San Diego Employment Discrimination Lawyers
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$2 Billion
in Personal Injury Results
$150 Million
in Employment Law Results
for First Responders
Strong advocacy for police officers, firefighters, and first responders in San Diego, California
Our police officers, firefighters, and other first responders protect the residences, businesses, parks, and beaches that all the residents of San Diego (the city and the county) live and use. At McNicholas & McNicholas, we show our appreciation for everyone who makes San Diego prosper by protecting first responders, other public employees, and private employees from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Our San Diego employment discrimination lawyers also represent employees who have other types of employment claims. Call us today if any employer violated your legal employee rights or employment contracts.
Quick questions
- Can you provide examples of your recoveries in California discrimination, harassment, and retaliation employment cases?
- What types of workers do your San Diego employment attorneys represent?
- What types of claims do your San Diego employment attorneys handle?
- What is employment discrimination?
- What is employment harassment?
- What is employment retaliation?
- What federal and California laws protect employees?
- What agencies and courts hear my San Diego employment claim?
- How much is my San Diego employment case worth?
- Do you have a San Diego employment discrimination lawyer near me?
Can you provide examples of your recoveries in California discrimination, harassment, and retaliation employment cases?
At McNicholas & McNicholas LLP, our record of success in employment and civil rights cases includes recoveries of more than $150 million for our clients. Some of our largest recoveries include the following:
$11.65 Million
for an LAPD K9 Bomb Unit dog handler in retaliation case.
$11.56 Million
jury verdict for a former LAPD Bomb K9 trainer who faced discrimination and retaliation after he reported violations of the law.
$5.9 Million
for 10 Los Angeles Police Department motor officers who claimed they were retaliated against for refusing to follow a ticket quota.
$5.8 Million
against the City of Los Angeles in a retaliation case on behalf of an LAPD officer.
$5.6 Million
for a Bomb Tech discrimination case.
$3 Million
for six firefighters who suffered retaliation after blowing the whistle on LAFD’s dangerous and unlawful building inspections.
$3 Million
on behalf of six Whittier police officers who allegedly faced retaliation for refusing to participate in an illegal quota.
$2.5 Million
retaliation lawsuit for four officers from the Internal Surveillance Unit, an elite sector of the LAPD’s Special Operations Division.
$13.1 Million
for Two Male LAPD Police Officers in Sex Discrimination and Retaliation Case.
$10.1 Million
verdict for a Captain at the Los Angeles Police Department against the LAPD.
$5.3 Million
verdict in favor of an African American member of a Los Angeles Police Department bomb squad for harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.
$3.6 Million
for an LAPD employee facing retaliation after standing up for a female officer who had been subjected to harassment and discrimination.
$3.59 Million
for a Japanese-American police officer for harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.
$2.8 Million
verdict on behalf of now-retired Riverside Police Department Officer Shawn Casteel against the City of Riverside.
$2.33 Million
for a female SWAT officer denied a position on an elite squad.
$2.23 Million
for three LAPD female employees for discriminatory and retaliatory actions.
What types of workers do your San Diego employment attorneys represent?
At McNicholas & McNicholas, LLP, we understand just how hard employees train, study and work to qualify for and succeed at their jobs. Our attorneys represent public and private first responders who fight crime, respond to emergencies, extinguish fires, and provide first aid. When their employers adversely affect their employment due to their personal characteristics instead of their job performance, we step in to fight back. We also represent employees who suffer discrimination, harassment, and retaliation by private employers.
Our San Diego employment discrimination lawyers focus our employment litigation on the following types of employees:
- Law enforcement officers. We represent police officers, sheriff’s deputies, and other law enforcement workers who protect us from acts of violence and other crimes, come to our aid when vehicle accidents occur, and provide many other types of emergency help and support when there are disputes.
- Firefighters. Our lawyers help firefighters who risk burns, respiratory illnesses, and other harm when they receive the call to extinguish fires at residences, commercial property, and public property throughout San Diego.
- First responders. Our team fights for emergency medical technicians, park rangers, security staff, and other San Diego first responders who respond when dangers occur.
What types of claims do your San Diego employment attorneys handle?
At McNicholas & McNicholas, we handle discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims (as we discuss below). We also represent employees at all skill levels in the following types of employment claims:
- Wage and hour claims. We demand that employers pay all the financial compensation that workers earn due to hourly work, piecemeal work, commissions, shift work, and overtime work- based on employment agreements, the Federal Labor Standards Act, the Equal Pay Act, and other laws.
- Executive compensation claims. Our San Diego employment lawyers represent supervisors, managers, employees with unique skills, and any other worker who has a written employment agreement. Our attorneys hold employers to their duty to pay these skilled workers their salary, insurance and other work benefits, severance pay, retirement benefits, stock options, and other contractual benefits.
- Qui tam/whistleblower claims (and retaliation claims). We file whistleblower claims, which seek a percentage of a recovery from employers who commit governmental fraud or offenses. Our attorneys also file retaliation claims when your employer tries to punish you for holding them accountable for illegal actions.
- Family medical leave claims. We seek enforcement of the right of qualified employees to take time off to care for a family member – including older family members with health disorders, newborns, and adoptees.
- Retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim. At McNicholas & McNicholas, LLP, our lawyers file retaliation claims against employers who penalize employees who file worker’s compensation claims due to an occupational injury or illness.
- Wrongful termination. Our San Diego employment attorneys file legal claims when employers terminate employees in violation of federal or California discrimination laws and other employment laws - or in violation of your employment or collective bargaining agreement.
What is employment discrimination?
Employment discrimination occurs when employers adversely affect your employment if you are a member of a protected class. At McNicholas & McNicholas, LLP, our lawyers understand the specific federal and California laws that protect employees from racial, sexual, and many other types of discrimination.
Protected class
Your “protected class” status depends on various federal and California laws (and court decisions). Protected classes, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (which enforces the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other federal discrimination laws) include:
- Age
- Disability
- Equal Pay/Compensation
- Genetic Information
- Harassment
- National Origin
- Pregnancy
- Race/Color
- Religion
- Retaliation
- Sex
- Sexual Harassment
- Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
Other protected classes, such as marital status or military status, may apply, depending on specific laws.
Adverse employment conditions
Some examples of adverse employment conditions include:
- Not considering your application even though you have the necessary skills and experience.
- Terminating your employment even though you have a good work performance record.
- Transferring you to an undesirable work location.
- Not giving you opportunities for promotions that other applicants in your job category receive.
- Not paying you the amount you deserve or reducing your pay.
- Giving you undesirable job assignments when others, such as younger workers, receive those assignments.
- Promoting less qualified workers instead of you.
- Not providing reasonable workplace accommodations if you have a disability or a pregnancy.
- Denying work benefits that others in your job category receive.
- Other adverse employment conditions
What is employment harassment?
According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC),
Harassment is unwelcome conduct that is based on race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, or pregnancy), national origin, older age (beginning at age 40), disability, or genetic information (including family medical history). Harassment becomes unlawful where:
1) Enduring the offensive conduct becomes a condition of continued employment or
2) The conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive
Anti-discrimination laws also prohibit harassment against individuals in retaliation for filing a discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any way in an investigation, proceeding, or lawsuit.
Generally, employers are responsible for harassment by supervisors or any workers they control – if they knew or should have known about the harassment and did not take immediate steps and actions to stop the harassment.
One additional type of sexual harassment claim that our San Diego employment discrimination lawyers handle is “quid pro quo harassment,” which involves supervisors and any person in a position of authority who conditions employment on sexual favors.
You can file a harassment claim if the conduct is offensive to you – even if you are not the target of the harassment.
What is employment retaliation?
At McNicholas & McNicholas LLP, we hold San Diego employers accountable when they adversely affect the employment of any employee, contractor, or volunteer who asserts their legal rights, including:
- Filing or being a witness in a discrimination, harassment, or retaliation complaint, lawsuit, or investigation;
- Refusing to comply with orders that discriminate or harass a worker;
- Resisting sexual advances;
- Requesting reasonable accommodations;
- Filing a whistleblower claim;
- Filing a worker’s compensation claim;
- Seeking family medical leave; or
- Assert any other legal right.
What federal and California laws protect employees?
At McNicholas & McNicholas LLP, our attorneys use the following discrimination, harassment, and retaliation laws, among others, on your behalf:
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964;
- The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (CFEHA)
- Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA);
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973;
- Equal Pay Act of 1963;
- The FMLA and CFRA (federal and California medical leave laws);
- Other federal laws – including the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) and The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.
We can explain any other eligibility requirements for filing a discrimination, harassment, or retaliation claim. In most cases, your employer must have 15 employees to file a federal claim and five for state claims. The City of San Diego Police Department and the City of San Diego Fire-Rescue Department easily exceed those numbers.
What agencies and courts hear my San Diego employment claim?
Generally, federal discrimination cases start with the filing of a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), while California discrimination cases start with the California Civil Rights Department (CCRD). If these agencies cannot resolve your complaints, then we file lawsuits with the Superior Court of California County of San Diego or the US District Court for the Southern District of California.
How much is my San Diego employment case worth?
Losing your job, not getting the promotion you deserve, or suffering other negative adverse employment consequences can be financially devastating. Finding new work may take years or may be impossible.
At McNicholas & McNicholas LLP, our lawyers demand compensation for all your financial and personal damages that the laws and employment contracts (including collective bargaining agreements) permit, including all your damages so far (back damages) and your future damages (front damages). These damages include the following:
- Your wages, salary, and any other income.
- Health, vacation, seniority, and other work benefits.
- Pension and other retirement benefits.
- Emotional distress and damage to your reputation.
- Training and educational expenses for opportunities your employer should have provided.
- Lawyer fees and court costs.
- Statutory damages.
- Reasonable workplace accommodations if you have a disability or a pregnancy.
- Punitive damages for unconscionable conduct.
We also seek judicial orders that require that your employer rehire you, promote you, review your application based on your job skills, and meet other requirements.
Do you have a San Diego employment discrimination lawyer near me?
McNicholas & McNicholas meets police officers, firefighters, first responders, and other public and private employees at our office located at 10866 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1400, Los Angeles 90024. Our family of lawyers discusses cases from the comfort of your home by phone and through online video conferences.
We understand your anxiety and fears. Our team is here to explain your rights and aggressively fight for all the employee compensation you deserve.
Contact our accomplished San Diego employment discrimination lawyers now
Founded by a family of attorneys spanning three generations, John McNicholas and their sons, Patrick and Matthew, have tried hundreds of cases to jury verdicts on behalf of clients. Clients can put their trust in McNicholas & McNicholas LLP’s team of lawyers when they suffer discrimination, harassment, or retaliation at work. Our San Diego attorneys are ready to assert your employee rights today. Call us or fill out our contact form today to schedule a free consultation.
List of Agencies We are Suing or Have Sued
Police departments
- Berkeley PD
- Chula Vista PD
- Culver City PD (Non-LEO)
- El Monte PD
- El Segundo PD
- Fremont PD
- Huntington Beach PD
- Palo Alto PD
- Pomona PD
- Redondo Beach PD
- Riverside PD
- San Diego PD
- Ukiah PD
- Walnut Creek PD
- Willits PD
Sheriff departments
- Contra Costa Sheriff (Non-LEO/Employment)
- LA Co Sheriff
- Santa Barbara County Sheriff
- San Joaquin County Sheriff
- Shasta County Sheriff
Fire departments
- Berkeley Fire/CoB (Non LEO)
- LAFD
City of Richmond (Non-LEO/Employment)
LAWA