Los Angeles Employment Law Blog

Despite the rising publicity and awareness about sexual harassment, some of the most prominent companies in California may still be guilty of gender discrimination. One group of female former employees at Nike, the athletic wear company, have filed a lawsuit alleging that the corporation systematically discriminated against women on the job through a hostile work environment.

With so much awareness into the fair treatment of women and other minority groups, many employers are taking action to reduce problems in the workplace. While this is a positive step, it is not enough unless it entails the right kind of changes. Otherwise, the program can backfire. Harvard Business Review reports on how diversity training is not only ineffective but also harmful. This may explain why you are still facing discrimination at your job, or even more than before, despite your employer’s efforts to eliminate the problem.

Some older job seekers in California and throughout the country may not be recruited for certain jobs, and several related lawsuits are in progress. One 45-year-old woman found that her daughter was seeing job ads on Facebook that she was not. In December, the Communication Workers of America filed a lawsuit on her behalf and that of other workers against Facebook, T-Mobile and a number of other companies alleging age discrimination.

Most older workers in California and across the U.S. face age discrimination according to a new survey by AARP. The discrimination occurs both during job searches and in the workplace. AARP polled 3,900 job applicants ages 45 and up and found that age discrimination is rampant. More than 90 percent of the survey’s participants said they believed age-related bias is common, and 61 percent said they had personally experienced it or witnessed it happening to others.

It is a simple fact: pregnancy discrimination still runs rampant in the workplace. In over 20 years of practicing employment litigation in California, my pregnancy discrimination caseload has not let up. There are typically two types of cases. The first is when a woman finds out she is pregnant in the course of employment, and after a stellar career with no performance problems, she finds her position has “been eliminated” along with one or two other employees, of course, to make it look inconspicuous.

As part of its efforts to crack down on leave policy violations, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has settled a case against Mueller Industries Inc. The agency accused the manufacturer of discriminating against disabled employees with its leave policy. The settlement that emerged from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California applies to Mueller Industries’ nationwide operations.

Californians who work in the tech industry might encounter workplace discrimination. If they complain about discrimination, they may face a backlash from their supervisors, according to a survey. Workplace discrimination that is based on a person’s protected status is illegal. Retaliation against workers who complain about workplace discrimination is also illegal.

So, you are applying for jobs while pregnant or, at some point near or far, plan to become pregnant. Of course, you want an employer who treats pregnant employees fairly! The fact is, even if you have no plans to become pregnant, it is still a good idea to seek out employers who treat everyone fairly and in accordance with the law. With that in mind, what are some pregnancy-related warning signs that could give you pause about continuing with a job application process?

While an employer can terminate a worker for many different reasons, workers do have some protections against wrongful termination. For instance, a worker in California cannot be terminated because he or she reported a potentially illegal workplace activity. This is true whether the activity was reported to a state or federal agency or a representative of the company. It is important to point out that the employee must legitimately believe that a violation occurred.