Discrimination Lawyer San Rafael

At a glance, you may feel that you can tell right away if your employer is discriminating against you. But that’s not always the case. Your employer could be so subtle with discrimination that you don’t notice until you dig deeper.

Your employer could actively discriminate against you without even knowing it. They may feel they are being fair when indirectly discriminating against you and other employees like you.

When you feel you may be a victim of your employer’s discrimination, speak to a discrimination lawyer in San Rafael at Minnis & Smallets.

What Is Discrimination?

Discrimination is the intentional unfair treatment of a special class of people based on specific characteristics. These characteristics include a person’s race, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or age. It may be unlawful if your employer treats you differently based on any of these characteristics.

Common Forms Of Discrimination

In addition to the mentioned characteristics, there are other ways that your employer may subtly discriminate against you. Your employer can overlook you for promotions based on your gender. For example, employers can treat women with children unfairly because they assume that their childcare responsibilities may affect their ability to work.

Employers can also discriminate against you due to your age. When your employer removes you from certain tasks because of a preconceived notion of your age, that may be a form of discrimination.

Reporting Employers For Discrimination

When you feel your employer has discriminated against you, you have the right to report your employer to the California Civil Rights Department (CRD). With this agency, you can file a complaint and launch an investigation. You should speak to an experienced attorney before filing a complaint with the CRD. 

Filing a discrimination complaint against your employer is considered a protected activity. That means you have the right to perform this activity without fearing retaliation. If your employer retaliates against you for reporting them for discrimination, that is another unlawful action for which you can report them.

What Are Adverse Actions?

When your employer retaliates against you after reporting them for discrimination, that is an example of adverse action.

An adverse action is an action by your employer that materially affects the terms, conditions, or privileges of your employment. 

One example of an adverse action is termination. Another example is withholding promotion opportunities from you. These actions are illegal if they are designed to punish you for engaging in protected activity.

Proving Workplace Discrimination

There are three types of evidence that you can use to prove your employer has discriminated against you:

• Circumstantial evidence
• Direct evidence
• Evidence of a pattern

Circumstantial evidence establishes a fact through inference, and direct evidence is evidence that proves a fact. In discrimination cases, circumstantial evidence is often used.

No matter what type of evidence is used, you must prove that you are a member of a protected class, qualified for a particular position, and suffered an adverse action from your employer.

Contact A Discrimination Lawyer In San Rafael Today

Do you believe you were discriminated against by your employer in California? If so, it is time to speak with a discrimination lawyer in San Rafael. Complete our contact form to schedule a consultation today.