In California, there are multiple legal sources that protect employees from various forms of unlawful discrimination in the workplace, which can be found in both federal and state law. It is important to know, however, that not all forms of discrimination are illegal. In order for a specific type of discrimination to be illegal, there must be a law that makes it illegal. For example, California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act, Government Code § 12940 et seq. (“FEHA”) makes it illegal for an employer to discriminate based upon a person’s color, race, ancestry, national origin, gender, pregnancy, marital status, religion, age (because they’re 40 or over), sexual orientation, genetic information, military status, medical condition, taking medical leave for a serious health condition, or mental or physical disability. Further, under FEHA it is illegal to discriminate or retaliate against an employee for complaining or reporting unlawful discrimination that violates FEHA
In California, many statutes, regulations, codes, and ordinances delineate public policy, which protects employees from certain forms of discrimination or retaliation. For example, the Labor Code is a law that employers in California must follow. Furthermore, employees are generally protected from discrimination, in the form of demotion or termination, for complaining to their employer about violations of the Labor Code. There are so many laws that would make certain forms of discrimination or retaliation unlawful, there is no way to cover all of them in this article. In order to determine if you have been unlawfully discriminated against, always speak to an experienced employment law attorney to understand if your rights have been violated.
There are several
employment discrimination lawyers in Los Angeles who represent employees who have been unlawfully discriminated against. However, not all attorneys are the same. Choosing the right attorney can result in you recovering a huge sum of money for your case, while choosing the wrong attorney can result in costing you large sum of money. Always be cautious of a wrongful termination attorney who wants to charge you a large retainer fee to take your case, or a large consultation fee just to talk to you. Remember the best attorneys who handle employment discrimination cases will not charge you anything until they get you money for your case. Look for an employment discrimination attorney who will handle your case on a contingency basis, and who will not charge you a consultation fee to determine whether you have a case. The best employment attorneys in California only make money for a discrimination lawsuit when their clients make money.
