Although California’s powerful labor laws are intended to protect employees, workplace discrimination is still a major problem in the state. The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) makes extensive provisions against discrimination, but that doesn’t mean it never happens.
Here are the top five workplace discrimination issues in California, along with the best strategies for dealing with them, courtesy of the legal experts at MSD Lawyers in California:
1. Racial and Ethnic Discrimination
Workplace racial and ethnic discrimination can involve many things, including:
- Biased hiring practices
- Unequal pay
- Harassment
- Wrongful termination
How to Address It:
It is recommended that employers put into place programs that focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
2. Gender Discrimination and Sexual Harassment
Bias based on sex or gender identity leads to unfair treatment in the workplace, such as:
- Pay being tied to one’s sex or gender identity, including unequal pay and the devaluation of work typically performed by women
- Pregnancy discrimination, when women are pushed out of jobs for becoming mothers, or denied the ability to work flexible schedules while they are pregnant
- Advancement opportunities, when women are not put into leadership roles or when they are passed over in favor of men for promotions
- Sexual harassment on the job, whether that’s unwelcome advances or work environments that are hostile to women
How to Address It:
California mandates that employers provide sexual harassment training for both supervisors and employees. This is a necessary public safety concern, as the workplace is part of the public sphere.
3. Age Discrimination
Employees who are 40 years old and above often face age discrimination, as well as being passed over for promotions and advancements in favor of younger candidates. The employee rights’ experts at MSD Lawyers in California cite this as one of the most difficult to prove.
How to Address It:
To maintain fairness in the hiring process, it is essential that companies adopt age-neutral strategies for not only hiring but also promoting employees.
4. Disability Discrimination
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and FEHA require that reasonable accommodations be made for disabled employees. Unfortunately, many workers are still not receiving the accommodations mandated by law.
How to Address It:
Accommodation requests must be assessed fairly and processed interactively with the employee who is making the request. Employers are responsible for ensuring that accessibility to all aspects of the workplace is a given in the American workplace.
5. Retaliation Against Whistleblowers
Reporting discrimination, harassment, or illegal activities can result in demotions, terminations, and tough work environments” for the whistle blower.
How to Address It:
Employers must have strict anti-retaliation policies to safeguard employees who report misconduct. They should also offer confidential mechanisms for reporting workplace complaints.
If You’ve Experienced One of These or Any Other Form of Discrimination, Contact MSD Lawyers in California ASAP
California has powerful anti-discrimination laws. Yet we still have bias and discrimination. Too many employees suffer in an unfair work environment. Employers need to take unfair policies as seriously as they take their bottom line.
It’s not enough to have workers know they should report when a policy or person wrongs them. That’s when you need a strong legal professional by your side.
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