Glendale Workplace Discrimination Lawyer

California’s Discrimination Protections: FEHA and Federal Law

California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) applies to employers with five or more employees, compared to 15 employees under federal Title VII, and covers a broader range of protected characteristics. FEHA allows unlimited compensatory damages and also punitive damages and gives employees 3 years to file, compared with 180 to 300 days under federal law.

FEHA protects workers in every phase of employment: hiring, compensation, promotions, discipline, and termination. Discrimination need not be intentional to be illegal, as an employment practice that disproportionately harms workers in a protected class can violate California law even without discriminatory intent. Protection also extends to people perceived to have a protected characteristic and those associated with someone who does.

Protected Characteristics Under California Law

FEHA prohibits adverse employment decisions based on any of the following characteristics:

• Race, color, and ancestry
• National origin and ethnicity
• Sex and gender
• Gender identity and gender expression
• Sexual orientation
• Pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions
• Disability — physical and mental
• Age (40 and older)
• Religion
• Marital status
• Medical condition
• Military and veteran status
• Genetic information

Any adverse employment action, such as a refusal to hire, pay disparity, demotion, exclusion from opportunities, or termination, taken because of one of these characteristics is illegal.

You Don’t Need to Prove Your Employer’s Intent

You need to show that your protected characteristic was a substantial factor causing the employer’s adverse action. California’s standard for discrimination is lower than most employees realize. Tell us what happened and we’ll tell you whether you have a case.

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Common Forms of Workplace Discrimination

California law prohibits discrimination across every employment decision. The most frequently litigated forms are the following.

Race and National Origin Discrimination

Adverse treatment based on race, ethnicity, skin color, ancestry, or accent. Common examples include denial of promotion in favor of less qualified employees of a different race, racially charged comments from supervisors that go unaddressed, differential application of workplace policies, and termination decisions that track racial demographics.

Gender and Pregnancy Discrimination

Treating employees differently because of sex, gender identity, gender expression, or pregnancy. This includes pay disparities between employees performing the same work, exclusion from management tracks after a pregnancy announcement, failure to provide required accommodations, and termination shortly after a disclosure of pregnancy or childbirth-related leave.

Age Discrimination

Adverse treatment of workers 40 or older based on age. California’s FEHA and the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) both apply. Common patterns include targeting older employees in layoffs while retaining younger counterparts, denying promotions to qualified senior employees, and forcing out experienced workers through constructive discharge.

Disability Discrimination and Failure to Accommodate

Employers with five or more employees must provide reasonable accommodations to employees with physical or mental disabilities, unless doing so creates an undue hardship. Failure to engage in the interactive process, denial of accommodations without analysis, and termination following a disability disclosure or accommodation request are all actionable under FEHA.

Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Discrimination

FEHA explicitly protects employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Adverse treatment of LGBTQ+ employees in any aspect of employment, including misgendering, exclusion, pay disparity, or termination, violates California law.

Religious Discrimination

Employers must reasonably accommodate an employee’s sincerely held religious beliefs or practices unless doing so creates an undue hardship. Denial of scheduling adjustments, dress code exemptions, or other needed accommodations, as well as adverse treatment motivated by religious affiliation, constitutes religious discrimination under FEHA.

What Discrimination Looks Like in Practice

Discrimination is rarely announced. Employers almost never state the actual reason for an adverse decision. The pattern typically moves through two stages.

• Early indicators — sudden negative performance reviews after a protected disclosure, exclusion from meetings or projects, being passed over for promotions by less qualified employees, and disparate application of workplace rules compared to similarly situated colleagues.
• Escalating indicators — demotion, pay reduction, assignment to less desirable roles, forced resignation through intolerable conditions, and eventual termination framed as “restructuring” or “performance”.

California law does not require proof of intent. An employee needs to show that a protected characteristic was a substantial motivating factor in the adverse decision. Comparative treatment of similarly situated employees, timing of adverse action relative to a protected disclosure, and inconsistencies in the employer’s stated rationale all support a discrimination claim.

Retaliation for Reporting Discrimination

FEHA prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who report discrimination, participate in an investigation, request a reasonable accommodation, or oppose any discriminatory practice, even if the underlying discrimination claim ultimately does not succeed. Protected activity is broad: an internal HR complaint, a report to a supervisor, participation as a witness in someone else’s investigation, or a filing with the CRD all qualify.

Retaliation creates an independent legal claim separate from the underlying discrimination. Adverse actions that constitute retaliation include termination, demotion, schedule reduction, pay cuts, reassignment to inferior duties, and the creation or toleration of a hostile work environment in response to the complaint.

What You Can Recover

A successful discrimination claim under FEHA can include the following:

• Back pay: All wages, bonuses, and benefits lost from the date of the discriminatory action through the resolution of the case.
• Future lost earnings: Compensation for ongoing economic harm, including diminished earning capacity or reduced career trajectory caused by the discrimination.
• Emotional distress damages: FEHA allows recovery for psychological harm, including anxiety, humiliation, depression, and reputational damage. These damages are not capped under California law.
• Punitive damages: Available when the employer acted with malice, oppression, or fraud. FEHA imposes no ceiling on punitive damages, which can substantially increase total recovery in egregious cases.
• Attorney fees and costs: Prevailing employees recover attorney fees from the employer under FEHA. You absorb no litigation costs if we win.
• Reinstatement: Courts may order reinstatement to the prior position. Most clients in discrimination cases prefer financial compensation over returning to the employer.

The Filing Process: CRD and EEOC

Before filing a lawsuit in a California court under FEHA, you must first file an administrative complaint with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) and obtain a right-to-sue notice. The CRD may investigate the complaint or issue a right-to-sue notice upon request. For federal claims, a parallel complaint may be filed with the EEOC.

Filing deadlines: three years from the date of the discriminatory act to file with the CRD under FEHA. Federal EEOC charges carry a 300-day deadline. Once a right-to-sue notice is issued, you have one year to file in court. An experienced attorney coordinates the administrative filing process from the outset, as an error at this stage can waive your right to sue entirely.