California Age Discrimination: Ways to Prove It and Important Steps to Take

 

It is never a good thing to discriminate an employee on account of his or her age. To begin with, it is not allowed under prevailing employment laws such as the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) to deliberately harass and/or subject a senior employee age 40 years or older to any unfavorable employment action. Although it is not an uncommon occurrence for a lot of employers to subject older employees to layoffs or demotions, there have been a lot of instances wherein they become less favored, with younger, less qualified employees landing eloquent jobs or promotions.

Proving age discrimination

• Any of situations stated above may be considered age discrimination, but the burden of proof always rests on the aggrieved senior employee. The task of proving the employer or co-worker’s discriminatory actions can be difficult, which is why it is imperative for him or her to seek the expertise of an expert Los Angeles discriminatory attorney. Meanwhile, here are some instances that can help prove age discrimination in the workplace:
• In most age discrimination and harassment cases, there is always the situation wherein the older employee is subjected to harsh comments or remarks directed toward him or her about his or her age. Those are already direct evidence of age discrimination, and must be noted through writing. The names of those involved, as well as the places, times, and dates of the incidents, should be included.
• It is age discrimination if the older employee is constantly being reprimanded or disciplined for violations that younger employees also commit without receiving any write-ups.
• Leaving behind an older worker in various instances at work, from training, important company events, to even lunch breaks can be used as evidence for one’s age discrimination claim. Also, age discrimination is evident if the bosses suddenly favor younger employees over older ones, especially when it comes to job assignments, office space, and in promotions.

Important steps to take when getting discriminated because of age

• When an older employee gets involved in any of the abovementioned instances by his or her employer or co-worker, then it is best that he or she should act immediately. Before hiring a Los Angeles employment lawyer who specializes in handling discrimination claims, here are some important steps to take right after a certain workplace incident:
• Put into writing the details of every event that is deemed discriminatory. It is important to include when and where they happened, as well as who were involved. Keeping important documents is likewise imperative, especially if they can help shed light to the situations, such as disciplinary write-ups and demotion or termination letters.
• All pieces of evidence must be kept away from the office, and must be instead kept at home. They can be retrieved once the aggrieved employee is ready to file an age discrimination or harassment lawsuit against his or her company.
• Before doing that, though, it is important for him or her to first report the incident by writing a formal complaint with the human resource department or administrative office. It would be right to give them the chance to investigate what happened.
• If nothing happened and the complaint was all for naught, then you must consult with the employment lawyer immediately. It is likewise imperative to file charges against your employer through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or the Calif. Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH).

Read More

Employer Training to Prevent Sexual Harassment in California Workplaces

 Employment harassment is prohibited under the California statute, the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). Every form of harassment is illegal, from sexual harassment, gender harassment, and all other forms of harassment based on the protected characteristics defined by the said law. Not only do covered employers have to avoid harassment at all times, but must also take all reasonable steps to prevent it.

When it comes to sexual harassment, covered employers are required to provide information to every employee “on the nature, illegality, and legal remedies that apply to” it. They can do so by posting publications of their own, which should be pursuant of the state’s Government Code section 12950. They may also obtain a brochure from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) (read more).

More importantly, covered employers, especially those who employ 50 or more individuals and those in the public sector, are required to conduct training that would help prevent sexual harassment in workplaces. But why do so anyway? The answer is rather simple: it is good for the business.

Basically, sexual harassment prevention training is a requirement that would help them avoid issues that may greatly affect their business operations. This training is held every two years, and making this an important focus in California businesses would prevent them from challenging expensive lawsuits filed by their sexually-harassed employees. When there’s no single sexual harassment situation in a workplace, daily operations are not only smooth and productive; employees are more encouraged to perform their duties.

Basically, employers must make it a point to educate employees about what sexual harassment is and how to prevent it from happening in their respective workplaces. It should reflect in their existing policies, as well as in their daily correspondence with their workers. Coverage of training also includes responding to sexual harassment complaints and possible effects to the business if a situation happened that can be deemed as sexual harassment.

Meanwhile, if you are an employee for a California business entity, make sure that it has a written policy on sexual harassment, which should definitely include training. Otherwise, it is best that you report it with the DFEH. Also, if you have been harassed in any way, it is in your best interest to consult with a Los Angeles employment lawyer.

More information about Sexual Harassment Law at http://www.employmentattorneyservices.com/sexual-harassment.html

Read More

10 Former Contestants Sue American Idol, Seeks $25M Each

“American Idol” has been sued a lot of times before, albeit the lawsuits it faced don’t considerably amount to around a million or so. However, entertainment website TMZ.com reported recently that the TV show is facing another lawsuit filed by 10 of its former contestants from various seasons, all of whom are African-Americans.

Apparently, they are claiming that they were eliminated from the singing competition due to a racist ratings scheme, in which, according to TMZ, they were “unjustly booted because of their race.” Aside from the plaintiffs seeking to force “Idol” to adopt new anti-racism regulations, all of the plaintiffs are each seeking $25 million in damages.

In the TMZ’s article dated July 24, the ten former “Idol” contestants “have accused producers of conducting a ‘cruel and inhuman’ scheme to exploit them for ratings by illegally digging up their arrest histories and using the records to humiliate them on national TV.” The legal representative of the plaintiffs, New York attorney James H. Freeman, claimed that it starts as early as the background checks wherein producers will ask “Idol” hopefuls if they had ever been arrested.

Per TMZ, the attorney even claimed that African-American contestants were the only ones to be probed about their alleged criminal past and not white people. Moreover, he emphasized that since his clients are applying for “employment” with the TV show, they are not allowed to ask about their arrest histories and other confidential details during background checks. He claimed that what “Idol” did was in violation of the California employment laws.

For many people, such lawsuits filed against the decade-long TV show are based on various individuals trying to make fast money. They also believe that the “American Idol” is hardly racist at all, since there have been African-American contestants who have been included in the competition in its 12 seasons. But then, whether or not this lawsuit against the show will go the distance remains to be seen.

Incidentally, expert lawyers, including an experienced Los Angeles discrimination attorney, assert that discrimination in employment on the basis of race is illegal under federal and California laws and statutes.

Read More

Getting to Know Age Discrimination in the Workplace

 Workplace discrimination in the workplace, especially in Los Angeles and in the whole of California is usually on the basis of one’s race, sex, and disability. But then, not a lot of people are aware that there other instances wherein employers subject their employees and applicants to workplace bias on the basis of their ages. Cases of age discrimination in the workplace may not happen all too often, but such actions related to it are prohibited under the federal and California employment and labor laws.

What is age discrimination?

This form of workplace bias involves an action or conduct in which an employee or applicant becomes less favored in any aspect of employment because of his or her age. An employee or applicant is said to be discriminated against because of age in these following situations: 

• The employer decides not to give an older but qualified candidate a job because of the latter’s age, and not because he or she did not meet the minimum qualifications of the job.
• The supervisor, manager, or any authority in the workplace makes offensive comments towards senior employees frequently, up to the point the work environment becomes hostile. Remarks such as “old man” and “grandma,” as well as uttering biased statements that degrade senior employees, are signs of workplace discrimination.
• A sign of age discrimination is when senior employees are frequently disciplined for doing something that other younger employees do but are able to get away with it.
• An older, more qualified employee was denied a promotion for a vacant job opening in the workplace. Instead, the employer handpicked a younger, inexperience employee to take that job vacancy.
• It is also age discrimination if the employer decides to mass layoff employees, particularly the older ones, in an effort to instill a younger image within the company.

Laws that prohibit age discrimination in Los Angeles, California

Age discrimination in Los Angeles, California is prohibited under some notable federal and state employment and labor laws. One of them is the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which prohibits age discrimination against employees who are over 40 years of age in all aspects of employment, from hiring to termination. Also, it is not illegal under ADEA for an employer or any covered entity to favor an older employee over a younger one, even if both of them are 40 years or older. This federal Act is enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Another law is the State of California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). This state employment law, like the ADEA, protects workers aged 40 or older from age discrimination. Not only does the FEHA provide employment protections from age-related bias in the workplace, but also from other protective characteristics, to include race, religion, gender, disability, and sexual orientation. The FEHA is enforced by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH).

Exercising your legal rights
If you have been discriminated in the workplace because of age, or was harassed or subjected to retaliation under the same circumstances, then you must know that you are entitled to exercise your legal rights against your erring employer. Pursuing an age discrimination case against your Los Angeles, California employer should be your top priority. In order to do so, however, you must first seek the legal services of topnotch and respected age discrimination lawyers in Los Angeles. That way, you will have an enhanced chance of not only obtaining compensation from the erring party, but also obtain the justice you truly deserve.

Read More

Rise in Employee Misclassification Incidents a Cause for Concern

Image Source:  http://www.sterlingeducation.com/Portals/90102/images/MP900407410.JPG

An employer-employee relationship comes with so many responsibilities, especially on the part of the former. For the most part, it is the companies that must identify such relationship so that employment matters such as compensation and work hours can be established. However, some of them try to swerve away from what is stated under the law by misclassifying their hires as either exempt, instead of non-exempt, or independent contractors, instead of merely employees.

Basically, misclassifying employees is against the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Sadly, this employment scheme has been on the rise as of late, as evidenced by the recent announcement from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in 2012 in which two big-time companies, FedEx and Wal-Mart, had been sued over employment misclassification.

Wal-mart has since agreed to pay over $5 million in back wages and damages to more than 4,500 employees after a DOL investigation found that the employer misclassified them in order to not provide them overtime wages. Meanwhile, lawsuits against FedEx have had mixed results.

Cases of employee misclassification, particularly on identifying employees as independent contractors, are on the rise today, resulting to lawsuits. Acting deputy administrator Mary Beth Maxwell of the DOL Wage and Hour Division (WHD) said in a press release that such instances deny employees “access to critical benefits and protections to which they are entitled, such as minimum wage and overtime, family and medical leave, and unemployment insurance.”

Some employers often misclassify employees as independent contractors in an effort to save thousands of dollars in workmen’s compensation and unemployment insurance. Worse, it costs states millions in unpaid taxes.

Fortunately, there have been cases wherein misclassified employees working as cable installers, security guards, and even local government workers who came out victorious after filing charges against their employers. Thanks to the DOL’s Misclassification Initiative, California and 12 other states have been on a joint effort to go against employers that engage in misclassifying employees.

Meanwhile, if you work in California and you have been misclassified by your employer as an independent contractor instead of a non-exempt employee (or an exempt employee rather than a non-exempt one), it is important that you exercise your rights. You may file a complaint with the California Department of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), or alternately consult with a Los Angeles labor lawyer for your legal options.

Read More

Employers Barred From Stalking Employee’s Social Media Accounts

Image Source: http://labor.mo.gov/img/socialMediaWP.PNG

 Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, and other social networking sites have been the main past time of so many people. Through these avenues, people have been expressing their thoughts. People post their daily activities, interesting finds on the net, photos, and random rants.

Social media as an effective tool for employers
In a lot of instances employers view their workers’ social media accounts as tools of better communicating with them. Such tools would also help employers find out how their employees feel, including their rants about certain personalities at work and working for a certain company in general. In fact, a lot of employees have been sacked because of their ‘incriminating” posts online. Well, this may change soon.

Online accounts protection bill signed
Recently, California Governor Jerry Brown has signed two landmark laws: Senate Bill 1349 and Assembly Bill 1844. These are laws that bar employers from “demanding” the social media accounts and their login credentials. These newly-signed laws are set to protect employees from the use of their private social media accounts and their posts to remove them from their jobs.

What does this mean to you
Now you have the freedom to express your feelings on your social media accounts without the fear of being removed or being subjected to politics in the office. This gives an employee peace of mind when using their social networking accounts and lessens the worries one thinks about when using his social networking account.

Problems with the new laws
These may seem to be good laws since it is just plain ridiculous to force people to divulge their social media content to their employers. However the same are nothing but blunt tools that does not solve all of the problems about employees’ privacy. However, there are certain parties that claim to have seen flaws with these laws. First, the definition of “personal accounts” in these laws is said to be a bit flawed. This confusion may leave an employer what exactly is an employee’s personal account.

If your employer has been forcing you to give your log in credentials, invoke your right under these new laws. Ask a Los Angeles employment lawyer on how you can defend yourself and your privacy under this new law. A Los Angeles attorney can better interpret this new law so to be sure that you can better defend yourself and fight for your rights under this new legislation.

Read More

Harassed and Wrongfully Terminated Employees Score Victory Against Former Employees

Image Source: http://california-employmentattorneys.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/fired.jpeg

Every day at work is a great challenge for anybody. It is the responsibility of the employer to make sure that their employees are working in an environment that is conducive for working: A workplace that encourages them to work harder and aim for success. The United States, has all of the laws needed to make sure that employees are protected from any form of harassment, abuse, and discrimination. However, there are still a few instances of such in these modern times.

Employees of a petroleum and gas industry equipment provider recently have scored a victory against their employers. These workers have been subjected to racial harassment. After they have filed a complaint in the management of the company, they were treated bad and retaliated by their bosses. They assigned the workers to do menial tasks, not the ones included in their job description. The company reduced their wages and eventually terminated from them from their jobs.

Fighting for what is right
The workers, have approached the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and filed a complaint. After an intense legal battle, the employees won their complaint and are set to receive more than $150,000 in lost wages and damages. Race discrimination and retaliation is a clear violation of the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. If you have been a victim of workplace discrimination based on one’s sex, religion, color, age, and/or race, one should immediately seek legal remedies by filing the right complaint in the proper agencies.


Los Angeles wrongful termination lawyers reminded people that coming forward and fighting for their rights is the only way that harassment, abuse, discrimination, and retaliation could be stopped. These lawyers recommended the hiring of Los Angeles attorneys as they know the many labor and employment laws and regulations in the state. These lawyers will be the best people to approach regarding legal matters in California. In the end, the fight against race and other forms of discrimination, harassment, abuse, and retaliation can only be won if the workers are aware of their rights and come forward to fight the oppression that they are experiencing.

Read More