Employment Attorney in Beverly Hills, CA
We each aspire to have a job that is not only meaningful and rewarding but also pays a wage that is fair and generous enough to support a family. The law does not guarantee this, unfortunately. But California and federal laws do guarantee a workplace free from discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation.
Seber Bulger LLP represents employees across California in cases involving:
Discrimination based on race, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, disability, religion immigration status, marital status, age, or national origin
Wrongful termination of employment due to race, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, disability, religion, immigration status, marital status, age, or national origin
Sexual harassment or harassment based on race, sexual orientation, disability, religion, age, or national origin
Retaliation for taking leaves of absence or for reporting harassment or discrimination
Defamation at the workplace or as a result of a wrongful termination or performance review
There are specific laws in California, such as the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), that make it an unlawful for an employer to discriminate against or harass any person based on race, ancestry, sex, age, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, pregnancy or other enumerated characteristics, or to retaliate against any person for challenging certain conduct.
Examples of unlawful discrimination can include the following:
Offensive jokes based on your sexual preference, race, disability, pregnancy, age, religion, marital status, sexuality, physical appearance or other protected characteristic
Treating someone who is pregnant less favorably than her colleagues
Being told you are too old for promotion
Reference to or jokes about your religion
Paying different salaries to equally-qualified employees in the same position
Dismissal or reduction in shifts
Denial of training opportunities, transfers and promotions
Exclusion or isolation by co-workers
Deliberate withholding of information that you need to do your job effectively
Being given “impossible” tasks
Being subjected to taunts or abuse that reference a protected characteristic
Refusal to hire a job applicant due to the applicant’s protected characteristic
Stating or suggesting preferred candidates in a job advertisement
California law also protects against workplace harassment.
Under FEHA, workplace harassment is unlawful if the harassing conduct is tied to one following protected characteristics:
Color
Sexual orientation
Age (40 and over)
Military status
Marital status
Genetic information
Gender
Sex
- Medical condition or disability
National origin
Ancestry
Religion
Race
Sexual harassment is the most common form of workplace harassment. California law typically recognizes two forms of sexual harassment: “quid pro quo” or “hostile work environment.”
“Quid pro quo” harassment occurs when a job benefit is directly tied to an employee submitting to unwelcome sexual advances. For example, a supervisor promises an employee a raise if he or she will go out on a date with him or her, or tells an employee he or she will be fired if he or she doesn’t sleep with him or her.
In contrast, a “hostile work environment” occurs when unwelcome sexual comments or conduct unreasonably interferes with your work performance or creates an intimidating or offensive working environment. You may experience sexual harassment even if the offensive conduct was not targeted at you directly.
Examples of sexual harassment may include the following:
Physical contact, such as fondling or touching
Kissing, touching, brushing or being held
Obscene gestures
Sexually suggestive comments on your physical appearance
Sending sexually explicit messages in writing, or by telephone, facsimile, email or the internet
Unwelcome comments about your personal life or your sexual activities
Displaying or sending offensive materials such as pornography
Leering
Displaying sexually suggestive objects, pictures, cartoons or posters
The attorneys at Seber Bulger LLP represent individuals who were fired, demoted or failed to be promoted due to workplace discrimination, retaliation or sexual harassment.
Our attorneys will seek to recover the following damages:
Past lost wages
Future lost wages
Lost benefits
Emotional distress damages
Punitive damages (to punish the company)
Attorneys’ fees
We also seek job reinstatement for our clients, if desired.