sex discrimination

21 Nov Proving employment discrimination

Proving employment discrimination can be challenging. Most employers won't openly admit to discriminating against you. But that doesn't mean they haven't done so. Nor does it mean you can't prove that they did. You can still use circumstantial evidence to prove discrimination in court. Unfortunately, employers can sometimes convince a judge to throw out a lawsuit before it gets to a jury if there's not enough evidence. So how do you prove your case to the judge when you don't have any direct evidence of discrimination? And how do you convince a jury your employer discriminated against you when the employer can deny they did? Proving employment discrimination through direct evidence The first way of proving employment discrimination is through direct evidence of discriminatory animus. If your employer fired you and explicitly said it was because of your skin color, that's direct evidence of discrimination. In this instance, proving discrimination would simply mean proving what the employer said. If you have direct evidence of discrimination, that should be enough evidence to get you to the jury. If the jury believes that evidence, you're in a good position to win your case. But this is not typical. Usually, the employer offers some legitimate reason for taking the action it took. This can be anything, but it common examples are performance or trying to save money on labor. Even if the reason the employer gives is obviously untrue, you still don't have the same direct evidence of discrimination. In these cases, the employer will often file a motion asking the court to dismiss the case because there's no evidence of discrimination. So how do you prove discrimination in such cases? McDonald Douglas burden shifting Fortunately, the second way to prove employment discrimination, called the McDonald Douglas test, is made for these types of cases. This Supreme Court created this test in McDonald Douglas v. Green, hence the name. The Supreme Court created this test to help analyze cases lacking direct evidence of discrimination. Here's how it works. Initially, the plaintiff has the burden to establish a prima facie case of discrimination. To establish a prima facie case of discrimination, the plaintiff must show (1) that she was the member of a protected class, (2) that she suffered an adverse employment action (e.g. firing, demotions, etc.), (3) that she was qualified, and (4) that similarly situated employees not within her protected class were treated more favorably. For example, if you are an African-American who was terminated despite being qualified and performing adequately, while similarly situated non-African-Americans were not terminated, you would have a prima facie case of discrimination. This is a fairly easy standard to meet. You just need some evidence of each element. Once the employee has established a prima facie case, the employer has the burden to offer a legitimate non-discriminatory reason for the adverse employment action. Once, it does, the burdens flips back to the employee to show that the employer's offered reason was not actually what motivated it. If you can provide some evidence that the reason the employer offers wasn't the real reason, the judge should let your case go to the jury. Proving discrimination to a jury Once you get to the jury, the distinction between direct and circumstantial evidence goes away. You simply use whatever evidence you have to convince the jury that the employer took action against you for an unlawful reason. Of course, direct evidence is best. But you wont have that in most cases. At this stage, there's all sorts of ways to convince the jury. How you do so depends on the facts of your case. For example, say the employer insists they fired you because you were not performing well. In that case, you could use a recent positive performance review to show that's not a credible reason. Likewise, if your boss made derogatory comments about you, that's evidence that the employer's decisions was based on a discriminatory motive. If you believe your employer has discriminated against you, contact the Khadder Law Firm today for a free consultation. For more, follow us on Twitter and Instagram....

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New Sexual Harassment Bills

14 Oct Sexual Harassment Bills Become Law

Governor Newsom has signed a suite of sexual harassment bills that will now become law. The legislature passed the three bills a while back, but Newsom's predecessor, Governor Jerry Brown, vetoed them. While advocates were optimistic Newsom would reverse course and sign them, the bills lingered on the Governor's desk for several months. After a prolonged pressure campaign from #MeToo advocates and the California Employment Lawyers Association, among others, Newsom signed the bills into law, less than a week before the deadline. The sexual harassment assembly bills: what they would do Assembly Bill 9 will extend the statute of limitations for sexual harassment claims from one year to three years. In addition, Assembly Bill 51 will limit the use of mandatory arbitration clauses in the employment context. Finally, Assembly Bill 749 will prohibit the use of "no rehire" clauses. Some believe these updates were long over due, others are less enthusiastic Taken together, advocates hope these changes will make it easier for victims of sexual harassment to fight back. Conversely, business interests, such as the California Chamber of Commerce, have concerns. They claim the new laws will be job killers. By expanding employees' rights, they argue, the bills will invite increased litigation against California employers. This would make doing business in California more expensive, they contend. This may be true, but there are also costs to sexual harassment in the workplace. Accordingly, some of the concern from the business community may be shortsighted. If the changes have the desired effect, they could a boon to business in the long term. The fight against sexual harassment continues After helping these sexual harassment bills become law, advocates will turn their attention to other anti-sexual harassment efforts. While these changes to the law will help to fight against sexual harassment, there is still a long way to go. If you believe you've been the victim of sexual harassment, contact the Khadder Law Firm today for a free consultation. For updates on these new laws and more, follow us on Twitter and Instagram....

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Title VII sex discrimination oral arguments

14 Oct Title VII Sex Discrimination Oral Arguments

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two landmark Title VII sex discrimination cases on October 8, 2019. The two cases involve whether Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The Court's decisions in these cases could transform federal employment discrimination law. Bostock v. Clayton County Georgia: Does Title VII's sex discrimination provision prevent employers from discriminating against gay employees? The first of the cases was Bostock v. Clayton County Georgia. This case is actually two cases that the court consolidated because they raise the same issue. The Bostock plaintiff was an employee of Clayton County in Georgia. When the county found out he was gay, it fired him. The Plaintiff sued the county, arguing it unlawfully discriminated against him for being gay. The county argued that Title VII does not cover sexual orientation. At the Supreme Court, the plaintiff's argument started with the text of Title VII, which prohibits discrimination "because of...

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