Can I Be Fired Because Of My Sexual Orientation?

December 8, 2015 by

Sexual Orientation Discrimination, Sexual OrientationThere is currently no federal law that prohibits private employers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation. Because of this, many people assume that it is no recourse for employees who experience this type of discrimination. This is not always the case, though. There are many jurisdictions – including the state of California – that have workplace anti-discrimination laws that extend to sexual orientation.

California’s anti-discrimination laws are among the broadest in the country. The California Fair Housing and Employment ACT (FEHA) prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. (The statute also prohibits discrimination based on race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, age, or military and veteran status.)

An employee who believes that he or she has been the victim of one of the above forms of discrimination can file a complaint with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing up to one year after the alleged act of discrimination took place. The employee will only receive a Notice of Right to Sue after the claim has been pursued within the Department. Prior to receiving this notice, the employee does not have the right to file a private lawsuit.

What Employers Should Know About Sexual Orientation Discrimination

California’s anti-discrimination statutes go further than simply preventing employers from firing an employee based on his or her sexual orientation. It is also illegal to:

  • Refuse to hire a potential employee because of his or her sexual orientation
  • Refuse to promote an employee because of his or her sexual orientation
  • Create a hostile work environment for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender) employees
  • Deny employees benefits or privileges based on sexual orientation

When it comes to any type of anti-discrimination laws, there are some employers who believe that they can get away with discrimination by simply giving fake reasons for their actions. Let’s say, for example, there’s an employer who owns a large company in California. One day, he finds out that one of his employees is a lesbian. The employer isn’t happy about this, and he’d like to fire her, but he knows it’s illegal to fire an employee based on her sexual orientation. So instead, he waits for her to make a mistake. A few days later, the employee shows up to work ten minutes late, and the employer fires her – and tells her it’s because of her lateness.

The employer might think that he has nothing to worry about. After all, there’s no law against firing employees for being late to work. But the employer’s actions would still be a violation of California law, because the lateness was just a pretext for an illegal form of discrimination. If the employee files a complaint, and she is able demonstrate that her sexual orientation was most likely the real reason she was fired, she could recover damages.

Victims of Workplace Sexual Orientation Discrimination

If you suspect that your employer has discriminated against you on account of your sexual orientation, you may wish to seek the advice of a lawyer. If you want to know more about your rights and your options, you can contact an employment and labor law attorney at Beck Law P.C. today, and schedule a consultation.

Filed Under: Blog, Sexual Orientation Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Understanding the Basics of California Age Discrimination Laws

December 2, 2014 by

California age discrimination lawCalifornia age discrimination law – Understanding the basics. Age discrimination is the unlawful practice of treating someone differently because of their perceived or actual age. Age discrimination is specifically prohibited under both employment law and housing law. Age discrimination is one of the many forms of discrimination along with discrimination based on sex, race, and religion, and is explicitly prohibited under both California state and federal laws. Under federal law, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) prohibits age discrimination in the workplace against people who are 40 years old or older. This law does not provide protections for those workers who are under the age of 40 and face age discrimination in the workplace, and the ADEA also does not make it illegal for an employer to favor an older worker over a younger worker, even if both workers are 40 years of age or older.

The FEHA & Employment Discrimination

The California state law that provides protections against age discrimination in the workplace is the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). The FEHA prohibits discrimination, retaliation and harassment in both housing and employment when such illegal practices are based on a person being 40 years or older or because of that person’s “religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability (including AIDS and HIV), mental disability, medical condition, marital status, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), age (40 or older), or sexual orientation (heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality).”

The FEHA is part of California’s broader public policy goals of protecting residents’ civil rights to obtain, hold and seek employment while being free from discrimination. The FEHA is enforced by the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), the agency that prosecutes cases brought under the FEHA, and the Fair Employment and Housing Commission (FEHC), the state agency that rules on cases brought by the DFEH and citizens. Claims that an employer has violated the FEHA can be litigated either in an administrative hearing before the FEHC, or in civil court. If an administrative hearing is held, an employee who wins a claim against an employer can recover past wages, out of pocket expenses, and also up to $150,000 in emotional distress damages. When an FEHA case is litigated in civil court, the employee can recover unlimited monetary damages for emotional distress, punitive damages, past wages, attorney’s fees and any other out-of-pocket expenses associated with the case.

Employers Covered Under FEHA

Any employer that regularly employs five or more persons is covered under the FEHA. Ultimately, private employers, as well as state, local, counties and all other governmental bodies are covered by the FEHA, as well as labor organizations, apprenticeship programs and employment agencies. Furthermore, an exception to the five-employee minimum requirement exists when harassment is alleged. In such a situation, all employers who employ one or more persons or receive the services of one or more independent contractor(s) can be found guilty of violating the FEHA because harassment occurred based on age in the workplace. Under the FEHA, an employer is guilty for harassment that occurred in the workplace that the employer either ignored, or should have known about, but did not act to prevent further discrimination, harassment or retaliation. Furthermore, individual co-workers can be found personally liable for violating the FEHA, but only if they engaged in harassment.

Do you need legal representation in an age discrimination employment law suit? Contact an employment law attorney at Beck Law P.C. in Santa Rosa, California today.

Filed Under: Age Discrimination, Blog, California Labor Law Tagged With: , , , ,

Can I Be Reimbursed For Business Calls Made From My Personal Cell Phone?

October 1, 2014 by

making a cell phone callCan I be reimbursed for business calls made from my personal cell phone? According to a recent California court decision – yes. Employers in the state of California may wish to review their reimbursement policies following a decision from a California appeals court.  In its decision, the court held that employers in California must reimburse employees for business calls made on employees’ personal cell phones.

The Recent Court Decision

In the court case, the plaintiff, a customer services manager for a food delivery company, sued his former employer on his behalf and filed a class action on behalf of other employees for the employer’s failure to reimburse them for business calls made on their personal cell phones.

In an earlier decision, the trial court disagreed with the class action because it said that such a case depended on too many individual issues, such as the type of plan or whether an individual paid for his or her cell phone.

The appeals court disagreed, stating:

“We hold that when employees must use their personal cell phones for work-related calls, Labor Code section 2802 requires the employer to reimburse them. Whether the employees have cell phone plans with unlimited minutes or limited minutes, the reimbursement owed is a reasonable percentage of their cell phone bills.”

The appellate court wrote in it decision that it was irrelevant whether an employee had unlimited minutes or actually paid his or her own cell phone bill because, “[t]o show liability under section 2802, an employee need only show that he or she was required to use a personal cell phone to make work-related calls, and he or she was not reimbursed.”

What is Labor Code Section 2802?

California Labor Code section 2802, which requires an employer to indemnify employees for all business-related expenses.

After this court’s decision, it appears that this law applies to employer reimbursement for business calls made by employees on their personal cell phones, even if the cell phone plan has unlimited calling.

How will employers reimburse employees?

Employers may wish to update their cell phone and reimbursement policies in light of the recent court decision.  Employers may choose one of the following options for cell phone reimbursement:

  1. Update policies to make cell phone calls reimbursable expenses.  How the company determines the method of reimbursement may vary, although the process may be cumbersome with many employees on different cell phone plans.  According to the court’s decision, if the actual cost of the call cannot be determined, employers should reimburse employees a “reasonable percentage”.
  2. Employers who regularly require their employees to use a cell phone for work may consider providing employees with cell phones for business.  This will avoid having to calculate the reimbursement amount each month.
  3. Employers who determine that cell phones are not needed by employees may update their policies to provide that personal cell phones should not be used for work purposes.

Are you experiencing trouble at work?

It’s not always clear to employees if their employer is complying with the law.  Sometimes, it takes an experienced employment attorney to advise you on your current employment situation.  The attorneys at Beck Law P.C. have years of experience dealing with all types of employment law issues, including discrimination, wrongful termination, wage and hour matters, and many other problems that arise in the workplace.

If you have a labor and employment law matter you wish to discuss, please contact Beck Law P.C. at 707-576-7175 to speak to a Santa Rosa labor – employment attorney and make an appointment for a confidential consultation.

Filed Under: Blog, California Employment Law, Employee Rights Tagged With: , , , ,

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