Category Archives: Employment Discrimination
Visual Harassment in the Workplace
If you’re in the workplace and people say things to you that are demeaning, insulting, lewd, or harassing, you may know you’re a victim of workplace harassment. The same goes, of course, if there is any unwanted touching, or perhaps, coercion to engage in sexual or romantic activity as a condition of working there…. Read More »
Recognizing LGBTQ Harassment in the Workplace
Both federal and California law protect LBGTQ workers from discrimination and harassment in the workplace, albeit California’s state laws are broader, and do provide more protection than federal laws. But while workplace rights and protections for the LBGTQ community are continually increasing, that doesn’t make discrimination cases against the LBGTQ community any easier. Hard… Read More »
The Supreme Court is About to Answer a Big Question on Reverse Discrimination
Most of us already know that discrimination or harassment in the workplace based on a protected classification such as race or nationality or religion, among other categories, is illegal. But does that include all races, nationalities and religions—even so-called “majority” ones? What is Reverse Discrimination? That’s the issue that the Supreme Court is set… Read More »
What is a Stay or Pay Clause?
Non compete clauses have long been illegal in California, and as of 2023, the federal government passed a regulation making these provisions illegal nationally (although that restriction is currently being challenged in court). But anticipating the trend against these clauses, many employers are coming up with new ways to try to keep employees from… Read More »
Associational Discrimination: The ADA is More Powerful Than You Thought
The Americans With Disabilities Act or ADA is a powerful law that protects workers with disabilities. But it does even more than that. It even protects otherwise healthy, non-disabled workers that have some relationship to others who have disabilities. The ADA, Generally The ADA generally says that if you have a disability, your employer… Read More »
Can You Get Punitive Damages in an Employment Discrimination Case?
In an employment discrimination case, just like in many types of cases where someone is injured or wronged, the purpose of damages is to make the victim whole. In employment law cases, that can include lost wages, or financial losses because of harassment or discrimination. That can also include compensation for the victim’s emotional… Read More »
Discrimination in the Workplace Because of Mental Health or Mental Illness
Despite all the public information campaigns, the news articles, and the awareness movements, the sad fact remains that there is still discrimination against people with mental illness. That discrimination comes in two forms: One is the mere fact that so many people don’t see mental illness as “real,” or at least, a real disability,… Read More »
What is an “Adverse Employment Action?”
There are a lot of things that employers can’t do, when it comes to discrimination. They can’t retaliate against you or discriminate on the basis of being a member of a protected class such as your gender, sexuality/sexual orientation, race/color, religion/creed, national origin/ancestry, age, disability, age (over 40), gender identity, gender expression, medical condition,… Read More »
What is National Origin Discrimination?
You probably already know that it is illegal to discriminate in the workplace based on national origin. Many people just assume this means the same thing as “race,” but they are two different things, and legally, although discriminating on both is illegal, discrimination on the basis of national origin is a separate distinct category… Read More »
Discrimination That You May Not Know Is Discrimination
When employees feel that they may have been discriminated against, they often think of whether they fall into a class that needs to be protected—that is, whether being pregnant, or sick, or disabled, gives them protection. But it’s also important to think of what kind of behavior by an employer can lead to a… Read More »
