Orange County Employment Lawyers Blog

Wage Disparity For Women Grounds for Discrimination Lawsuit

July 15, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

We tend to think of higher education institutions as harbingers of more progressive thought and policies, ahead of the curve on issues of equality and fairness.

Unfortunately, as our Costa Mesa wage dispute lawyers know, this is not always the case. It’s rare, though, to see it stated as blatantly as it was by administrators at the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law in a recent memorandum regarding pay raises.

We know that as recently as 2012, women on the whole earned 77 percent of what men did and that it’s further estimated by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that this gender wage gap isn’t going to be fully closed until sometime around 2060. That doesn’t mean we won’t continue to fight for it to happen sooner.

Race Discrimination at California Target Stores Alleged

July 13, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

The memo that went out to Target managers in Northern California was supposed to curb some of the issues the company had apparently been having with cultural insensitivity.

Instead, that communication became symbolic of the harassment and discrimination that Hispanic employees there were being forced to endure while working there.

Our Costa Mesa race discrimination lawyers understand that among the items listed, managers being counseled in “cultural sensitivity” toward Hispanic workers were informed that:

Disability Discrimination Lawsuit Settled for $91K

July 10, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

A Midwest power grid operator will need to pay $91,000 to settle a lawsuit with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over a claim that it discriminated against an employee who suffered a disability.

Our Costa Mesa employment lawyers find this case interesting for a number of reasons, the first of which is that the disability was not one that might be readily known or acknowledged by some employers.

This is becoming increasingly relevant as our understanding of what constitutes as a disability expands, particularly to include ailments relating to mental and emotional health. In the past, our concept of disability was often limited to obvious physical conditions and ailments. However, just because one’s debilitating condition is not visibly apparent, does not make it any less legitimate or worthy of employer consideration and concessions under the Americans with Disabilities Act, as this case clearly illustrates.

Race Discrimination Alleged by Workers Failing Criminal Background Checks

July 7, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

Employment criminal background checks can sometimes be a form of racial discrimination, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which has filed suit against a large auto manufacturer and a discount retailer for this very reason.

Our Riverside race discrimination lawyers know that sometimes, proving in court that one employee was treated differently than another on the basis of race can be challenging – even when it’s absolutely true.

What these cases represent is a different approach to addressing the biases that have unfortunately been inherent in the workplace for years.

Sex Discrimination Allegations Hit National Food Marketer

July 5, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

Women who applied for jobs at one national food marketer were reportedly up against an impossible hiring curve, with systematic discrimination on the basis of their gender, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Our Costa Mesa sex discrimination attorneys understand that allegations made against the large company include:

Vice presidents openly announced a bias against female workers, at one point stating women weren’t capable of doing warehouse work and with one specifically wondering aloud, “Why would we waste our time bringing in females?”

California Unpaid Internships May Warrant Wage Lawsuits

July 3, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

The courts have recently seen a wave of litigation action taken by former interns across the country who say their work has essentially amounted to free labor for their respective industries, and that such actions have violated state and federal wage and hour laws.

Our Costa Mesa labor attorneys recognize that part of the reason why we are seeing an uptick in these kinds of cases has to do with the fact that internships that are unpaid are fast becoming the norm.

But aside from questions of social inequality arising from this framework (i.e., there are a great many students who can’t afford not to be paid for full-time work, even over the course of a summer), problems have arisen from the fact that many companies seem to flout the six federal mandates required in order for a company to retain unpaid interns. Those requirement, per the Fair Labor Standards Act, include:

Gender Discrimination Lawsuit Revived by State Supreme Court

July 1, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

A woman who was fired by her boss for being sexually “irresistible” will have her lawsuit re-examined by the state supreme court in Iowa, following the court’s almost unheard-of move of unanimously withdrawing its earlier ruling in the case.

Our Costa Mesa gender discrimination lawyers are pleased to hear that this is something the court is reconsidering. Although the ruling never had a direct impact on California workers, the precedent it set for future cases was deeply troubling.

According to media accounts, the plaintiff worked for 10 years as a dental hygienist in a small office with a boss with whom she got along well. However, she said she was blindsided one day when he told her she was fired because she was a threat to his marriage because she was “irresistible.”