Racial Discrimination Attorneys

Have you been demoted, terminated, or verbally harassed as a result of racial discrimination occurring in your workplace? Our Orange County racial discrimination attorneys can help you file a claim against your employer and obtain damages on your behalf.

We invite you to contact us about your case and the possibility of filing a civil claim against your employer. Read on to learn more about federal and state racial discrimination laws in the workplace.

Federal & State Racial Discrimination Laws

Racial discrimination occurs when a person is treated unfairly based on the characteristics of his/her race. Such racial characteristics may consist of physical characteristics (skin color), language, culture, or ancestry. Fortunately, there are federal and California State laws that prohibit employment racial discrimination.

Under federal law, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Civil Rights Act of 1968, bans discrimination in the workplace based on race. In particular, both laws forbid discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment such as hiring, firing, transferring, promoting, or training an employee.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects individuals against employment discrimination on the basis of race and color…Title VII applies to employers with 15 or more employees, including state and local governments…Equal employment opportunity cannot be denied any person because of his/her racial group or perceived racial group, his/her race-linked characteristics (e.g., hair texture, color, facial features), or because of his/her marriage to or association with someone of a particular race or color.

Such discrimination may occur in a passive or active manner and also include racial harassment. Racial harassment in the workplace consist of racial slurs, offensive remarks about a person’s race or color, or the display of racially offensive symbols.

Note, isolated incidents and/or offhand comments is not enough to bring a claim against your employer for racial discrimination under federal or California State law. The discrimination must be frequent and severe in which it creates a hostile work environment. The harasser can be a supervisor, co-worker, or a client/customer.

Under California State law, the Fair Employment and Housing Act bans discrimination or the harassment of an employee based on his/her race.

The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) prohibits harassment and discrimination in employment because of race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, mental and physical disability, medical condition, age, pregnancy, denial of medical and family care leave, or pregnancy disability leave. See Government Code sections 12940,12945, 12945.2.

How to File a Lawsuit for Racial Discrimination

Prior to filing a lawsuit in civil court against your employer for racial discrimination in Orange County, you must first file a complaint with a government agency which will investigate your claim.

You must exhaust your administrative remedies with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) by securing your Notice of Right to Sue prior to filing a civil claim. Racial complaints of discrimination within the workplace must be filed with the DFEH within one year from the date of the alleged discriminatory act. Once you obtain your Notice of Right to Sue letter, you can file a civil complaint against your employer. The FEHA requires the administrative complaint to be verified, in writing, and alleged facts which give rise to a claim under the FEHA.

Depending on the nature of the racial discrimination, and your employment status (example – federal civilian employee), it may be in your best interest to file a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) instead of the FEHA. Filing a claim with the EEOC will permit you to later file a lawsuit against your employer based on federal law.

In order to file a civil lawsuit against your employer for racial discrimination in Orange County, you will have to prove the following:

1. You are a member of a protected class;
2. You were qualified for the job in which you applied, or you were meeting your employer’s employment performance standards;
3. You were not hired, fired, or replaced by someone outside the protected class;
4. The circumstances of your hiring, termination, or replacement was the result of an reasonable inference of discrimination; and
5. Your employer’s explanation for its actions was a mere pretext for racial discrimination.

Depending on the nature of your case, you may be entitled to the following damages:

1. Obtain employment reinstatement
2. Be promoted or transferred into a position
3. Recover past and future lost wages
4. Recover damages for emotional distress

Cases involving racial discrimination are not easy to prove and require extensive investigation and the collection of evidence to be successful against a discriminatory employer. During your consultation with our attorneys, we will review your claim in detail to ensure that you have sufficient standing to bring a claim against your employer for racial discrimination.

We invite you to contact our racial discrimination attorneys today for a free consultation. They charge no legal fees of any kind if they do not recover for you.