Los Angeles Employment Law Blog

Whether an executive should be treated as an employee or an employer in a discrimination case is a hotly debated question. If a California executive is not deemed to be an employee, that person is not covered under anti-discrimination provisions of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. In fact, that executive may not be covered under most anti-discrimination legislation.

Headquartered in California, Panda Express has over 1,900 locations and 30,000 employees. The fast food company was involved in an employee discrimination lawsuit involving workers’ immigration status. Legal permanent United States residents were obligated to show proof of their status when their documents expired. They also had to resubmit the documents a second time despite having already done so. The case was considered discriminatory because workers who were United States citizens were not required to show proof of their status at the time.

Baby boomers in California may face some additional hurdles when job hunting because some employers are biased against older employees. However, there are also some common errors job seekers may make. For example, using an older email service as an email address may make it look as though the job seeker is lagging behind from a technological standpoint. Failing to have an online profile can give a similar impression. Job seekers should set up a LinkedIn account so employers can look them up.

For three seasons out of the year, the sky is blue. But, with Independence Day upon us, summer can have us seeing red and white on the horizon too. When we think back to the founding of our country, we remember the people who fought and died for our freedom. They were Minutemen – citizens ready at a moment’s notice to serve our country’s highest ideals.

When an employee in California or elsewhere pursues an employment discrimination case, it may fall under Section 1981 or under Title VII. While both laws are similar, Congress and the Supreme Court have considered them to be distinct from each other. The major difference between the two statutes is that Section 1981 prohibits blatant discrimination while Title VII prohibits discrimination even if there was no intent to discriminate.

California workers who file discrimination lawsuits against their employers may need to identify a similarly situated employee who was treated differently. The idea of the similarly situated employee may differ if the case is a class action one, but for an individual complaint, a similarly situated employee is someone who is comparable in several ways. Factors such as experience level, supervisor, performance evaluations and job duties may make another worker a similarly situated employee.

A recent survey published by JAMA Internal Medicine, 4 out of 5 respondents out of nearly 6,000 physician mothers surveyed reported experiencing discrimination, either in reaction to gender or maternity. While there were limitations to the design study, and there is a possibility that respondents may have self-selected to some degree, the survey quantifies what many female doctors have been reporting for years.