Terms or Conditions of Employment

Sex discrimination is treating an employee or employees differently because of their gender. Whenever this discrimination affects the "terms or conditions of employment", it is illegal.

"Terms or conditions of employment" means just about anything relating to someone's job: their position, pay, title, hours, vacations, most everything is a term or condition of employment. Whether or not a person is hired is also considered a term or condition of employment.

Disparate Treatment & Disparate Impact

There are two types of sex discrimination: "disparate treatment" & "disparate impact".

Disparate Treatment

Disparate treatment is straightforward discrimination. Simply put, it is treating a person differently because of his or her sex.

Disparate Impact

Disparate Impact Discrimination is more complicated. "Disparate Impact" is where some type of company policy excluded a certain individuals from the job or from promotions. The policy wasn't designed to exclude them; that was just the unfortunate result.

One example arose often in fire departments. These agencies had various strength requirements for job applicants. Women were frequently unable to meet these requirements. In some instances, the requirements were absolutely necessary to ensure the firefighters were qualified. But in many instances, the requirements were simply too high; the were more than was necessary. Qualified women were therefore being excluded unnecessarily. This does not mean the fire departments were necessarily trying to exclude women. That was just the result of their policy; it had a disparate impact upon women. Because the policy wasn't sufficiently job-related (too much strength was required) there was discrimination.

Equal Pay Act

Under the Equal Pay Act, an amendment to the Fair Labor Standard's Act, an employer may not discriminate in wages on the basis of sex. When male and female employees perform jobs which require substantially equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and are performed in similar working conditions, an employer must pay his employees equally. An employer, however, may be able to demonstrate that these payment decisions are based on a reasonable factor other than sex, such as merit, a seniority system, or a quantity system. If an employee can establish a violation of the Equal Pay Act, an employer must correct the differential by increasing the wages of the lower paid sex, not by decreasing the wages of the higher paid sex.

Stereotyping

It is also illegal to make employment decisions based on stereotypes regarding gender.

For example, in on case an employer was held to have violated the Federal Title VII anti-discrimination law when it delayed a female employee's promotion based in part on evaluation comments describing her as "macho" and advising her to "take a course in charm school". This woman was treated differently because of her gender, and because she seemed too "male".

Gender Roles

Frequently employers expect women to have certain duties, such as caring for children. In one case, an employer did not hire women with preschool-age children, while at the same time it did hire men with preschool-age children. Even though most of the people it hired were women, there was still discrimination. The employer didn't think women with young children should be working outside the home. The employer is entitled to this belief. But he couldn't let it affect his employment decisions. When his beliefs did influence his hiring decisions, he broke the law. At the law offices of Lipow & Harris, we take great pride in fighting for the rights of those who have been discriminated against in the workplace. If you believe you have been the victim of workplace discrimination on the basis of your sex, disability, race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation or age, contact our discrimination attorneys in Encino, Los Angeles at (818) 905-7868 for a free consultation.

Generally, discriminating on the basis of age in the workplace is illegal under both the Federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).

Under both laws, there are some special limitations on who can sue. (For general limitations on who can sue and be sued, see California Fair Employment & Housing Act.)

People under forty years old are not protected by age discrimination in the workplace laws. If an employer refuses to hire somebody because he or she is thirty-nine, and therefore "too young", that is not illegal. But if it because he or she is forty and "too old", that is illegal.

Age discrimination has some special aspects that make it different from other types of employment discrimination. A few of these are discussed below.

Golden Handshakes

Sometimes when employers are down-sizing, they lay people off by offering "golden handshakes", which are special packages to employees who agree to take early retirement. This is not age discrimination. However, if it is being done for the purpose of getting rid of older workers just because of their age, and if it can be shown that there is a real discriminatory motive, that is illegal.

Replacing Older Workers

It is illegal to replace a person over 40 with a person under 40, if age is the reason. It is also illegal to replace a person over forty with a younger person who is also forty.

Older Worker's Benefit Protection Act

The Older Worker's Benefit Protection Act provides protection of benefits or benefit packages for older workers. According to the act, an employer must provide equal benefits for older workers as they do for their younger counterparts. An employer can accomplish this by either providing packages that are equal in benefit or by spending the same amount of money on each person. An individual cannot waive his right under this act, unless that waiver is knowing and voluntary.

Replacing Higher Earners and Age Discrimination in the Workplace

It is not illegal to replace people who are making high wages with people who will make less because they have less seniority.

However, this usually means replacing older workers with younger ones. If the wage considerations are not the real motivator, and the employer is actually trying to replace older workers with younger ones, that it illegal. Here, the employee must prove that it is the age, not the wages, which is motivating the employer to fire the older workers.

At the law offices of Lipow & Harris, we take great pride in fighting for the rights of those who have been discriminated against in the workplace. If you believe you have been the victim of workplace discrimination on the basis of your sex, disability, race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation or age, contact our discrimination attorneys in Encino, Los Angeles at (818) 905-7868 for a free consultation.

It is illegal under both Federal and State Law to discriminate in the "terms or conditions of employment" on the basis of a person's religious beliefs or practices. "Terms or conditions of employment" pertains to many aspects of a person's job: interviewing, hiring, your position, pay, title, hours, vacation, reasonable accommodations to observe Sabbath or other religious days, and other terms of employment.

According to Federal Law, employers must make reasonable accommodations of a person's religious beliefs or practices in the workplace, unless doing so would create an undue hardship on the employer. Undue hardship is found when the accommodation is economically hard, or when accommodating the religious beliefs of one employee are unfair to other employees who do not have the same beliefs. However, most of the time accommodations do not create an undue hardship. Further, it is inappropriate and many times illegal for your employer to ask about the specifics of your religious beliefs, your availability for future holidays based on religion, or to require a dress code that violates a person's religious beliefs or practices.

Sometimes religious discrimination is compounded by national origin discrimination and racial discrimination. Many cultures have a national religion or a practice that is not Judeo-Christian based or reflected in mainstream American culture. Further, religious discrimination can also happen to atheists.

If you have received harassment based on your religious beliefs, practices, lack of religious beliefs or practices, or your dress (such as wearing a yarmulke at work) you may be the victim of religious discrimination. It is illegal for you to be treated differently than other employees who do not share your religion or beliefs. It is important to contact an experienced discrimination attorney to discuss your situation and how the law may be able to help.

At the law offices of Lipow & Harris, we take great pride in fighting for the rights of those who have been discriminated against in the workplace. If you believe you have been the victim of workplace discrimination on the basis of your sex, disability, race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation or age, contact our discrimination attorneys in Encino, Los Angeles at (818) 905-7868 for a free consultation.

It is illegal under both Federal and State Law to discriminate in the "terms or conditions of employment" on the Basis of a person's race or color.

"Terms or conditions of employment" means just about anything relating to someone's job: their position, pay, title, hours, vacations, most everything is a term or condition of employment. Whether or not a person is hired is also considered a term or condition of employment.

Race is generally defined as a person's ancestry or ethnic characteristics. Everyone is some race or color. This means that it is illegal to discriminate against anyone, if the basis is their race or color.

Employment race discrimination in the workplace based on association with people of a particular race is also prohibited. For instance, if an employer fired a white employee because she had black friends, or was dating a black man, the white woman would have a discrimination suit, whether or not the employer is prejudiced against whites.

It is also illegal to discriminate on the basis of "color". In one case, an employer hired a "light-complexioned" black applicant with "Caucasian features" over another black applicant who had a "dark complexion" and "Negroid features". This was also against the law, even though in a strict sense one race wasn't being preferred over another.

There are two types of race discrimination in the workplace: "disparate treatment" and "disparate impact".

Disparate Treatment, Race Discrimination In The Workplace

"Disparate treatment" is straightforward discrimination. Simply put, it is treating a person differently because of a protected class, like sex or race.

Disparate Impact, Discrimination In The Workplace Disparate Impact Discrimination is more complicated. "Disparate Impact" is where some type of company policy excluded a certain individual or individuals from the job or from promotions. The policy wasn't designed to exclude them; that was just the unfortunate result.

One example arose often in fire departments. These agencies had various strength requirements for job applicants. Women were frequently unable to meet these requirements. In some instances, the requirements were absolutely necessary to ensure the firefighters were qualified. But in many instances, the requirements were simply too high; the were more than was necessary. Qualified women were therefore being excluded unnecessarily. This does not mean the fire departments were necessarily trying to exclude women. That was just the result of their policy; it had a disparate impact upon women. Because the policy wasn't sufficiently job-related (too much strength was required) there was discrimination.

At the law offices of Lipow & Harris, we take great pride in fighting for the rights of those who have been discriminated against in the workplace. If you believe you have been the victim of workplace discrimination on the basis of your sex, disability, race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation or age, contact our discrimination attorneys in Encino, Los Angeles at (818) 905-7868 for a free consultation.

Federal and California Law

The Federal Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) is the Federal Law that makes it illegal for employers to discriminate on the basis of a disability.

It makes it illegal for an employer to discriminate against a qualified individual with a disability in job application procedures; the hiring, advancement, or discharge of employees; employee compensation; job training; or other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment, because of the individual's disability.

California protects disabled workers with the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). While the Americans with Disabilities Act is similar in protection to the Fair Employment and Housing Act, FEHA is more protective of employees in several important aspects.

First, under the ADA, an individual is disabled if substantially limited in a major life activity. Under FEHA, however, an individual is disabled if limited in a major life activity. Thus, FEHA requires a lower standard of limitation in order to warrant protection against discrimination.

Second, under the ADA, 'work' is not necessarily a major life activity. Under FEHA, work is always a major life activity, even if the disability only limits your ability to do one particular job. Again, FEHA provides greater protection to those with disabilities. The inability to perform one job due to a disability is sufficient to prove a limitation in a major life activity.

Third, under the ADA, an individual will be evaluated in a mitigated state. For example, consider an individual with a vision problem. Under the ADA, that person's vision disability will be evaluated in the mitigated state (with glasses). As a result, that person is less likely to be regarded as disabled. Under FEHA, however, an individual will be evaluated in the unmitigated state, effectively making it easier for an individual to be considered disabled.

Qualified Individual With a Disability

For the employee to be eligible to make a claim of disability discrimination under the ADA or FEHA, he must be a "qualified individual with a disability." These means that he must be able to do the job. For instance, a person with no hands would not be qualified to be a typist. (However, see below discussion on "reasonable accommodation".) If the employer didn't give him the job, it wouldn't be discrimination. It's just that the person simply isn't qualified.

"With a disability" means that the worker is actually disabled. For an injury, disease, or their ailment to be a "disability" under the law, it must "substantially limit one or more major life activities." A mere annoyance is not enough. The disability must actually interfere with a person's life.

In determining whether or not a person actually has a disability, the Courts pay close attention to whether or not the ailment affects the person's job and ability to earn a living. So, even if the disability doesn't affect most areas of life, if it affects the person's employment, it is more likely to be considered a disability.

Perceived Disability

It is also unlawful to discriminate against a person who is perceived to have a disability. If the employee is not disabled, but the employer believes he is, and discriminated against him, that is also illegal.

In this circumstance, it is not necessary to determine if the employee is a "qualified individual" with a disability. However, the Court may consider whether or not the person would have been a qualified individual if he actually had the disability that the employer perceived him to have. The law is not entirely clear on this issue.

Reasonable Accommodation for An Employee With a Disability

Reasonable Accommodation is the idea that even if a person is disabled, and even if that disability may make it seem like he or she can't do a job, the employer must consider whether or not a "reasonable accommodation" can be made. A "reasonable accommodation" is when the employer modifies the job duties, provides some extra help, or takes some other measure to ensure that the person can still be able to do the job.

For instance, let's say a person in a wheelchair wants a job in an office that is on the second floor. There are no elevators in the building. To accommodate he worker, the employer could install an elevator. But is that a "reasonable accommodation"? Is it reasonable to expect the employer to spend that kind of money? Probably not, particularly if it's just one small business.

But there might be other possibilities. Perhaps the potential employee's job is really just talking on the telephone, selling products. Maybe the job can be done from home, and there is no need to even be in the office. Isn't it reasonable to ask the employer to let the person work at home? It may be.

Employees have to ask for reasonable accommodations. Once they do, the employer has the right to consider the requests, and make counter-offers that the employer might see as more reasonable. If the employer and employee can't agree, then the employee might want to consider bringing suit. However, to win, the judge or jury will have to find that the employee's request was reasonable, or that the employer's counter-offers were not sufficient.

At the law offices of Lipow & Harris, we take great pride in fighting for the rights of those who have been discriminated against in the workplace. If you believe you have been the victim of workplace discrimination on the basis of your sex, disability, race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation or age, contact our discrimination attorneys in Encino, Los Angeles at (818) 905-0507 for a free consultation.

Whistleblowing. It involves a self-sacrificial act whereby an employee risks their employment and security for those being victimized or taken-advantage of by his or her employer. It is heroic action taken to right a wrong.

Under California law, employers generally may not retaliate against employees that "blow the whistle" on illegal practices such as discrimination, safety violations, mismanagement, false claims, misuse of funds, wage and hour violations or any other type of criminal activity. And, yet, employer retaliation seems to be the norm rather than the exception when it comes to whistleblowers.

If you have blown the whistle on illegal practices you observed in your company and, as a result, have been demoted, fired or endured an adverse working environment that caused you to quit, you may be able to pursue legal action against your employer. Depending on your circumstances, you may be able to seek reinstatement, compensation for lost wages and benefits and even attorney fees. A whistleblower lawyer in Los Angeles should be able to help you understand the legal ramifications of your employer's behavior and tell you if you have a strong case to pursue or not.

At the law offices of Lipow & Harris, we are proud to represent clients who take a chance on telling the truth at the risk of losing their job. With over 40 years of experience representing clients in complex employment litigation, our attorneys are well equipped to pursue justice for those who have endured adverse affects from whistleblowing. If you have been fired, demoted or harassed as a result of bringing a company's illegal activity to light through whistleblowing, contact the Encino, Los Angeles whistleblower attorneys at the law office of Lipow & Harris at (818) 905-0507 for a free consultation and case evaluation.<

Sexual harassment is a legal form of sex discrimination that, sadly, affects thousands of people in the workforce every year. While sexual harassment is a term that many of us have frequently heard, its definition is often lost in obscurity. For example, offhand remarks and innocent behavior such as asking an employee out on a date are generally not considered sexual harassment. Rather, sexual harassment occurs when sexually suggestive talk, advances, pictures, touch and humor unreasonably interfere with work performance, create a hostile work environment or affect an individual's employment. It is a serious offense that disrupts the workplace and holds serious consequences for those found guilty.

While sexual harassment may be subtle and psychological, it may also be overt and physical. When sexual harassment turns to sexual assault or battery it is imperative to seek legal advice as soon as possible. Victims of sexual battery should contact an experienced Los Angeles attorney to pursue legal action for the compensation and peace of mind they need.

If you believe that you are a victim of sexual harassment, it is important to follow your company's grievance process and alert an attorney of your situation. Employers have a duty to maintain a safe work environment that is free from sexual harassment and may not retaliate against individuals who report incidences of sexual harassment. If you lose your job as a result of reporting sexual harassment, you may be able to seek additional legal damages for wrongful termination.

At the law offices of Lipow & Harris, our sexual harassment lawyers in Encino, Los Angeles have the experience needed to prove difficult sexual harassment claims. While direct evidence may be difficult to obtain, we will help you properly document your experience and obtain pertinent witness testimony to build your case. If you have experienced unwelcome advances or demands for sexual favors from a co-worker or manager, please contact us at (818) 905-0507 for a free consultation.

Employment retaliation is a serious matter. Retaliation is not always in the form of termination. A work environment becoming hostile, a demotion, wage and hour issues, or a superior placing more restrictions on your work are all acts of retaliation. If you believe that you have experienced retaliation and are seeking an aggressive advocate to help you put an end to the retaliation, turn to our lawyers and staff at the office of Lipow & Harris.

Over the course of our more than 40 years of combined experience, we have confidently handled numerous retaliation lawsuits and other employment law matters for clients across Los Angeles and Southern California. We are able to effectively explain the laws governing employment retaliation and how they may apply to your situation. As reported in the L.A. Times and Daily News, Jeffrey A. Lipow recently won a case of retaliation and wrongful termination against the City of Los Angeles for 2.1 million dollars. Jeff recently settled for $1,500,000 in a sexual harassment action against a well-known public figure, as well as many other recent confidential cases. 

It is illegal to retaliate against an employee. Retaliation can occur in response to reports or discussion of certain employment situations, including:

• Discrimination
• Sexual harassment
• Harassment
• Violation of a law (whistleblower)
• Giving testimony
• Participating in an investigation for non-employment related unlawful behavior

You do not have to put up with retaliation at work. We can help you understand your options and rights regarding the filing of a claim against your employer. There are time constraints on your ability to seek justice in retaliation matters, so do not hesitate to get in touch with our firm.

Contact a retaliation attorney at the law office of Lipow & Harris in Los Angeles today to learn more about how our firm can help you through your situation. A free initial consultation and flexible appointment times are offered.