Unfortunately, justice is not color blind, nor are people and employers. California’s Fair Housing and Employment Act (FEHA) makes it illegal to refuse to hire, refuse to select a person for a training program leading to employment, or to fire/terminate a person from employment or from a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against a person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, or demote them, because of a person’s race/national origin. Title VII of the Civil Rights Actalso protects people on the basis of their race.

Employers are not permitted to use race as a factor in making employment decisions or how they treat their employees. Simply put, they cannot treat one race better than the other. Moreover, they cannot have policies, that while they are neutral on their face, have a “disparate impact” on a certain race, i.e., they hurt one race more than the other. So while a policy may seem fair and racially neutral, if it is more negatively affects one race, it is illegal. For example, if there is testing required by an employer that seems fair, but the results only negatively impact one race, that would have a disparate impact and be illegal.

Not only is it illegal to discriminate against an employee because of race/national origin, but it is also illegal to harass someone as a result of their race/national origin. Moreover, it is also illegal to retaliate against an employee who complains about such discrimination and/or harassment.

There are a variety of remedies for victims of race/national origin discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation, which include but are not limited to:

• Back pay (lost wages)
• Front Pay (money for lost future earnings)
• Out-of-pocket expenses
• Injunctive relief
• Emotional distress damages
• Punitive damages
• Attorneys’ fees and costs

If you think that you have been discriminated against, harassed, or were terminated because of your race/national origin, or retaliated against for complaints of illegal race/national origin discrimination, contact the Wagner Legal Group for a free consultation or call (310) 857-5293.