racial discrimination attorney

More California Racial Discrimination Lawsuits Against Tesla on the Horizon

February 16, 2022 | by Nassiri Law

In California, it is unlawful for employers to discriminate against employees on the basis of their race or ethnicity. Workers targeted by discrimination ore harassment on these bases may have grounds to pursue a civil lawsuit for damages against their employer.

Racial discrimination is not a new problem in this country, but it’s been gaining greater awareness in recent years, with companies of all sizes facing repercussions for race-based harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.

Tesla is among the larger companies to face California racial discrimination lawsuits from former employees. You may recall that last year, a federal jury awarded $137 million a Black former employee of the car company, finding the company had ignored the severe racist abuse he endured for years from co-workers.

Now, the company says that it’s bracing for a civil complaint filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, which disclosed the notice of litigation in its annual regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Continue Reading ›

Is a Single Epithet at Work Enough to Support Racial Harassment Claim?

March 23, 2021 | by Nassiri Law

Is the use of a single racial epithet enough to support a legal claim of harassment in California workplaces? Two lower courts weighing a discrimination/retaliation case said no, but the California Supreme Court will decide if that was the right call.

Plaintiff’s employment attorneys are arguing the the highly-offensive slur, directed toward plaintiff by a co-worker, was significant enough to support claims of discrimination, harassment, retaliation and failure to prevent discrimination and retaliation under the state’s Fair Employment and Housing Act.

Plaintiff worked for the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, and the slur was made by a co-worker. Plaintiff alleged this ultimately spurred retaliation by a supervisor.

FEHA, Previous Court Rulings on Racial Discrimination

As our Los Angeles racial discrimination attorneys can explain, the FEHA prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, and harassment is one form of discrimination. Courts have held that the law is violated when someone’s workplace is steeped in a culture of discriminatory intimidation, ridicule and insult that is “sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of the victim’s employment and create an abusive working environment.” Harassment can include verbal harassment, which encompasses slurs, derogatory comments or epithets.

To establish a case of a racially hostile work environment just on first impression (prima facie), the worker needs to show that:

He/she belonged to a protected class/
He/she was subjected to unwanted racial harassment.
The harassment was based on race.
The harassment unreasonably interfered with plaintiff’s work performance.
The employer is liable for the harassment.

Racial Discrimination Must Be “But For” Cause in Section 1981 Civil Rights Law Claims

January 19, 2021 | by Nassiri Law

One of the most significant changes in federal racial discrimination cases came with the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Comcast Corp. v. National Association of African American-Owed Media, et al. News of this precedent was largely eclipsed by the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S., but the impact will be significant in future racial discrimination employment lawsuits.

For those who may not be familiar, 42 U.S.C. § 1981 of the Civil Rights Act bars race discrimination that is intentional in all forms of contracting. That includes employment. The conflict among lower courts in deciding these cases was whether a plaintiff needed to prove that race discrimination was just one motivating factor among several for the adverse employment action, or whether plaintiff needed to show that race was the “but for” cause. With a “but for” standard, plaintiffs need to prove the adverse outcome wouldn’t have happened “but for” the defendant’s wrongful conduct.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in November 2019 and issued their decision in March 2020. They held that plaintiffs in Section 1981 cases must meet the “but for” causation standard. Continue Reading ›

Spotlight on Racial Discrimination in the Fashion Industry

February 26, 2020 | by Nassiri Law

A number of civil rights and employment lawsuits filed over the last handful of years have accused fashion industry powerhouses of discriminating against workers on the basis of race. Among them, two employees at high-end retail shops in California say they were treated poorly by management because of their race, and that black shoppers who weren’t celebrities were identified by code so that employees could monitor them more closely than other shoppers. Those cases, against Versace and Moschino, were later settled out-of-court.

There have also been numerous recent incidents of reported racial insensitivity within the industry, including:

Backlash following the release of several Gucci products, including an “Indy full turban,” a blackface jumper and a hoodie with strings tied like a noose.
An H&M “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle” advertisement featuring a black child.
Prada’s release of key chain figurines that resembled the offensive “Little Sambo” children’s book character of the late 19th Century. The New York City Commission on Human Rights sided with a civil rights attorney in a complaint over the figures, and the company reached a settlement and plans to begin diversity training.

Many think pieces have been published regarding rampant racism within the fashion industry. Although some companies are making an effort to diversify the models, people who work in the industry say the effort has to go beyond that to really mean something and address the racial undercurrents that are reflected in from the runway to the retailers. Continue Reading ›

Talk to a Private L.A. Employment Attorney Even if Required to Start With EEOC

March 30, 2019 | by Nassiri Law

There are many types of Los Angeles employment discrimination cases wherein you, the worker, must first file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission before you are free to take your case to court. Yet there is no requirement indicating you can’t hire a private employment attorney, and the truth is, you may be entitled to more than the EEOC will provide. When you discuss this possibility with a job discrimination attorney ahead of time, you’ll be able to glean some guidance on what to report, what evidence to bring and suggestions for wording your complaint in ways that could give you a stronger stance.

This may be especially important in light of the recent findings of a dual-published report by the Center for Public Integrity and VOX, indicating that the EEOC may not have enough personnel to adequately investigate each claim.

Report: EEOC Falls Short in Settling Discrimination Claims

Race discrimination claims are among the most commonly-filed. In fact, black workers alleging racial discrimination comprised 25 percent of all EEOC claims, which is notable because there are many different kinds of discrimination. Only 15 percent of those are resolved with some compensation being returned to the complainants. Continue Reading ›

Study: Discrimination to Blame for Higher Work Injury Rates of Minorities

March 2, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

Minority workers face the highest rates of on-the-job injury, and researchers with the University of Southern California opine that’s in large part due to workplace discrimination.

The study looked at injury rates among workers of different races. What they discovered was that Latino immigrant and African American men had far and away the greatest risk of injury. The risk was even higher when researchers accounted for education and other demographic characteristics.

Although the study authors didn’t delve too deeply into the reasons why, the lead researcher opined it had largely to do with “disparities in economic opportunities for minorities.” In other words: Racial discrimination. Workers who are black or Latino immigrant are often turned down or not considered for higher-paying roles, and therefore are pigeon-holed into jobs that are more dangerous, substantially increasing their risk of workplace injury and disability. Continue Reading ›

Black Employees are Suing CNN for Racial Discrimination

January 13, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

Current and former employees at CNN, based in Atlanta, are suing the company, as well as Turner Broadcasting and Time Warner, for alleged racial discrimination.

Employment attorneys are seeking class action status for the lawsuit, which they assert was spurred after several employees came forward after DeWayne Walker filed his employment lawsuit in January 2016. Those stories involved allegations of nepotism, abuse of power, discrimination, retaliation and revenge.

Walker was a CNN producer who sued the company last year for $50 million, alleging racial discrimination and later retaliation for his filing a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He asserted that CNN refused to promote him for more than a dozen years because of his skin color. He says he was skipped many times over for promotions that instead went to white employees. Walker currently works at the company has an integrated marking manager. Continue Reading ›

Racial Discrimination Against Black Temp Workers Alleged

January 11, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

A major national job placement company is accused of discriminating against black workers in favor of Hispanic workers in factories, on assembly lines and in low-skilled positions. The claim was made in a federal class action lawsuit recently filed on behalf of numerous African American workers, who say companies favored Hispanic workers because it was believed they would be less likely to complain about poor working conditions and pay.

The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Chicago, alleges a temporary employment agency called Personnel Staffing Group LLC and its clients used code words to conceal hiring decisions that were racially motivated and in violation of federal civil rights law. For example, they would refer to black hires as “guapos,” which is Spanish for , “pretty boys.” This was intended to mean they would not be open to doing “dirty work.” Meanwhile, they referred to Hispanic workers either as “feos,” which is Spanish for, “ugly ones,” or sometimes as, “bilinguals.”

Black workers say they were given just one assignment, sometimes over the course of several months, despite showing up every day. They would wait hours for an assignment that never came, watching as one-by-one, the Hispanic workers were called to various jobs. Some of the black workers say that when they were given an assignment, it was often for the most dangerous, undesirable posts. Plus, they were usually the only workers who received background checks, while their Hispanic counterparts did not. Continue Reading ›