From excluding certain job candidates from genuine consideration, to denying certain employees their justly owed benefits and compensation, to unjustified pay gaps, to wrongful termination — workplace discrimination can take many diverse forms. And the worst part is: many studies show that it is still surprisingly prevalent in the American economy.

Now for some good news: if you have been treated unfairly due to your race, religion, age, national origin, or other protected statuses, then you have legal recourses at your disposal in order to demand fair treatment, gain recompense for harm caused, and protect yourself and your fellow workers from further acts of discrimination. California Government Code section 12940(a) prohibits discrimination in hiring practices or treatment in the workplace based upon: race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, or sexual orientation of any person.

Of course, before making a case, it is prudent to consider whether you are truly the victim of unlawful discrimination. Some bosses are just jerks — and some bosses may even dislike certain employees. The fact that your boss is a jerk or dislikes certain employees is not illegal in itself, unless their hostility is based on one’s membership in a protected class such as sex, race, disability, etc.

Feeling a bit uncertain about your work environment? The following four points are all common yet subtle signs that you have or may be experiencing workplace discrimination:

Suspicious interview questions. Sometimes, discriminatory managers give themselves away during interviews in an attempt to weed out members of groups that they do not wish to hire. For example, employers must not take a candidate’s nationality or ethnic origin into account when hiring — so if an interviewing manager seems intent on finding out where your family is from, this may be cause for suspicion. Family/marital status is another potential area where discrimination can take place, Employers may not take a candidate’s sions. So a question such as “how many kids do you have?” or “you aren’t married, are you?” should immediately raise red flags during an interview.
Strategic duty assignment. Some managers opt to intentionally give difficult, frustrating, or humiliating jobs to members of certain minority groups systematically, in order to goad them into quitting. If you seem to notice a pattern with respect to the work that you or other employee members of a protected group are assigned, then you may want to look for other warning signs of workplace discrimination discussed in this article or contact an experienced employee rights attorney such as the Perrin Law Group.
“Joking” remarks/stereotype references. Although it is not unlawful for your supervisor to be rude or a bully, his or her comments, even under the guise of lightheartedness, cannot be based on prejudicial stereotypes..If your boss is making comments or jokes about your gender, national origin, age, disability or other protected status, you may have a claim for discrimination or in fact harassment. Examples of such comments include complaints about a disabled employee’s body odor or referring to an employee over 40 as an “Old Timer” or that they seem to have lost the spring in their step. Furthermore, the employer may be found liable for failing to provide a discrimination free work environment if they fail to act after receiving a complaint about the discriminatory comments.(California Government Code §12940[k])
Policy Violations. Most companies have written policies in place for issues involving discipline or how to handle workplace harassment. For example, an employer’s anti- harassment policy may require a thorough investigation of any complaint of misconduct or harassment. An investigation normally requires that all knowledgeable witnesses be interviewed. If a member of a protected class is fired by an employer before being interviewed, the employer’s failure to follow its own policy with respect to requiring a thorough investigation may be evidence of discrimination.

Learn more about workplace discrimination and how you can protect your rights by visiting Perrin Law Group online today!

On Saturday, October 14th, 2017, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Assembly Bill 1008, known casually as Ban the Box. This type of legislation has been a hot topic across the nation ever since 2015, when then-president Barack Obama banned federal government job applications from inquiring regarding the conviction history of potential employees.

In the months and years since, several states and hundreds of cities enacted similar legislation — joined this October by the state of California. The idea behind these laws is creating a path for former offenders to reintegrate smoothly and successfully into society.

With over two million people in prison at any given time, there are more prisoners in the US than in any other country in the world — including China and India, both of which have populations over 4 times greater than ours. Roughly 70 million Americans have some criminal record, which equates to a third of the entire workforce. In that African Americans and Hispanics are often incarcerated at a rate in excess of five times that of whites, the box has adversely impacted the ability of minorities to obtain much needed jobs.

Clearly, giving former convicts an opportunity to reform themselves is in everyone’s best interest. Avoiding criminal activity and influences is far easier when one has access to gainful employment, for example. If former convicts are unable to earn an honest living, they are left with little option apart from earning a dishonest living, which reduces safety across the board. (And this doesn’t even begin to cover the massive economic impact that discriminating against 30% of the workforce can have!) Unfortunately, some studies indicate that individuals are incarcerated not solely because of their crime, but because of racially disparate policies and practices. An unwarranted level of incarceration that serves to worsen racial disparities is problematic both for the impacted group and society as a whole in terms of both the effectiveness of the justice system along with the manner in which it is perceived.

The objection that many employers and some concerned citizens are sure to raise, of course, is safety. No employer wants to hire an employee who may reoffend — and no honest employee wants to risk working in an environment where dishonesty or violence could occur. Thankfully, there are safeguards in place to prevent these types of situations.

Employers are allowed to take criminal history into account before making a final job offer, for example. The idea behind ban the box is to simply give former convicts a chance. Rather than disqualifying former offenders straight off the bat, employers are required to judge applications based upon qualifications alone — thus allowing former offenders the chance to be interviewed and considered based upon their merits. An employer could still potentially decide against hiring a former convict, but at least this new system gives them a chance.

This new law will take effect on January 1st of 2018 — so if you are a former convict who is currently searching for work, you may still encounter questions regarding your criminal history on job applications until the end of this year. Moreover, there is sure to be at least some employers who either intentionally and/or accidentally fail to complay with the new protection. If, after the new year, you do find such questions or feel that you have been the victim of any form of discrimination by a current or prospective employer, however, you should be aware that an employer’s failure to comply with this new law may be considered a form of employment discrimination.

Staying up to date on your as an employee rights is a crucial component of defending them. Learn more about how the law defends you as a worker and how we can help you defend your employee rights, call us or request a free consultation.

4 Subtle Signs of Workplace Discrimination