Los Angeles EEOC Lawyer

Workplace discrimination can involve many different things. Thanks to the efforts of the EEOC, it is easier to protect workers’ rights and pursue compensatory damages in the face of rampant discrimination in the workplace. Under California state law, any employer that employs at least five people must abide by anti-discrimination laws, provide their employees with up to four months of disability leave, and provide employees with comprehensive sexual harassment training.

Workplace discrimination does not just begin in the workplace. The EEOC prevents discrimination based on age, race, religion, skin color, gender identity, national origin, and disability across every aspect of employment. Here are just a few of the different facets of employment that are protected by EEOC regulations:

Workplace Harassment

There are many different kinds of harassment, but all of them can make you feel disrespected, unsafe, and unwanted in the workplace. It is illegal to harass someone because of any of their protected traits, such as sex, age, race, and gender identity. Furthermore, it is illegal to harass someone who has complained about harassment in the workplace. This would constitute retaliation.

Your employer cannot legally retaliate against anyone who has participated in a workplace discrimination discussion, claim, complaint, or investigation. Harassment can take many forms, such as:

• Derogatory slurs
• Offensive comments aimed at a specific person or just spoken generally
• Unwelcome sexual advances
• Offensive imagery being transmitted to others in the workplace
• Physical attacks

Job Postings

employer cannot legally post a job advertisement that specifically excludes people of a protected class. Additionally, employers cannot post a job advertisement requesting applications only from specific groups of people, such as only women or only people under the age of 40. Doing so would violate labor laws and open the employer to a potential discrimination claim.

Job Applications

When an employer is seeking to hire someone for a posted job and they are at the application phase, it is illegal for the employer to exclude certain applications based solely on someone’s race, age, religion, gender identity, or another protected class. An employer cannot make hiring decisions based solely on those traits. If the employer decides not to hire an applicant based on their past job history or lack of education, they are allowed to do so.

Promotions

Under EEOC regulations, advancement in a company should be based on merit, job performance, and necessity. A potential candidate’s protected class cannot legally factor into the employer’s decision to promote. For example, a supervisor cannot give preference to people of one class when deciding on who gets more overtime, and they cannot segregate people of certain protected classes into specific areas.