Are you filing for discrimination? Here’s what you need to do: read this article and contact our California lawyers to get started today.
Choosing the Best Attorney
First of all, you want to find a firm that has the expertise. I really do think it’s important that you find a firm that only does some type of employment law and that they are well versed in the interchange between various California labor statute and employment statutes. The first issue is finding a firm that has deep knowledge of California employment law.
The second issue is whether or not the law firm is well funded or has the resources to make sure that your claim is followed through all the way to the end. It’s important to have a firm that has the resources to make sure that depositions are taken, documents are produced, and your issues are advocated to the full extent.
The third issue is finding a law firm that truly has trial experience. You’d be surprised how many times somebody calls themselves a trial attorney or a civil litigator, but in fact have never argued a case in front of a jury. The reality is, when you hire an attorney, you don’t actually know whether or not they actually have trial experience. Truth be told, there are a group of individuals who do know, and that’s the defense attorneys. They’ll know whether or not the attorney that you hired has ever tried a case. It’s important for you to find an attorney that has true trial experience that feels comfortable in front of a jury and that can advocate for you.
Most cases don’t go to trial. In order for cases to settle and settle for a number that you feel good about, however, it’s important for the other side to know that if they don’t settle, and push comes to shove, you have attorneys that will go try a case for you. If you have any questions about a discrimination case that you feel that you may have against your current employer or former employer and you just want to talk about what you should look for in a trial attorney, feel free to give me a call. I’m always happy to discuss what claims you may have and what type of attorney you may need.
Filing a Pregnancy Discrimination Claim
An employer in California can’t retaliate against an employee for being pregnant; in fact, an employer can’t retaliate against an employee for their spouse being pregnant. Under California law, not only can’t they retaliate against you for a pregnancy, both women and men have rights as it relates to the childbirth, including extended leave for recovery from childbirth. This also includes leave related to exams coming up to childbirth, and it includes leave related to disabilities as a result of either the pregnancy or the childbirth.
Filing a Gender Discrimination Claim
One issue that sometimes comes up is the issue of discrimination based on gender and/or sex, in which the employer is making a decision as to what positions the employee can hold based off of the gender or sex of the employee. If you feel that you’ve been subject to gender discrimination either in the assignments you are being given, promotional opportunities you are being given, or in your pay, it’s important for you to understand that you do have rights and that you should talk to an attorney.
Americans with Disabilities Act
The ADA is actually a Federal law. It’s a Federal law that was passed to protect individuals with disabilities, both for work issues and non-work issues. While many people know or have heard of the ADA, it’s also important to know that for disabled employees in California there’s another statute called the Fair Employment and Housing Act. The Fair Employment and Housing Act protects employees who have been disabled, either at work or away from work. Now, the issue as to what’s a disability under the Fair Employment and Housing Act is a little bit of a different standard than under the ADA, so it’s important for you to hire an attorney or to find an attorney that can make a distinction between the ADA and the Fair Employment Housing Act, also known as FEHA.
A lot of times in the employment setting for a disability claim under FEHA, an employee either has been injured at work and come back with work restrictions or has work restrictions for a non-work related injury. What happens is the employer is presented with a doctor’s note that says that either for a short period of time or for a long period of time an employee can’t do a certain task. By the time that they contact us or reach out to a law firm, it’s because the employers made the decision that, as a result of the work restrictions, they can’t accommodate the employee; as a result, they terminate the employee or they prevent the employee from doing certain aspects of their job that they know that they can do.
If you’ve received work restrictions for a work-related injury or a non-work related injury, it’s important for you to understand that under the Fair Employment and Housing Act, just like under the ADA, you have rights. You have the right to continue working for your employer, as long as it’s not an undue burden on the employer. It’s important for you to understand under what circumstances the employer has to accommodate you so you can continue working. If you have questions regarding the ADA, the Fair Employment and Housing Act, or just questions about the fact that a doctor has given you restrictions and those restrictions are causing problems at work, it’s important for you to talk to an attorney about that.
Filing an Age Discrimination Claim
Under California law, it’s important to understand that employees that are older have protection. In fact, employees over the age of 40 have protection under California law from age discrimination. Age discrimination can take various forms and have a devastating impact on older employees. If you’ve been working for a company and you feel, whether or not you’ve been working for that company for 20, 30 years or whether or not you’ve been working for them for 4 or 5 years, but things have changed and you believe it’s because of your age, it’s important that you find an attorney that can address those issues, whether or not you continue to work for that company or whether or not you’ve been let go from that company. If you have any questions regarding your employment and those questions involve age or any other issue, make sure that you contact an attorney that has the knowledge and the resources to answer those questions for you.
Are you or a loved one in the process of filing for discrimination? Here’s what you need to do: contact our experienced California employment law attorneys at the Myers Law Group today for a free consultation and case evaluation.
We can help get your life back on track.
Like Us on Facebook