Race Discrimination Lawyers for Los Angeles, Kern, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura Counties

Helping Victims Seek Justice

Contrary to what many folks may believe, race discrimination in the workplace is not uncommon, even in this day and age. Unfortunately, many employees needlessly suffer discrimination in the workplace because they do not know their rights, or because they do not recognize that they are being discriminated against. Some forms of discrimination may be very obvious – like when a supervisor uses a racially charged term when addressing an employee. Other forms of discrimination may be difficult or impossible to spot – like when employees of a certain race receive greater benefits or higher wages for performing the exact same job as other employees of a different race. The quickest for an employee to determine if they are being unlawfully discriminated because of their race, color, or national origin is to consult a race discrimination attorney who is well versed in the field of employment discrimination.

Race Discrimination Attorneys for Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Orange, Oxnard, Riverside, and San Bernardino

In the simplest of terms discrimination means differential treatment.  In the context of employment law, discrimination generally refers to act, omission, or practice that confers privileges on a certain class or that denies privileges to a certain class because of a protected characteristic.

California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) and Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) prohibit workplace discrimination based on the enumerated protected characteristics set forth in each statute. Title VII makes it illegal for an employer to fire an employee because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.  The FEHA  makes it illegal for an employer to fire an employee based on his or her race, religious creed (including religious dress and grooming practices), color, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, military and veteran status, age (if 40 or over), pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding or related medical conditions of any female employee.

If you are in Southern California and believe that you have been mistreated at work or fired from your job because of race, color, or national origin, then you may have a claim for race discrimination.  Instead of wondering which race discrimination lawyers near me can help, contact the Akopyan Law Firm, A.P.C. and speak to one of our race discrimination attorneys in Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Orange, Oxnard, Riverside, and San Berardino.  The quickest way to determine if you have an actionable claim is to speak to a race discrimination lawyer well versed in employment law.

Workplace Race Discrimination Lawyers by Your Side

While there are countless ways in which an employee can be discriminated due to race, color, or national origin, any experienced race discrimination attorney will tell you that race discrimination is generally proven in one of two ways: Disparate Treatment, and Disparate Impact.

“Disparate treatment” is intentional discrimination against one or more persons on prohibited grounds (i.e. race, color, or national origin).  Disparate treatment occurs when an employer treats similarly situated individuals differently in their employment because of a protected characteristic. (i.e. race, color, or national origin).  It could be as blatant as when a supervisor suspends an employee of one race for a mistake but takes no action whatsoever for the same mistake being committed by an employee of a different race.

“Disparate impact” involves employment practices that are facially neutral in their treatment of different groups but that in fact fall more harshly on one group than another and cannot be justified by business necessity.  Unlike disparate treatment, the disparate impact theory does not require proof of intent to discriminate.

If you believe that you have suffered unlawful discrimination because of your race, color, or national origin, you can try to figure out the law all on your own, or you can contact a race discrimination lawyer in your area.  If you are in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Berardino, or Ventura or any surrounding areas you can try to find a lawyer by using search terms like Race Discrimination Lawyers Los Angeles, or Race Discrimination Attorneys Orange, or Race Discrimination Lawyer Riverside, but that may not get you the answers you are looking for.  You may end up speaking with a “case manager” or “paralegal” and never hearing from an actual attorney.  To speak directly with a race discrimination lawyer personally, contact the Akopyan Law Firm, A.P.C. and speak to one of our race discrimination attorneys in Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Orange, Riverside, and San Berardino.

Frequently Asked Questions About Race Discrimination

My spouse is a minority and as soon as my manager found out, he started to cut my hours and began to treat me differently. Do I have any rights?

Generally speaking, yes. The protection against race discrimination also extends to you because of your “association” with a protected class (i.e., your spouse). If your supervisor began to treat you poorly and cut your hours, thus affecting your pay, you may have a race discrimination, retaliation or harassment claim. Contact our employment law attorneys to discuss your case during a complimentary case evaluation.

I am a Caucasian person working with mostly minority people and I feel like I am being discriminated against because of my race. Do I have any rights?

Yes. If your employer has 5 or more employees, it is subject to California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act which prohibits race discrimination. In your particular situation, regardless of your race, even if you are Caucasian, if you are a minority in your workplace and your employer is taking “adverse employment actions” against you because of your race, you may have a claim for race discrimination amongst other things.

There are only 3 other employees working for my company, can I sue my employer for Race Discrimination?

To be a “covered employer” in California under the Fair Employment and Housing Act, your employer must have 5 or more employees. However, if you were terminated as a result of your race, you may have a public policy wrongful termination claim.

My new manager created an English-only policy and wrote me and my co-workers up for speaking Spanish with each other. Do I have any rights?

Yes. Unless your employer can show that only speaking English is a “business necessity,” such a policy may constitute discrimination based on national origin because non-English speakers cannot enjoy the privilege of conversing on the job if the conversation is limited to a language they cannot speak. Request a complimentary case evaluation with the Akopyan Law Firm A. P. C. to discuss your unique case.

I feel like my manager is discriminating against me because of my race – can I sue my supervisor for race discrimination?

The FEHA only authorizes race discrimination lawsuits against your employer and not the individual managers or co-workers. However, it is possible that you may have a claim against your manager for harassment based on your race.

Contact Us When You Need Race Discrimination Lawyers in Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Orange, Riverside, San Berardino, or Ventura

 Call us today at (818) 509-9975 or contact us online to schedule a complimentary case evaluation. We have extensive experience in all aspects of employment law, including race discrimination cases.

Featured Race Discrimination Cases

Saint Francis Coll. v. Al-Khazraji, (1987) 481 U.S. 604

A professor brought a discrimination action against a university, alleging that he was denied tenure because of his Arab origin and Moslem religion. The United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania entered summary judgment in favor of the college, and the professor appealed. The Court of Appeals reversed and remanded. On grant of certiorari, the United States Supreme Court held that a person of Arabian ancestry may be protected from racial discrimination under the statute governing equal rights under the law.  The court’s ruling explained that a person of Arabian ancestry may be protected from racial discrimination under § 1981. The Court of Appeals properly rejected petitioners’ contention that, as a Caucasian, respondent cannot allege the type of discrimination that § 1981 forbids since that section does not encompass claims of discrimination by one Caucasian against another. That position assumes that all those who might be deemed Caucasians today were thought to be of the same race when § 1981 became law. In fact, 19th-century sources commonly described “race” in terms of particular ethnic groups, including Arabs, and do not support the claim that Arabs and other present-day “Caucasians” were then considered to be a single race. Moreover, § 1981’s legislative history indicates that Congress intended to protect identifiable classes of persons who are subjected to intentional discrimination solely because of their ancestry or ethnic characteristics. However, a distinctive physiognomy is not essential to qualify for § 1981 protection. Thus, if respondent can prove that he was subjected to intentional discrimination based on the fact that he was born an Arab, rather than solely on the place or nation of his origin or his religion, he will have made out a § 1981 case.

Aguilar v. Avis Rent A Car Sys., Inc., (1999) 21 Cal. 4th 121

Latino employees sued the employer and manager, seeking damages and injunctive relief for alleged employment discrimination in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act. In addition to awarding damages pursuant to a jury verdict, the Superior Courtenjoined the manager from using any derogatory racial or ethnic epithets directed at or descriptive of Latino employees. An appeal was taken. The Court of Appeal remanded case with instructions to redraft injunction so as to limit its scope to the workplace and to include exemplary list of prohibited epithets. The Supreme Court granted review, superseding the opinion of the Court of Appeal, and held  that the injunction was not an invalid prior restraint on speech, either under First Amendment or free speech provisions of California Constitution.  The Court’s opion discussed race discrimination at length (citations omitted):

“The FEHA declares “as the public policy of this state that it is necessary to protect and safeguard the right and opportunity of all persons to seek, obtain, and hold employment without discrimination or abridgment on account of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, marital status, sex, or age.” “This court has declared that policy to be ‘fundamental.’ ”  Employment discrimination ‘foments domestic strife and unrest, deprives the state of the fullest utilization of its capacities for development and advance, and substantially and adversely affects the interest of employees, employers, and the public in general.’ The express purpose of the FEHA is ‘to provide effective remedies which will eliminate such discriminatory practices.’  In addition, the Legislature has directed that the FEHA is to be construed ‘liberally’ so as to accomplish its purposes. One form of employment discrimination is harassment on the basis of race or national origin. Section 12940, subdivision (h)(1), states that it is unlawful: “For an employer … or any other person, because of race … [or] national origin … to harass an employee or applicant. Harassment of an employee or applicant by an employee other than an agent or supervisor shall be unlawful if the entity, or its agents or supervisors, knows or should have known of this conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action.” California Code of Regulations, title 2, section 7287.6, subdivision (b)(1)(A), defines harassment to include “[v]erbal harassment, e.g., epithets, derogatory comments or slurs on a basis enumerated in the Act[.]” Verbal harassment in the workplace also may constitute employment discrimination under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964  the federal counterpart of the FEHA.  Explaining the potentially debilitating effects of this form of employment discrimination, the United States Supreme Court has observed: “A discriminatorily abusive work environment … can and often will detract from employees’ job performance, discourage employees from remaining on the job, or keep them from advancing in their careers.”

Areas Served

The litigation and trial attorneys of the Akopyan Law Firm, A.P.C. provide services throughout Southern California including but not limited to Adelanto, Agoura Hills, Alhambra, Aliso Viejo, Altadena, Anaheim, Apple Valley, Arcadia, Arleta, Atwater Village, Azuza, Bakersfield, Baldwin Park, Banning, Beaumont, Bell, Bell Gardens, Bellflower, Beverly Hills, Blythe, Boyle Heights, Brea, Brentwood, Buena Park, Burbank, Calabasas, Calimesa, Camarillo, Canoga Park, Canyon Lake, Carson, Cathedral City, Cerritos, Chatsworth, Chino Hills, Chino, Claremont, Coachella, Colton, Compton, Costa Mesa, Corona, Covina, Culver City, Cypress, Dana Point, Desert Hot Springs, Diamond Bar, Downey, Duarte, Eagle Rock, East Hollywood, East Los Angeles, Eastvale, Echo Park, El Monte, El Segundo, El Sereno, Encino, Fontana, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Gardena, Garden Grove, Glassell Park, Glendale, Glendora, Granada Hills, Hacienda Heights, Hawthorne, Hemet, Hesperia, Highland Park, Highland, Hollywood, Hollywood Hills, Huntington Beach, Huntington Park, Indian Wells, Indio, Inglewood, Irvine, Jurupa Valley, La Canada Flintridge, La-Crescenta Montrose, La Habra, La Mirada, La Palma, La Puente, La Quinta, La Verne, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Lakewood, Lake Balboa, Lake Elsinore, Lake Forest, Lancaster, Lawndale, Lincoln Heights, Loma Linda, Long Beach, Los Alamitos, Los Angeles, Los Feliz, Lynwood, Manhattan Beach, Mar Vista, Maywood, Menifee, Mission Hills, Mission Viejo, Monrovia, Montclair, Montebello, Monterey Park, Moorpark, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Newbury Park, Newhall, Newport Beach, Norco, North Hills, North Hollywood, Northridge, Norwalk, Ontario, Orange, Oxnard, Pacific Palisades, Pacoima, Palos Verdes, Palmdale, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Panorama City, Paramount, Pasadena, Perris, Pico Rivera, Placentia, Pomona, Porter Ranch, Rancho Cucamonga, Rancho Mirage, Rancho Santa Margarita, Redondo Beach, Reseda, Rialto, Riverside, Rosemead, Rowland Heights, San Bernardino, San Clemente, San Dimas, San Gabriel, San Fernando, San Jacinto, San Juan Capistrano, San Pedro, Santa Ana, Santa Clarita, Santa Monica, Sawtelle, Seal Beach, Shadow Hills, Sherman Oaks, Silver Lake, Simi Valley, South El Monte, South Gate, South Pasadena, South Whittier, Stanton, Studio City, Sun Valley, Sunland, Sylmar, Tarzana, Temecula, Temple City, Thousand Oaks, Toluca Lake, Torrance, Tujunga, Tustin, Twentynine Palms, Upland, Valencia, Valley Glen, Valley Village, Van Nuys, Ventura, Victorville, Walnut, West Covina, West Hills, West Hollywood, West Puente Valley, Westchester, Westminster, Westwood, Whittier, Wildomar, Winnetka, Woodland Hills, Yorba Linda

Call the Akopyan Law Firm, A.P.C.  at (818) 509-9975 to speak with one of our race discrimination attorneys or submit an inquiry online.