employment or to limit or classify employees or job applicants in a way that would deprive them of opportunities because of their race, color, or national origin.

California Fair Employment and Housing Act

A California racial discrimination attorney will often rely on provisions in state law, including the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), because these protections are frequently more extensive than those in federal law. This statute prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, or ancestry.

FAQs About Racial Discrimination in California

Racial discrimination has been a very public topic for years, so many instances of racial and ethnic discrimination involve conduct that is subtle. It can be challenging to prove without the proper knowledge and experience in California labor law enforcement. Since we have that experience, people often come to us with their questions. For background information, we are providing some general answers to common questions here, but if you contact us directly, we can provide answers that apply to the specific information in your situation.

What Agencies Enforce Laws on Racial Discrimination in the Workplace?

At the federal level, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces anti-discrimination laws in employment settings. California laws prohibiting discrimination in the workplace are enforced by the state’s Civil Rights Department (CRD).

Do I Need an Attorney to File a Discrimination Complaint?

Neither state nor federal law requires legal representation in order to file a complaint with the CRD or EEOC. However, if you want to obtain remedies, including compensation, for the discrimination you have suffered, it makes sense to work with a knowledgeable California racial discrimination attorney. Employers are not readily willing to admit that they have engaged in racial discrimination, so it takes extensive investigation, persuasive presentation of evidence, and sophisticated legal arguments to succeed in winning a discrimination case. So, while you can file a complaint on your own, it is difficult to obtain justice without experienced legal representation.

What Types of Evidence are Used to Prove Discrimination?

Evidence used to show that an employer has engaged in discriminatory practices includes both direct evidence and circumstantial evidence. Direct evidence provides a direct link between the accusation and the employer, but such evidence is rare in a racial discrimination case. Finding a memo stating that an employee was being terminated because of their race or ethnic identity would be an example of direct evidence, but few employers would ever admit their discriminatory reasoning in a document.

The most common form of evidence used to prove discrimination is circumstantial evidence. This includes demonstrating patterns of unfavorable conduct toward certain minorities. Testimony from co-workers about the prevalence of racial slurs or other harassment can be very helpful. Showing that employees of a certain race were never included in meetings, planning groups, or departmental communications can also demonstrate unequal treatment.

What Should I Do If I Think My Employer Treated Me Unfairly Because of My Race?

It is helpful to gather all the information you can and store it safely somewhere away from the workplace. Make copies of correspondence such as email messages and texts, as well as performance reviews, company policies, and disciplinary reports. Talk to co-workers who might be willing to serve as witnesses. But the most helpful step would be to consult a knowledgeable California racial discrimination attorney who can advise you about whether the treatment in your case amounted to illegal discrimination and can help uncover additional evidence and pursue the most effective course to obtain the best remedies available in your particular situation.

I’m Being Harassed as a “Foreigner” Even Though I Was Born in the U.S. Is That Illegal?

California and federal laws prohibit discrimination based not only on actual race or ethnicity but also on the perceptions of these characteristics. So, if you are harassed on the basis of a mistaken belief about your race, color, national origin, or ethnicity, that harassment is still illegal, and your employer can potentially be held liable.

Work with a Legal Team Experienced in Recovering Compensation for Racial and Ethnic Discrimination in California

Illegal discrimination can hurt you financially, mentally, and emotionally. If you’ve been subjected to discriminatory actions because of your identity or the way you are perceived in the workplace, it is time to enforce your rights and seek the best remedies available under the law. A dedicated California racial discrimination attorney at Justice Law Corporation can work with you to recover damages for past harm and protections for your future. For a free consultation to learn what may be possible in your case, call us at 818-230-7502 or contact us online now.