California Labor Laws: Prohibiting Racial Discrimination

by Rainier Policarpio

The Labor Law in the California covers a wide range of topics and statutes that aim to protect the welfare of the employees without displeasing the various rights and privileges of the businesses. These law provisions intend to make a balance between the labor and the business sectors. However, because of the many discriminative acts done by some employers, this balance has yet to be achieved.

One of the discriminative performances of employers that have been causing disputes in the workplaces involves racial prejudice. Although the prevailing labor laws forbid pointing out employees just because they belong to a different race, many companies still make it difficult for some individuals to be treated fairly in various aspects of employment. These include:

• hiring process
• task assignment and workloads
• salaries
• use of company facilities and equipment
• benefits
• promotions
• seminars and skills training
• dispute resolution
• employment termination

Types of Workplace Discrimination
There are two possible ways an employee may be discriminated in his job. These are:

• Disparate Treatment – this pertains to the simple acts of discrimination done by employers. It involves unfair treatment to the employees who belong to different law protected classes such as race, gender, religion, nationality and even age. Usually, this happens when an employer or a fellow worker uses insults or offensive comments or acts, directly or indirectly, to humiliate an employee creating him a hostile work environment that may also affect his job performance.

• Disparate Impact – this pertains to the implementation of company rules and policies, which exclude particular classes regarding job applications, promotions and wage increases. For an instance, a company has implemented a rule limiting a writer position to white Americans. They may be liable for an offense since an individual’s color or race may not considered as an important factor as regards to his ability and skills in writing.

Legal Remedies
The Racial Discrimination Laws guarantees protection to those employees who may have been unlawfully harassed or discharged from their work due to their race distinct from the majority. If they were able to prove a discriminative act of their employers, they will be entitled of the following reimbursements and damages:

• payment for their past and future loss of wages and other benefits
• general damages that may include pain and suffering, emotional anguish and loss of enjoyment
• punitive damages as may be determined by the court
• reimbursement for their attorney’s service fees

Discriminated employees indeed have all the rights given to them by the law. Yet, due to the probable limitations of their knowledge about their rights, it is necessary for them to appoint an experienced labor attorney to handle their cases. This will certainly increase their possibility of obtaining justice and acquiring damages from their misbehaved employers.




Know more about attorney services focused on providing valid information regarding Racial Discrimination Law

About the author
"Rainier used to work in a publishing company as a writer and eventually became an associate editor. He dealt in writing instructional materials for secondary and tertiary students. His passion in writing inspired him to read a lot and subsequently enabled him to gain more knowledge and skills."