Call Us Today!213-927-3700
Were you the victim of discrimination at work because of your sexual orientation? If so, you likely have questions about sexual orientation discrimination and what it actually entails. You may be wondering about your legal rights.
Ultimately, you must be informed if you want to make a discrimination claim against your employer. The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) exists to protect you from discrimination based on your sexual orientation. There are also actions you can take if you have suffered sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace.
According to California law — and specifically the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) — discrimination in the workplace that is based on an employee’s sexual orientation is unlawful. In short, it is against the law for any employer to discriminate against any employee simply because of his or her sexual orientation.
If an employer, for example, discriminates against an employee who the employer perceives as a lesbian — and that person is not a lesbian — the employer cannot then use that employee’s actual heterosexuality as a defense for its earlier discriminatory behavior.
According to FEHA, an employer cannot use a person’s perceived sexual orientation as a reason to:
In addition, discrimination against someone based on that person’s gender identity or gender expression is against the law. What does the term gender expression mean? It refers to a person’s gender related appearance — and behavior — and it may not necessarily reflect that person’s assigned sex at birth.
Finally, unions and labor organizations are also prohibited from expelling, excluding, or limiting membership to any individual based on his or her sexual orientation.
Sexual orientation discrimination can be difficult to identify because it does not always happen in the open. The vast majority of employers are aware that sexual orientation discrimination is unlawful. However, they will rarely say or do anything discriminatory in front of anyone, and are not likely to use blatantly discriminatory language in emails, texts, voicemails, etc.
Even so, there signs that an employer is discriminating against an employee because of his or her sexual orientation, such as:
An employee who was discriminated against because of his or her sexual orientation is entitled to file a lawsuit against his or her employer. However, there are certain requirements that must be met first. Typically, a formal complaint must be filed with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) before a lawsuit can be filed in court.
An employee must obtain a right to sue letter before he or she can take a case to court. It is possible to forego a formal investigation and immediately request a right to sue notice, but the administrative agency will not investigate your claim which can be detrimental in the long run. This is only advisable if you have retained the services of an experienced discrimination lawyer.
Once you have filed a complaint, your employer — and anyone else involved in the lawsuit — will be served. Your case may or may not proceed to litigation. It is not uncommon for an employer and an aggrieved employee to reach a settlement outside of court.
Employees in the state of California cannot be retaliated against for reporting sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace. This is considered wrongful termination, which is a violation of FEHA rules and an employee may be entitled to file a lawsuit for wrongful termination.
FEHA offers protections for any employees who were retaliated against for:
Damages in a sexual discrimination lawsuit will depend not only on the type of discrimination involved, but on the extent of the actual harm. In general, damages from employment discrimination include:
Depending on the circumstances, an employee may be entitled to punitive damages in addition to the normal damages they are already be entitled to. Punitive damages are intended as a way to punish a wrongdoer, and to discourage other employers from engaging in the same discriminatory behaviors.
If you have made up your mind to take action, it is important to work with an attorney that specializes in cases like yours. The sexual orientation discrimination lawyers at West Coast Employment Lawyers have extensive experience handling sexual orientation discrimination cases. We will work tirelessly to gather the facts, find and interview eyewitnesses, hire experts, and fight for your rights.
We work on a contingency basis, which means we only get attorney’s fees if we are able to recover for you. Our legal team is available 24/7 and will take care of your case from start to finish. For a free no-obligation consultation with a sexual orientation discrimination attorney in California, contact our office at 1-800-247-9235.
This firm was extremely professional! The took over the entire process for us, from beginning to end… I'm not sure what I was expecting but they were fantastic. They helped us make the right decisions and got us great settlements. My mom doesn't have a yelp account but trust me, I speak for both of us when I say I highly recommend their services.
Neama and Allen are awesome lawyers and handled my case as if it was their own. If you are searching for attentive, aggressive, and compassionate lawyers, this is the law firm you need to go with! Their entire team is so professional and never had me questioning their work…Thank you to everyone who helped me get through this tough time of my life.
I want to give a huge THANK YOU to the whole West Coast Employment Lawyers team for all your attention, help, support, dedication, professionalism, and RESULTS... you guys made the entire experience from start to finish easy, simple, and confusion free. I will recommend you guys to anyone I know that needs a lawyer.