Have I Been Discriminated Against at Work?

Take This Quiz to Know If You’ve Been Discriminated Against at Work

California employment discrimination laws are governed by the California Fair Housing and Employment Act (FEHA). Here’s how to tell if you have been discriminated against at work.

What Types of Businesses Are Subject to FEHA?

The FEHA laws apply to public and private employers, employment organizations and agencies with more than five employees. They protect employees, job applicants, and unpaid interns, volunteers, and contractors. Employment laws regarding discrimination and retaliation apply for all employers with at least five employees, and employment laws surrounding harassment apply for all workplaces. According to the California Department of Fair Housing and Employment, FHEA applies to all business activities, such as:

Hiring and terminating employees
Promoting and transferring employees
Workplace conditions, such as awarding benefits or compensations
Disciplinary actions
Business advertising
Job application and selection process
Trainings and apprenticeships
Employee organizations (such as labor unions)

Next, use the following questionnaire to answer the question: Have I Been Discriminated Against at Work?

Question 1: Protected Categories

The following categories are protected against employment discrimination in California:

Age (40 or over)
Mental or physical disability
Race. Unlike federal employment discrimination laws, this includes traits that have been historically associated with race. An example of this would be discrimination based on hair texture and protective styles, which have been used to indirectly discriminate against Black employees in the workplace under the guise of “professionalism.” Discrimination based on hairstyles in the workplace is illegal in California as of 2020. More information can be found here.
Ancestry or national origin
Genetic information (according to the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008)
Religion (beliefs and practices/observance. This includes religious dress and grooming practice, which is not protected under United States Equal Employment Opportunity laws)
Sex and gender (such as gender identity or expression)
Sexual orientation
Military or veteran status
Marital status
Medical conditions, such as cancer

To know if you have been discriminated against at work due to one of the aforementioned categories, answer these questions:

Am I a member of a protected class?
Does my employer know that I am a member of said protected class?
Did I experience an adverse employment action? Adverse employment actions are actions that impairs an employee’s job performance or prospects, such as termination or layoffs, denial of promotion or benefits, wage or salary reduction, disciplinary action, or negative performance reviews.
Were other employees in a similar situation to mine who are not members of said protected class treated more favorably/not subjected to the same adverse employment actions?

If the answer to all of the above questions is yes, you might have experienced employment discrimination.

Question 2: Has my employer adopted a workplace policy or practice that has a disproportionately negative effect on me based on one of the aforementioned protected categories?

An example of a workplace policy that disproportionately affects certain groups based on one of the categories protected by the FHEA could be a physical agility test. Physical agility tests can have a disproportionately negative impact on cisgender women. Another example could be a grooming policy, such as a ban on facial hair. “Clean-shaven” rules can disproportionately target Black employees, because Black men are more likely to experience skin irritation due to shaving. “Clean-shaven” rules are now prohibited in California according to the CROWN Act, the same legislation that prohibits all hairstyle discrimination.

If yes, this constitutes employment discrimination. Even if a workplace policy or practice does not explicitly discriminate against an individual based on one of the protected categories, according to California’s laws against disparate impact, having a disproportionate effect on a specific protected group still qualifies as discrimination.

Question 3: Has my employer or coworker taken harmful action against me (such as termination, demotion, wage/salary reduction, denial of benefits or compensation, given an inconvenient schedule, disciplinary action, receiving more work, and being denied access to workplace resources) because I exercised my employee rights (listed as follows) or refused to partake in illegal activities on behalf of my employer?

The employee rights that can be exercised without retaliation under California law include:

Reporting suspected criminal activity by an employer or coworker to a supervisor or higher-up in the business, or testifying against their employer or coworker for partaking in said criminal activity in a disciplinary or court proceeding. This is called a “whistleblower” law, and the employee reporting or testifying to the criminal activity is the “whistleblower.”
Filing complaints regarding harassment or discrimination from an employer due to one of the aforementioned protected categories, or testifying to harassment or discrimination from an employer.
Requesting workplace accommodations for a mental or physical disability, or to engage in religious practices.
Filing or participating in a claim or lawsuit against an employer or coworker for committing illegal financial acts such as fraud, theft or embezzlement in the workplace.

If you answered “yes” to these questions, this is employment discrimination.

Question 4: Has my employer, upon receiving written medical certification that I am in need of pregnancy disability leave, allowed me to do the following while still being allowed to return to my same position?

Take additional/more frequent breaks
Be transferred to a less physically demanding position (if available) or given less strenuous duties
Take time off for pre or postnatal appointments
Take time off for doctor-ordered bed rest, morning sickness, and other pregnancy-related medical complications?
Take paid or unpaid maternity leave according to the employer’s policy
Exercised any of the other pregnancy disability rights according to the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) as listed on this department information sheet.

If you were denied these accommodations, this qualifies as employment discrimination.

Question 5: Have I been provided with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to care for my own serious health condition or that of my child or family member? This includes pregnancy, childbirth, and other medical conditions.

If not, this qualifies as employment discrimination. More information can be found on this DFEA information sheet.

Question 6: Am I a new foster or adoptive parent? If yes, have I been provided with six weeks of leave with at least 55% of my salary in order to bond with my foster or adoptive child?

If no, this qualifies as employment discrimination. All employees are entitled to this leave according to the California Family Rights Act.

This interactive application on job-protected leave on the University of California Irvine Law School website can provide more information on paid leave for pregnancy disability and bonding with a new child.

Contact Us

If you or a loved one has been discriminated against at work, contact us. Get your free consultation with one of our California Employment Discrimination Attorneys today!