California Employment Discrimination Lawyers

When can first responders file an employment discrimination claim in California?

At McNicholas & McNicholas LLP, we file discrimination claims when police departments, fire departments, and other public and private employers make decisions about a worker’s job status based on their appearance or personal background instead of their ability to perform the work.

In California, the California Fair Housing and Employment Act (CFEHA) protects employees, independent contractors, volunteers, unpaid interns, and job applicants from workplace discrimination. Generally, Title VII of the US Civil Rights Act of 1964 offers discrimination protection for the same categories of workers.

There are two fundamental requirements for filing a discrimination case. You must belong to a “protected class,” and your employer must adversely affect your employment status.

Protected class status

First responders belong to a protected class, based on Title VII of the US Civil Rights Act of 1964 and California’s Fair Housing and Employment Act, if they are judged based on at least one of the following characteristics:

• Race, ancestry, color, or national origin;
• Sex, sexual orientation, and gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions);
• Gender identity or gender expression
• A physical or cognitive disability;
• Age – 40 or older;
• Religion or creed;
• Genetic information or a medical condition;
• Marital status; and
• Veteran or military status.

We can explain if you belong to a protected class.

Adverse employment conditions

We have an extensive history of filing claims when employers discriminate against members of a protected class by making the following employment changes or conditions:

• Firing you;
• Denying you training and opportunities for advancement;
• Denying a promotion you deserve;
• Refusing to evaluate your job application or suggesting that only “certain” candidates need apply;
• Giving other workers better assignments – such as when employers give younger workers better job tasks;
• Failing to provide reasonable workplace accommodations if you have a disability or you are pregnant;
• Reducing your pay or benefits;
• Retaliating against a worker who asserts their legal rights; and
• Other adverse employment actions.

Harassment

Sexual harassment and any type of harassment that creates a hostile work environment based on a worker’s protected class are considered forms of discrimination, which gives you the right to file a discrimination claim with the appropriate California or federal agencies or courts.

You can file a discrimination claim due to harassment if your employer does either of the following:

• Creates a hostile work environment. This is an environment where first responders who are members of a protected class are unable to perform their job or feel abused, offended, or intimidated due to offensive physical or verbal conduct. Examples of offensive conduct include derogatory jokes, offensive discussions, objectionable email messages, and disturbing images and videos. Sexual harassment that creates a hostile workplace includes sexual discussions, behaviors, and communications of a sexual nature that are not consensual.
• Quid pro quo harassment. This type of harassment occurs when your employer or someone who controls any aspect of your job conditions your job status on sexual advances or sexual favors.

Retaliation

California’s Fair Housing and Employment Act also makes it illegal for an employer to retaliate against you because you assert your legal rights. Retaliation essentially means that your employer adversely affects your employment (disciplines or punishes you) because you assert any of your legal rights, including the right to:

• File a discrimination, harassment, or retaliation claim;
• Seek workers’ compensation benefits;
• Disclose employer fraud:
• Request family medical leave that you are eligible for;
• Support another worker’s legal rights; and
• Assert other rights.