Los Angeles Racial Discrimination Lawyer

As progressive as the State of California strives to be, people of color are still victims of racial discrimination. Los Angeles is no exception. Sometimes discrimination is obvious and easy to identify. Sometimes, it is insidious and discrete. Unfortunately, racial discrimination occurs due to workplace policies or practices that impact employees of a certain race more than others.

Those who have experienced racial discrimination in the workplace are protected under California state law. An experienced Los Angeles Racial Discrimination Lawyer can help you protect your rights and seek justice for the unlawful discrimination you experienced.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) describes racial discrimination as treating an employee poorly because of their race or characteristics related to their race, such as hair type, skin color, and other features. The EEOC also warns that racial discrimination includes people treating others unfavorably because of their association or relationship with a person of a certain race.

Under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act and Fair Employment Housing Act, if you have been refused unemployment due to race, you have been discriminated against.

Both federal and state laws in California prohibit racial discrimination in the workplace. Federal laws fall to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The state organization dealing with racial discrimination allegations in California is the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH).

In several instances, California law provides broader anti-discrimination rights than federal law. Due to this, many California residents choose to complain about national origin discrimination to the DFEH rather than the EEOC.

In California, an employee must often first exhaust all administrative options before bringing a lawsuit against their employer for racial discrimination. This would imply that the worker must first register a complaint with the DFEH before filing a lawsuit. Your discrimination lawyer may, however, submit a complaint to the DFEH and receive immediate notice of your right to sue without first going through the administrative steps.

Direct complaints about racial or national origin discrimination can be made to the DFEH. You have three years from the last instance of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation to file a pre-complaint investigation. There are, however, some exceptions to this time frame, such as when the person was not made aware of the illegal behavior until after the three years had passed.

As you can see, things can get pretty complicated. It’s best to see schedule a consultation to discuss your course of action.

People can face racial discrimination in various stages of the hiring process and employment.

If you are unsure whether you have experienced racial discrimination, these examples give you a better idea of what constitutes racial discrimination in the workplace:

• An employer solicits job applicants and excludes certain ethnic groups
• An employer makes recruitment decisions based on race
• An employer refuses to hire or place an employee based on their race
• An employer denies someone access to certain training programs or apprenticeships because of their race
• An employer classifies an employee unfavorably because of race—for example, a company not letting certain racial groups have full-time positions.
• An employer denies an employee raises or pays a lower wage to someone based on their race.
• An employer does not promote someone because of their race.
• An employer disciplines or terminates someone because of their race.