Oakland Workplace Discrimination Attorneys
Oakland Workplace Discrimination Attorneys
People throughout the greater Oakland area can often deal with situations in which they do not receive promotions they were expecting, are subject to disciplinary actions for reasons that defy common sense, or are even fired for reasons other than job performance. All of these different types of situations could involve possible discrimination by an employer, so a person will want to be quick to seek the help of an Oakland workplace discrimination attorney.
The California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) has an entire list of laws prohibiting retaliation and discrimination. It is illegal for employers with five or more employees to discriminate against job applicants or employees because of their race, color, religion, sex or gender (including pregnancy), gender identity or gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, ancestry, disability, genetic information, request for family care leave, request for leave for an employeeâs own serious health condition, request for pregnancy disability leave, retaliation for reporting patient abuse in tax-supported institutions, age (over 40), or to retaliate against them because they assert their rights under the law.
Types of Workplace Discrimination
The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) notes that state laws barring discrimination apply to all business practices, including applications, screening, interviews, advertisements, working conditions, including compensation, hiring, transferring, promoting, terminating, or separating employees, and participation in training or apprenticeship programs, employee organizations, or unions. The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) is the state law that protects employees from discrimination in employment.Â
Employment provisions of FEHA apply to employers with five or more full- or part-time employees, while federal laws often cover only employers with at least 15 employees. Several of the same nondiscrimination principles of federal law apply under FEHA, so California state law protects more categories from discrimination and can be more protective of employees than federal law.
Categories of employees that are covered by both California and federal law include:
- Age (40 years and older)
- Disability (mental and physical)
- Genetic information
- Ethnicity or national originÂ
- PregnancyÂ
- Color
- Race
- ReligionÂ
- Sex or gender
- Military or veteran status
Categories covered under California law but not federal law, or that are more broadly defined under California law include:
- Ancestry
- Religious creed and religious observance
- Marital status
- Medical conditionÂ
- Reproductive health decision-making
- Traits historically associated with race
Employment discrimination claims may be based on disparate treatment or disparate impact. Disparate treatment involves members of a certain protected group being denied the same employment opportunities available to other employees or applicants, while disparate impact involves practices in employment that affect one group of people of a protected class more than another, even though the rules are supposedly neutral.
FEHA also prohibits retaliation against employees when they exercise or could exercise their rights under the law.
Contact Our Oakland Workplace Discrimination Attorneys
Do you think you were the victim of workplace discrimination in California? Get legal representation as soon as you can, and make sure you are working with Olivier & Schreiber P.C., so you can be sure that you are getting the best possible help for your case.
Our firm aggressively handles these types of claims and knows how to prove when employers have discriminated against their employees. You may contact us online to receive a free consultation with our Oakland workplace discrimination attorney.
