Ventura, CA Employment Discrimination Attorney

Employees at a company expect that their coworkers and supervisors will treat them with respect. Unfortunately, there are many workers facing employment discrimination for a wide number of reasons. When this occurs, the employee should consider pursuing a claim against the employer that allowed the discrimination to continue unchecked. If you need assistance filing an employment discrimination claim, you should consult with an experienced Ventura employment discrimination attorney as soon as possible.

The Law Offices of Bamieh & De Smeth, PLC, can help you get started on your employment discrimination claim in Ventura, California. We believe that every employee should be treated with the respect they deserve, and we are committed to helping you seek justice. To schedule a free legal consultation to discuss your potential employment discrimination claim, contact the Law Offices of Bamieh & De Smeth, PLC at (805) 643-5555. You can also contact the firm online to schedule your consultation.

Types of Employment Discrimination Our Firm Handles in Ventura, CA

Employment discrimination in Ventura, CA can occur in many forms. Despite how it happens, employment discrimination often stands in the way of a hardworking employee receiving the promotion they earned or the job they were qualified to perform. If you believe that you were the target of any of the following types of employment discrimination, you should consider filing a lawsuit against the employer responsible for the wrongful conduct.

Disability Discrimination

Employers in Ventura are expected to abide by Equal Employment Opportunity laws. As a result, employees with disabilities cannot be singled out among their coworkers. This can occur in a number of ways. For example, an employee cannot avoid promoting a disabled worker under the assumption that their disability would bar them from performing their job adequately.

Additionally, if an employer fails to make reasonable adjustments for an employee living with a disability, this may also be used as grounds for employment discrimination.

Hiring Discrimination

Hiring discrimination is when an employer may skip over hiring a qualified candidate due to some personal bias or possibly even prejudicial practices that have become common within a company. For example, if a qualified job applicant requests the ability to wear religious garments in the workplace, it is unlawful for an employer to reject the applicant based solely on that request.

Hiring discrimination can also occur under many other circumstances:

  • Employer avoiding the hiring of applicants of a certain age
  • Employer not hiring applicants of a certain race
  • Employer discriminating against applicants due to their name or other arbitrary factors

Race-Based Employment Discrimination

Race-based employment discrimination occurs when an employer commits prejudicial acts against an employee or allows a culture of prejudice against one or more employees due to their race. For instance, if a Ventura, California company frequently allows its workers to make racist remarks under the veil of a joke, this can be considered race-based discrimination.

Race-based discrimination can also be used to disqualify workers from advancing in the workplace. For example, an employer may avoid promoting a worker due to their race, or they may place unreasonable goals on a worker in order to decrease their chances of earning a promotion.

Gender-Based Employment Discrimination

Gender-based employment discrimination happens when an employee faces bias due to their sex or gender. Gender-based discrimination can include many issues that may cause a hostile work environment. For example, if an employer purposely gives certain tasks to only male employees, this may make other employees feel they are their career progress is being affected.

It is important to note that gender-based discrimination is not limited to just men or women. Depending on the work environment, any individual could be a victim of gender-based discrimination.

There are many other instances of employment discrimination that are not discussed above. Our firm recognizes the burdens an employee may experience when they feel trapped in a workplace due to unfair treatment. We are here to help you bring an employment discrimination lawsuit against the employer that allowed a prejudicial workplace to continue unchecked.

We look forward to working with you on your potential case.

How Victims Experience Discrimination at Work in Ventura, CA

Discrimination occurs in a variety of ways. When an employee is purposefully treatment differently because they are a member of a protected class, the ways that the discrimination appears can vary greatly from case to case.

Disparate Individual Treatment

Discrimination can exist in both the treatment of an employee and the impact it has on the workplace. Disparate treatment occurs when an employer’s conduct singles out a specific employee because of their protected characteristics. If you have been fired because of your age or passed over a promotion because of your race, gender, or sexual orientation, you could have been the victim of discriminatory disparate treatment.

Company Policies

Often, a company enacts policies that appear fair and balanced, but only affect members of one or more protected classes. In these situations, there is a disproportionate or disparate impact on employees who share a protected characteristic. For example, women could be disproportionately adversely affected by a policy that ties seniority directly to time off or leaves of absence because of potential pregnancies and the traditional role served in caring for sick children.

Hostile Work Environments

Additionally, a hostile work environment is created when jokes, insults, or harassment of a single employee, or a group of employees, are tied to specific protected characteristics. This behavior does not have to be directly aimed at an individual employee if it nonetheless centers around their particular characteristics.

Sexual Harassment

Often, sexual harassment occurs in the work environment. This could include unwanted advances, language, or uninvited touching. It some cases, promotions or other employment benefits and conditions could be tied to accepting the unwelcome sexual conduct. “Quid pro quo” sexual harassment is a form of employment discrimination that should be reported. Liability in these situations could depend on the working relationship between the parties. If the harassment came from a coworker, then it is likely that liability would rest with the coworker alone. However, if the harassment came from a supervisor or manager, then the employer could be held responsible for their employee’s conduct.

California Law vs. Federal Law in Ventura Employment Discrimination Lawsuits

Typically, California law is move favorable to employees in Ventura who are victims of employment discrimination. Unlike the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act or Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act does not include a financial cap on damages, nor does it limit attorney fees. Additionally, it does not impose a difficult burden of proof on the plaintiff or offer the employer special defenses.

Federal law further limits cases by restricting the period of time in which a victim of discrimination in the workplace can file a claim. Usually, if you experienced discriminatory practices in a Ventura, CA workplace, you would have to file an administrative complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) within 180 days of the actual incident. California law provides a victim of employment discrimination an entire year to file a complaint with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing.

Common Damages Recovered in Employment Discrimination Claims in Ventura

If you are successful in an employment discrimination lawsuit, you are entitled to compensation for several types of damages, including loss of income, litigation expenses, emotional distress, and attorney’s fees. In some situations, if the conduct was especially grievous, an employee could be awarded punitive damages. Punitive damages do not directly reimburse for financial or emotional harm suffered by the plaintiff, but are instead designed to both punish the employer and deter them from future similar conduct.

Work with Our Dedicated Ventura, CA Employment Discrimination Lawyer to Discuss Your Potential Case

Employees should be treated equally in the workplace, sharing the same benefits and opportunities. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Despite the great strides made in this country, employment discrimination still occurs. Often, this discrimination is subtle, and a victim may be unaware that they were fired, demoted, or passed over for a promotion because of discriminatory practices. Additionally, employment discrimination in Ventura could be targeted against one employee, or it could stem from a company policy that adversely impacts a group of employees.

If you were a victim of employee discrimination, you should contact an experienced Ventura employment discrimination lawyer today. The dedicated legal team at the Law Offices of Bamieh & De Smeth, PLC, possesses a wealth of knowledge and experience in employment discrimination law, and we would like to offer you the legal representation you need for your potential case. To schedule a free legal consultation to discuss your employment discrimination claim, contact the Law Offices of Bamieh & De Smeth, PLC at (805) 643-5555. You can also schedule an appointment online.

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