Racial Discrimination

Racial discrimination can be very harmful. It is illegal under both federal and state laws for a California employer to take an adverse employment action against you based on your race or perceived race. If you have been affected by this form of workplace misconduct, an employment discrimination attorney can help you file a charge or bring a lawsuit to seek damages. At Gallenberg PC, our Los Angeles racial discrimination attorneys can guide you through this process. Our firm does not charge potential clients for an initial intake. The best and fastest way to arrange a case evaluation is through our online form, and you can also call us in Burbank at (818) 237-5267, in Los Angeles at (213) 986-8432, or in Beverly Hills at (310) 295-1654 to speak about your case.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits racial discrimination against workers by employers that have a minimum of 15 employees. The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) also makes it illegal for an employer to discriminate against job applicants or employees on the basis of race or color. Employers are not permitted to discriminate on the basis of physical features associated with a particular race, illnesses that primarily affect people of particular races, cultural characteristics, a perception of what a person's race might be, or a worker's associations.

When you are a victim of racial discrimination, you may not know precisely why you are being discriminated against—whether it is your accent or your skin color or some other physical feature. It is rare for employers to explicitly state that they are making a decision in the workplace based on race. However, you can bring a racial discrimination claim if you believe you are being treated adversely due to your membership in a group perceived as different when compared to others in your workplace. National origin is also a protected characteristic under Title VII and FEHA.

Most people think of disparate treatment when they think of racial discrimination. These are claims in which someone's race or color is the motivating factor in how they are treated at work. For example, if somebody is promoted because he is white, and another person is passed over because he is black, this is disparate treatment.

Alternatively, you can make a disparate impact claim if a seemingly neutral policy in your workplace has a substantial adverse impact on one or more protected groups. If you establish that there is a disparate impact on a particular racial group, the employer is required to prove that the practice is consistent with business necessity and related to the type of job at issue.

Racial harassment is a type of prohibited racial discrimination. Often, harassment cases involve coworkers, but the harasser may also be a customer, client, or supervisor. An employer may be liable for harassment if the harasser was a coworker or has authority over the employee, and the employer takes no steps to prevent or stop the harassment.

Before you can bring a lawsuit for damages against your employer, you need to file a charge with the EEOC or DFEH. Before filing the charge, you should consult a Los Angeles racial discrimination lawyer to make sure you present your case in a persuasive way. Gallenberg PC represents employees who need an employment discrimination or workplace harassment attorney in Burbank, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Santa Monica, Van Nuys, Glendale, Downey, Inglewood, and other Southern California cities. Call us in Burbank at (818) 237-5267, in Los Angeles at (213) 986-8432, or in Beverly Hills at (310) 295-1654. For the fastest response, contact us through our online form for a consultation.