Protected Categories

03 Oct Court case on gay, transgender employment discrimination

Posted at 13:07h in California Law, Employment Discrimination, Federal Law, FEHA, LGBTQ, Protected Categories, Title VII

The Supreme Court will decide whether discrimination against gay and transgender employees is illegal under federal law. The Court has agreed to hear three cases on the issues in the fall term. The cases involve Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on protected classes such as race, gender, and national origin. In these cases, the Court will decide whether Title VII makes sexual orientation and gender identity protected classes. Lower courts are divided on whether employment discrimination against gay and transgender workers is unlawful under Title VII Courts are split on whether Title VII protects gay and transgender employees. Most courts have found Title VII does not protect sexual orientation and gender identity. Where this is the law, employers can discriminate against gay and transgender people. For example, an employer can fire an employee for being gay. Some courts, however, say Title VII does protect gay and transgender workers. This means that gay and transgender employees can sue their employers for employment discrimination under Title VII. Therefore, whether federal law protects gay and transgender workers from discrimination currently depends on location. In some places it does, in other places it does not. The Supreme Court's decision will set the law for the whole country. Many states do not have laws prohibiting employment discrimination against gay and transgender people Title VII is federal law so it applies across the entire country. Because many states do not have strong employment discrimination laws, Title VII is very important. If you live in a state that does not protect gay or transgender employees, Title VII is your only protection. Therefore, millions of gay and transgender Americans will be left with no protection if the Supreme Court decides Title VII does not protect them. The Court will hear arguments on gay and transgender employment discrimination on October 8 The court will hear oral arguments in these cases on October 8, 2019. Next, the Court will issue decisions. This will likely happen in the next several months. However, it's possible the Court could dodge the issue and resolve the cases on procedural grounds. Accordingly, the Court may not definitely resolve the issues raised in these cases at this time. The Supreme Court will decide whether employers can discriminate against gay and transgender workers under federal law only Fortunately, California law does protect gay and transgender people from employment discrimination. Therefore, whatever the Supreme Court decides, California law will still protect gay and transgender workers from employment discrimination. If you believe an employer has discriminated against you, contact the Khadder Law Firm today for a free consultation. For updates on these cases and more, follow us on Twitter and Instagram....

28 Mar Undocumented Workers and Wages

Posted at 10:46h in California Labor Code, California Law, Immigration Status, Overtime, Protected Categories, Wages

Regarding undocumented workers and wages, the most important thing is that wage and hour laws apply to undocumented persons. Immigration is a matter of Federal Law and separate from wage and hour laws. But under California State Law, employers cannot withhold compensation solely based on your immigration status. As such, undocumented workers can sue their employers for unpaid wages. A number of factors determine whether you can recover the compensation you've earned. But your immigration status should not be one. There may be some other reason an undocumented worker cannot recover unpaid wages, but immigration status alone shouldn't be a problem. Of course, in practice, other issues arise around undocumented workers and wages. Specifically, undocumented workers often fear interacting with the legal system. This may prevent them from pressing claims for unpaid wages. This is perfectly understandable, but employers often take advantage of this dynamic. Accordingly, undocumented workers are more likely to be the victims of wage theft or unlawful employment practices. While concerns about interaction with the legal system are understandable, undocumented persons should at the very least contact an employment attorney to discuss potential claims. If you believe that your employer has violated California wage and hour laws, contact the Khadder Law Firm Today for a free consultation. For more, follow us on Twitter and Instagram....

18 Feb Disability Discrimination and Continuing Employment – Is Mediation the Answer?

Posted at 09:54h in Accomodations, Calculating Damages, California Law, Damages, Disability, Disability Discrimination, Employment Discrimination, Failure to Accommodate, FEHA, FMLA, Hiring Preference, Long Term Disability, Mediation, Protected Categories, Remedies, Settlement, Short Term Disability, Trial, Wrongful Termination

Most likely, if somebody is still employed but they experience disability discrimination other than termination; for instance, their job duties or responsibilities are reduced, they get demoted or their pay is reduced simply because they have a disability, then you may still have a disability discrimination case that is worth pursuing. It is awkward to say the least, however, to sue an employer when you are still working for the employer. That’s not to say it doesn’t happen, but in those cases, often the best course of action for all parties involved, especially the employee with the disability, is to try and resolve the case short of going to court or having a trial. Mediation is a voluntary process. The parties don’t have to accept a settlement. But, there is a lot more room for creativity if a case is settled in mediation or other negotiations as opposed to having to take a claim to trial and get a judgment. If you have been discriminated on the basis of your disability by your current employer, contact an employment lawyer today at the Khadder Law Firm for a free initial consultation. ...

14 Feb If someone were denied employment and more qualified for the job than the applicant who was successful in getting the job, how does one prove that case?

Posted at 09:51h in Accomodations, ADA, Calculating Damages, California Law, California Supreme Court, CFRA, Damages, Disability, Disability Discrimination, Emotional Distress, Employment Classifications, Employment Discrimination, Failure to Accommodate, FEHA, FMLA, Hiring Preference, Long Term Disability, Loss of Employment, Loss of Income, Medical Condition, Mental Disability, Protected Categories, Undue Burden, Undue Hardship, Work-Life Expectancy

Let’s first look at a situation where an applicant with a disability objectively is not as qualified as a person without a disability. Let’s assume that their qualifications are not less than a person without a disability because of their disability, but it’s because of some other factor such as education or skill. The employer doesn’t have to give preference to the person with a disability if that person with a disability is objectively less qualified than the person without a disability. If the employer hires the person without a disability over someone with a disability who is more qualified, that, in and of itself, can be evidence of discrimination. Rarely is there direct evidence of discrimination in disability cases or other cases. It is extremely rare where you would have evidence of an employer writing an e-mail or sending a message to the effect of, “I don’t want to hire that person because of their disability,” because employers are a lot savvier than that. You have to show through circumstantial evidence that it is more likely than not that you, as a person with a disability, did not get a job because of your disability. There could be stray comments to prove discrimination on the part of an employer to hire you, you may have evidence of comments that were made by an employer or supervisor where they made fun of people with disabilities, where they treated other people with disabilities poorly, or other things to show that the person had a discriminatory animus toward people with disabilities. There is very rarely any direct evidence of discrimination, but with enough circumstantial evidence you may be able to overcome the burden of proof to prevail on a disability discrimination claim. In California law, and more recently in the California Supreme Court, it was held that the disability has to be a substantial motivating factor for the employer’s decision not to hire or to fire, or do some other adverse employment action. Therefore, you have to show that the employer was substantially motivated by your disability. That raises the bar a little bit. It used to just be simple motivation: Your prospective employer could have ten reasons why they didn’t hire you, and one of the reasons of those ten was your disability, and the other nine were non-protected reasons. Now, the bar is a little bit higher. In the past, that was enough to win on a disability discrimination case. Now, it’s got to be a little bit more than that; it has to be a substantial motivating factor. If you have been refused a job because of a disability or a need for a disability accommodation, contact an employment lawyer today at the Khadder Law Firm for a free initial consultation. ...

05 Feb When Disability Discrimination Limits a Person’s Future Employability

Posted at 09:40h in Accomodations, ADA, California Law, CFRA, Damages, Disability, Disability Discrimination, Emotional Distress, Employment Discrimination, Failure to Accommodate, FEHA, FMLA, Long Term Disability, Loss of Employment, Loss of Income, Mental Disability, Physical Disability, Protected Categories, Short Term Disability, Work-Life Expectancy, Wrongful Termination

The cruel thing about disability discrimination, both for people who are already disabled or become disabled while employed with a specific employer, is that it is not easy to get another job, despite the fact that there are laws that prohibit disability discrimination for applicants for employment. It still happens and employers do get away with it, especially if the disability is obvious. If someone is wrongfully terminated because of disability discrimination, one could argue that the damage goes beyond the income they lost from being fired because it would be more difficult to find another job. Similarly, someone who is wrongfully terminated because of a disability could arguably experience substantial emotional distress, and in that case, emotional distress damages could possibly be recovered. If you have been wrongfully terminated because of a disability or a need for a disability accommodation, contact an employment lawyer today at the Khadder Law Firm for a free initial consultation....