Growing Up to Race Inequality

 

In this day and age, people can easily dismiss that racial discrimination is a thing of the past. That it does not exist. That laws and time has healed all the wounds have put an end to the useless discrimination of minorities. Yes, there may be laws made to try put an end to all of these hate. Campaigns may have been mounted and popular personalities may have made the call for unity and equality. However, numbers do not lie. In the latest comprehensive data collated by the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, the phenomenon of racial inequality still happens.

Racial Inequality in Schools
In the four papers released by the Education Department, all have shown great inequality in terms of school discipline, early learning, college readiness, as well as teacher equity. Analysts have found that black, Latino, and Native American Students were having less access to some courses, particularly advanced math and science courses, and are more likely to be taught by new, first-year instructors. This was in comparison with white students. Also, Black and Native American students’ suspension and expulsion rates were disproportionate.

Here are some of the other information seen in the reports:

• While only 18 percent of the country’s pre-K enrollment were Black students, they made up 48 percent of preschoolers with multiple out-of-school suspensions
• In terms of expulsion, the ratio of expulsion of black versus white students stands at 3:1.
• American Indian and Native-Alaskan students only accounted for 1 perce3nt of the students but were also made 3 percent of those who were expelled.
• Black girls always get suspended more compared to all other girls and most of the boys.
• Almost one in four boys of color, except Latinos and Asian Americans, with disabilities and one in five girls of color with disabilities has received an out-of-school suspension.
• Of the schools with the highest percentage of Latino and black students, 25 percent did not offer Algebra II while 33 percent did not offer chemistry.
• More than half of  American Indian and Native-Alaskan high schools students did not have access to full range of math and science courses which has Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, calculus, biology, chemistry, and physics.
• In schools with gifted programs, black and Latino students accounted for 40 percent of enrollment. However, they only represented 26 percent of the students in the given programs.
• More black, Latino and Native American students have attended schools where there are more new, first-year teachers compared to white students.
• Black students were three times more likely to attend schools where more than 40 percent of the teachers have failed to meet state certification and licensure requirements. Latinos on the other hand were twice more likely to attend said schools.

Lingering Discrimination
These inequalities that black, Latino, Native American, Native-Alaskan, and Asian-American students experience doesn’t just happen in schools. Long after they’ve finished their schooling, people from these minority groups continue to experience racial discrimination in the workplace, and almost everywhere. People with different skin color, hair texture, and facial features attributed to certain races experience discrimination, harassment, and abuse. In fact, the cases of race discrimination in employment filed has hit a record-high in 2011, US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) data revealed. Race discrimination charges accounted for 35.4 percent of the cases filed to the agency.

Yes discrimination may still very much be around, however, that doesn’t mean that you can’t do anything about it. If you have been a victim of such acts, file the necessary charges and hire the best employment and labor lawyers in California that you can find. That way, you can teach a lesson to those who made these acts and hold them accountable for their actions. While it is still very much difficult to be a member of the minority in this country, standing up for your rights and fighting for it will not just help you achieve the justice you’ve been looking for, you will also be able to stop these people from further subjecting others to these kinds of harassment and abuse.

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Some of the Pending Private Sector Employment Bills in California

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California’s laws on private sector employment obviously start out as bills, which are sponsored and introduced by the men and women within the state’s Assembly and Senate. A lot of things happen when they get introduced; they either get shelved or get heard and voted amongst the committees within the legislative bodies for a certain period of time. When these bills are successfully heard and voted, what comes next is either a veto or a signature from the Office of the Governor of California.

Once signed, bills become laws and take effect on a certain date. But once they’re vetoed or denied, lawmakers either tweaked them and had them re-introduced or get shelved permanently. Such is the seemingly endless process of devising bills and legislative hearings within the California Assembly and Senate, and this year 2014 is like any other. Since the start of this year, nearly 2,000 bills have been introduced and re-introduced in both legislative bodies, many of which concern employment in the private sector.

With this in mind, it is worth mentioning some of the most notable and interesting bills that are currently pending in the California legislation. Below is a list of some of them:

•    Senate Bill 935. Last year, Assembly Bill 10 was passed which would provide an increase in the minimum wage rates in California from 2014 to 2016. Under said law, the $8.00-per-hour minimum wage would be $9.00-per-hour on July 1, 2014, and $10.00-per-hour on 2016. Interestingly, Senate Bill 935 would further increase the wage rates. Under this proposed bill, the minimum wage in California will be increased to $11.00 on and after January 1, 2015. By 2016, the rate will be at $12.00-per-hour, and by 2017, the rate will be at $13.00 per hour. It was recently amended by its principal authors and is being heard in the state’ Senate.

•    AB 1443. If passed, this would amend the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), the premiere state statute that prohibits employment discrimination. Under this proposed bill, employers covered by the FEHA cannot discriminate against an individual who is selected or trained as an unpaid intern on the basis of any of the protected characteristics defined under the law. It is currently being heard in the Assembly floor, recently with the Labor and Employment Committee.

•    AB 1522. This bill proposes that a California employee working for seven or more days in a calendar year can be entitled to paid sick days. These are accumulated “at a rate of no less than one hour for every 30 hours worked.” Sick days can be requested beginning on the 90th calendar day of employment, whenever an employee needs to be diagnosed or treated of his or her health condition, attend to a sick family member, or to take a day off due to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Said bill is currently pending at the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee.

According to a Los Angeles employment lawyer, the abovementioned bills, if passed in the near future, would create a significant impact on the landscape of private sector employment in California. But then, these bills would still undergo hearings and votes as the legislative sessions continue.

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Various Accommodations California Employers Must Provide for Employees with Obesity

The American Medical Association (AMA) officially announced last year that obesity is a disease. As such, employees with the said condition are likewise protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Although before, obesity is only considered a disability if it is a result of an underlying health condition like diabetes; otherwise, it is a lifestyle choice.

Obese employees are now protected under employment laws on both federal and California levels, including the ADA and the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), especially if their conditions substantially limit their ability to exercise a major life activity, such as walking, bending, sitting, and the like. Therefore, the laws provide covered employers to dutifully make reasonable accommodations to allow employees with obesity to perform the significant functions of their jobs.

For employers to do so, they must be able to engage themselves in an interactive process with their employees. For example, if the obese employee calls the attention of his or her employer and asks for a change in his or her work due to his disability, then it is the obligation of the latter to provide the accommodation, especially if there is knowledge of the former’s inability to perform his or her tasks. The employer may not refuse the employee a certain accommodation, but may only do otherwise if it poses undue hardship.

Basically, the process of providing reasonable accommodations for employees with obesity is no different from that of other employees with disabilities. Meanwhile, below is the list of some of the viable accommodations that employers covered under the prevailing laws must provide to obese employees:

• Changes on where or when the employee can work. The employer may allow the employee to work reduced hours or be given additional rest breaks. Depending on the employer, it may also allow the employee to work at home, so long as the latter has the necessary equipment for him or her to perform his or her tasks.
• Changes on how the employee’s work is performed. The employer may allow the employee to be reassigned to a vacant position in the workplace. Also, the employee may also be reassigned to perform some of the non-essential functions of his or her position.
• Changes to the employee’s office setting. If the employee has a hard time sitting comfortably in his or her chair, the employer may provide him or her with a larger one in an effort to reduce fatigue.

If, however, the employer deliberately refuses to give the obese individual the necessary accommodations, it is already a violation of the laws, more so if there is discrimination involved. The victim may file a charge against his or her employer with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). Alternately, it is also imperative to seek the expertise of a Los Angeles employment discrimination lawyer.

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Everything You Need To Know About the Different Minimum Wage Laws Implemented in the Country

 

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Thinking about the many expenses that you have to cover every day? Worried about how you will be able to make both ends meet to get your family its daily needs? Well you are not alone as millions of Americans are facing the same predicament as prices of goods are soaring. As the given the limited number of jobs available, some would settle to get jobs that offer minimum wages. That is not a bad thing though as more and more states are following the minimum wage laws. Moreover there are even a growing number of states that implement give higher minimum wages than the federal standard of $7.25 per hour.

Things That You Need To Know About Minimum Wages in the Country

-    Just in case you did not know, the federal minimum wage law superseded the state-mandated minimum wage laws if the federal rate is higher than that of the state’s rate. However, for the states that offer higher minimum wages than the federal average, their state-dictated wage prevails.

-    Over all, there are just four remaining states that have minimum wage that are set lower than that of the federal implemented minimum wage. On the other hand, there are 21 states, including DC, that have minimum wages higher than the federal minimum wage. Moreover, there are 20 states that require minimum wages to be the same as that of the federal requirement. Sadly though, there are five states that up to this very day, have not established a minimum wage requirement yet.

-    The State of Washington currently has the highest implemented minimum wage pegged at $9.32 per hour. On the other hand, Georgia and Wyoming are the two states that offer the lowest minimum wage at $5.15 per hour out of the 45 states that have a minimum wage requirement.

-    There are 10 states, particularly Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington that have their minimum wage linked to a consumer price index. Because of this, there are annual movements of the minimum wages in these states that are normally set in the 1st of January every year. The state of Nevada though is the only of those 10 states that adjusts the minimum wages in the month of July every year. Recently 9 of the 10 states increased their minimum wages last January 1st. Nevada, on the other hand will be adjusting the minimum wage rate this coming July.

It is important that you are made aware of the minimum wage(read more) in your state to make sure that your employer is not taking advantage of you. In case you are receiving wages lower than that set by the state, you can ask a employment labor law attorney to help you file the necessary charges against your employer. Such is a clear violation of existing labor laws in the state. So always be in the know when it comes to minimum wages. This way you can take advantage of the adjustments that there would be when it comes to your wages, which eases the difficulty of making both ends meet for your family.

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California’s Minimum Wage Increase Met with Various Opinions

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Everyone in the State of California is waiting on the upcoming incremental increase in their state minimum wage. The passage of Administrative Bill 10 last year provided for a yearly wage increase up to 2016, wherein the current per-hour rate of $8.00 will be raised to $9.00 come July this year. On 2016, the state would raise it yet again by another dollar, which would put California’s per-hour minimum wage rate at $10.00. It was the first wage hike by the state in five years and this would potentially provide around 2.4 million Californians extra earnings.

Most labor unions and organizations in the state heavily lobbied for the bill, which was authored by Assemblyman Luis Alejo (D-Salinas) (read more) and consequently won votes on both the Assembly and the Senate after it was finally signed by California Governor Edmund “Jerry” Brown. However, not all groups are in favor of the bill, especially business organizations within the state.

In fact, the California Chamber of Commerce considered the then-bill as one of the so-called “job killers.” It argued that imposing a $2.00-increase in the minimum wage over the three-year period would cause businesses, no matter how big or small they are, to incur costs despite “other economic factors or costs that California employers are struggling with to sustain their business.” While that didn’t stop the proponents of the bill to continue its passage and the imminent $9.00-increase for this year, there are still a lot of people and groups that continue to warn of its negative implications on the California economy.

The proponents of the wage increase argue that with the additional $2.00 over the next three years, poverty can be reduced and that it would help stabilize low-skilled labor due to employers being able to save on money, especially on training and recruitment. Meanwhile, those who are against it, including the state’s Chamber of Commerce, believe that this would not only cost businesses, but also promote further unemployment. Additionally, fast food restaurants and all other similar establishments see the wage increase as having a marginal impact on the prices of the goods they’re selling.

Nevertheless, the impact of the California wage increase in both employers and workers can only be felt as the law becomes effective July this year. Meanwhile, for a Los Angeles labor lawyer, employers must still focus on providing their wage earners their minimum wage, as well as overtime and meal and rest breaks, and deal with the upcoming changes later.

Sources: http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/investing/2013/californias-minimum-wage-increase-expert-faq/

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Things You Need to Do as a Victim of Workplace Sexual Harassment

 

Sexual harassment in the workplace is still a lingering issue not only in California, but in the whole country. It is commonly associated with unwelcome advances that are sexual in nature, which are usually done verbally or physically. However, that is not always the case, as sexual harassment may also involve remarks that discriminate a certain person on the basis of his or her sex. For example, it is considered as such if a co-worker makes an offensive comment towards a female employee about women in general.

It’s easy to suspect that an individual in the workplace—manager, supervisor, or co-worker—is sexually harassing someone. One can quickly point that out if he or she is frequently being shown pictures that are sexual in nature, or constantly being touched or groped without his or her consent. However, there are applicants and employees who know they are being subjected to such, but are not sure of what to do, much less react.

If you are one of those individuals, then it would be best if you act on it as soon as possible. Here is a list of the things you need to do if you are being sexually harassed by someone at work:

•    Employees who were subjected to sexual harassment for the first time tend to quit their jobs right away. Doing so, however, decreases their chances of bringing up claims of sexual harassment. If your employer has a company policy on it, make sure that you report it to your HR or any department. Allow your employer to address the matter.

•    With regard to reporting an incident of sexual harassment, ensure that your company has a policy for it. Check with your employee handbook and your workplace posters for it; the policy has specific instructions on how to report the incident and to whom the complaint should be submitted. If the person designated to fix such employment issues is the one who has been harassing you, submit your complaint to the next designated one.

•    Make sure that your complaint should be written. It should detail every instances of sexual harassment, as well as the dates, locations, and the circumstances that led to these incidents. It must indicate that you are being discriminated or harassed either because of your sex or you’re being subjected to sexual advances.

•    If the designated person or department tasked to do something about your complaint doesn’t do anything and the harassment still continues, you can go seek an appropriate employment agency that can help you file a lawsuit against your employer. It could be with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). You may also hire an expert Los Angeles employment lawyers. Typically, case evaluations with these legal counsels are free of charge.

•    If the instances of sexual harassment are severe or frequent that it already promotes a hostile working environment, then it may be time to quit. Word of advice though: just make sure you do so if you think your health or welfare is at risk, or you already have obtained a new job.

Everyone is entitled to work in an environment that is free from any sexual advances, let alone acts of discrimination on the basis of one’s sex. As a California employee, you must know that you are protected by various employment and labor laws that prohibit sex discrimination and harassment. Exercising your rights, like doing the things enumerated above, will help you obtain the justice you deserve against the actions of the harasser.

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