San Jose Employment Discrimination Lawyers
Strong advocacy for police officers, firefighters, and first responders facing workplace discrimination
Police officers protect us. Firefighters save us. First responders keep us healthy. At McNicholas & McNicholas, LLP, we take pride in returning the favor by fighting for these heroes when their employers discriminate, harass, or retaliate against them. Our respected San Jose employment lawyers are skilled at obtaining just compensation when police departments, fire departments, and private and public employers violate federal and California laws. For more than 30 years, we’ve helped the workers who protect our communities obtain the recoveries they deserve – for a total of more than $150 million. Call us now to discuss your employee rights.
Quick Questions
- What kinds of cases do your San Jose employment lawyers take?
- Which federal and California laws protect emergency workers?
- How do your San Jose employee rights lawyers handle discrimination claims?
- What compensation can I receive when employers discriminate, harass, or retaliate?
- Do you have a San Jose employment discrimination lawyer near me?
Our record of recoveries for police officers, firefighter and first responders includes:
What kinds of cases do your San Jose employment lawyers take?
McNicholas & McNicholas represents police officers, firefighters, and first responders whose jobs are adversely affected by discrimination, harassment, or retaliation.
We also represent emergency workers who have whistleblower claims, workers’ compensation claims, Family Medical Leave Act claims, executive compensation claims, and wage and hour disputes.
Discrimination
Discrimination in the workplace of a police officer or sheriff’s deputy, firefighter, or first responder generally involves:
- An adverse employment decision. This can include:
- Hiring
- Compensation
- Job assignments and classifications
- Transfers and promotions
- Recruitment
- Testing
- Use of employer facilities
- Training
- Retirement plans, benefits, and leave
- The adverse decision is based on a protected class designation (as defined by the appropriate federal or state law) such as:
- Race, skin color, or national origin
- Gender, sexual orientation, or gender expression
- Disability
- Age (generally 40 or older)
- Pregnancy
- Military or veteran status
- Religion
- Genetic information
- Weight
Examples of employment discrimination include:
- Preferring a job candidate with specific identity characteristics
- Refusing to hire or give workplace assignments to an officer, firefighter, or first responder based on their race
- Not providing reasonable workplace accommodations for disabled workers
- Not providing pregnant women with less strenuous job tasks
- Firing a worker who supported another worker’s discrimination claim
Harassment
Workplace harassment, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Council (EEOC), is unwelcome conduct based on a protected class. The conduct becomes illegal when:
- “Enduring the offensive conduct becomes a condition of continued employment” or
- “The conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive.”
The EEOC goes on to note:
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 under these laws; or opposing employment practices that they reasonably believe discriminate against individuals, in violation of these laws.
Harassment includes sexual harassment. Sexual harassment involves quid pro quo harassment (conditioning job benefits on sexual favors) and harassment based on the creation of a hostile work environment (tolerating sexual discussions, images, threats, and other conduct becomes a part of your job).
Examples of offensive conduct may include slurs, epithets, offensive jokes, physical assaults or threats, ridicule, displaying offensive pictures, and interfering with a worker’s ability to do their job. The victim can include someone who is offended by the conduct but isn’t the target of the harassment. The harasser can be a supervisor, co-worker, or even a non-employee.
Retaliation
At McNicholas & McNicholas LLP, our San Jose employment attorneys file claims against the City if they seek to adversely affect the employment status or opportunity of an emergency worker for:
- Asserting their own discrimination or harassment claim
- Assisting another worker in their discrimination or harassment claim
- Filing a whistleblower claim
- Filing a workers’ compensation claim
- Filing a claim for family medical leave
- Asserting any other legal right
Which federal and California laws protect emergency workers?
At McNicholas & McNicholas LLP, we file employee rights actions based on violations of the applicable federal and state laws including the following:
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This law prohibits employment discrimination based on national origin, color race, religion, and sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, sexual orientation, and gender identity). This law also prohibits employers of police officers, firefighters, and first responders from adverse employment consequences or retaliation because a worker:
- Complained about discrimination
- File a discrimination complaint with an agency like the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- Was a witness in “an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.”
- Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). This law prohibits discrimination against a worker who is 40 or older because of their age.
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibit discrimination against disabled workers.
- Equal Pay Act of 1963. This law prohibits men and women from being paid differently for the same work.
Other federal laws that provide rights for employees include the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA).
The role of the EEOC in discrimination claims
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces most federal employment discrimination laws and protects employees from retaliation. Generally, the EEOC enforces federal employment laws against employers with 15 or more employees.
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act
In addition to federal employment actions, our San Jose employment discrimination lawyers file claims based on violations of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). This law:
Provides protection from harassment or discrimination in employment because of: age (40 and over), ancestry, color, creed, denial of family and medical care leave, disability (mental and physical) including HIV and AIDS, marital status, medical condition (cancer and genetic characteristics), national origin, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation.
The FEHA is enforced by the California Civil Rights Department. The FEHA generally applies to public and private employers with five or more employees, which means that most employers of police officers, firefighters, and first responders are covered.
How do your San Jose employee rights lawyers handle discrimination claims?
At McNicholas & McNicholas, our San Jose employment discrimination lawyers review a variety of issues with you to determine if you have a claim for discrimination, harassment, or retaliation. These issues include what type of employer misconduct happened, the number of employees who were involved, whether your claim should be filed at the state or the federal level, and many other issues.
We review which federal or state laws apply and where your claim is presented. Most employment claims on behalf of police officers, firefighters, and first responders are filed with the US EEOC or the California Civil Rights Department. If your case cannot be resolved before these agencies, we file lawsuits in the state or federal court.
We’ll review what evidence you have and what evidence you can claim through the discovery process. We’ve been fighting for employees for more than 30 years. Our record of success includes numerous results for hundreds of thousands of dollars or millions of dollars.
What compensation can I receive when employers discriminate, harass, or retaliate?
The amount you can receive is based on the various employment laws and the opinions of the federal and state courts.
Our San Jose employment lawyers seek compensation for the following damage claims:
- Back pay (past lost earnings)
- Front pay (future lost earnings)
- Injunctive relief so that you are hired, reinstated, or promoted
- Injunctive relief to ensure the employer creates employment policies and procedures to protect against discrimination, harassment, and retaliation
- Training
- Reasonable accommodation(s)
- Emotional distress damages
- Statutory damages
- Legal fees and costs
- Punitive damages
Do you have a San Jose employment discrimination lawyer near me?
McNicholas & McNicholas, LLP meets workers at our Los Angeles office located in Westwood at 10866 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1400. Our employment lawyers also consult with workers by phone and through online conferences.
We’ll explain your employment rights and guide you calmly and clearly through the litigation process.
Speak with our San Jose workplace discrimination lawyers today
You worked hard to get your job as a police officer, firefighter, or first responder. Justice demands that you be hired, given job opportunities and fair pay, and keep your job – without regard to your personal background. At McNicholas & McNicholas, LLP, we assert every federal and state law, along with your employment contract, when discrimination or other employee wrongs occur. Call our office or complete our contact form today to schedule a consultation. Our San Jose workplace discrimination lawyers are ready to help you now.
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