Understanding Employment Discrimination in California
California has some of the strongest anti-discrimination protections in the nation. The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) prohibits employers from discriminating against employees or job applicants based on a wide range of protected characteristics. FEHA applies to employers with 5 or more employees, covering the vast majority of California workplaces.
At Zaghi & Chrzan, LLP, we are committed to holding employers accountable when they violate these protections. Whether you have been denied a job, passed over for a promotion, harassed, or terminated because of a protected characteristic, we have the experience and determination to fight for the justice you deserve.
Protected Categories Under FEHA
Under FEHA, it is illegal for an employer to discriminate against you based on any of the following protected categories:
- Age (40 and older)
- Ancestry
- Citizenship status
- Color
- Disability (physical or mental)
- Gender identity and gender expression
- Genetic information
- Marital status
- Medical condition
- Military or veteran status
- Pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions
- Race
- Religion, creed, and religious observance
- Sex and gender
- Sexual orientation
Types of Workplace Discrimination
Workplace discrimination can take many forms, some obvious and others more subtle. Common types of discrimination include:
- Hiring and firing decisions: Refusing to hire or terminating an employee based on a protected characteristic rather than job performance or qualifications.
- Promotions and raises: Denying advancement opportunities or pay increases to qualified employees because of their protected status.
- Working conditions: Assigning less desirable shifts, locations, or duties to employees based on discriminatory reasons.
- Harassment: Creating or tolerating a hostile work environment through offensive comments, jokes, or behavior related to a protected characteristic.
- Retaliation: Punishing employees who report discrimination, file complaints, or participate in discrimination investigations.
- Pay disparities: Paying employees differently for substantially similar work based on a protected characteristic such as gender or race.
- Job assignments: Steering employees toward or away from certain roles, clients, or projects based on discriminatory assumptions.
Common Discrimination Scenarios
Discrimination in the workplace is not always blatant. It can be woven into everyday decisions and interactions. Some common scenarios include:
- Not getting hired: You are qualified for a position but are passed over in favor of a less-qualified candidate. The hiring manager makes comments about your age, accent, or appearance during the interview process.
- Being passed over for promotion: You consistently receive strong performance reviews but are repeatedly denied promotions that go to less-experienced colleagues who do not share your protected characteristic.
- Hostile work environment: Coworkers or supervisors make offensive remarks, display inappropriate materials, or engage in conduct that targets your race, gender, religion, or other protected status — and management fails to intervene.
- Unequal pay: You discover that colleagues performing the same or substantially similar work are being paid more than you, and the disparity correlates with a protected characteristic such as gender or ethnicity.
How to Prove Discrimination
Proving workplace discrimination requires demonstrating that your employer treated you differently because of a protected characteristic. Evidence can take several forms:
- Direct evidence: Explicit statements, emails, text messages, or written policies that reveal discriminatory intent. For example, a supervisor stating they do not want to promote women or an email expressing preference for younger employees.
- Circumstantial evidence: Indirect evidence that supports an inference of discrimination. This can include being replaced by someone outside your protected class, receiving discipline that similarly situated employees of a different background did not receive, or a sudden change in treatment after disclosing a protected characteristic.
- Pattern of behavior: A history of discriminatory actions by the employer, such as a consistent pattern of failing to promote members of a particular group, a series of complaints from other employees, or statistical evidence showing disparities in hiring, pay, or terminations.
You do not need to have all three types of evidence to bring a successful claim. An experienced discrimination attorney can evaluate the facts of your situation and build the strongest possible case.
How We Can Help
Our discrimination attorneys at Zaghi & Chrzan, LLP understand how deeply workplace discrimination can affect your career, your livelihood, and your sense of dignity. We provide aggressive, personalized representation on a contingency fee basis — meaning you pay nothing unless we win your case.
We handle every aspect of your claim, from filing complaints with the California Civil Rights Department to negotiating settlements and, if necessary, taking your case to trial. Our goal is to secure the maximum compensation available under the law, including lost wages, emotional distress damages, and punitive damages.
Which workers are protected from discrimination in California?
California employees and many applicants are protected from discrimination based on characteristics such as race, sex, disability, pregnancy, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, and national origin.
How do I prove workplace discrimination?
Strong discrimination claims often rely on documentation, witness statements, inconsistent explanations, comparative treatment, performance history, and a clear timeline of events.
Can I be fired for reporting discrimination?
No. California law generally prohibits retaliation against employees who report discrimination, request accommodations, participate in investigations, or assert protected workplace rights.