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The Law Offices of Jual F. Reyes Protects Employees Facing Race and National Origin Discrimination at the Workplace in Los Angeles

If you suffer workplace discrimination because of your race or national origin, or are retaliated against because you complain of race discrimination, you are protected by the California Fair Employment & Housing Act (“FEHA”). The FEHA makes it illegal to take adverse actions against employees because of race, including, such actions as termination, demotion, write-up, suspension, and/or a decrease in pay. If you suffered race discrimination at the hands of your current or former employer, you are entitled to damages, including, but not limited to, lost wages, emotional distress damages, and punitive damages.

Race Discrimination Defined

Race discrimination occurs when an employee is harassed or treated differently because of his or her race. If you have applied for employment and been turned down by an employer, had your employment terminated under suspicious circumstances, or have been treated differently or somehow harmed in your employment and you think this may be related to racial inequality at your place of employment, then you may have been the victim of race discrimination.

National Origin Discrimination

National origin discrimination occurs when an employer refuses to hire an applicant because they are from a particular country or place in the world. For example, an employer may refuse to hire anyone from Africa or refuse to interview anyone with a Hispanic surname. Usually, employers carry out National origin discrimination by more subtle means. For example, employers may restrict employees from wearing clothing that reflects their ethnicity and place of National origin. Other times, employers will enforce an “English-only” rule only against employees speaking Mandarin.

Here are some examples of National Origin discrimination:

• A retail employer will not allow anyone who appears to be African-American to work in any management or sales position.
• A restaurant that serves a predominantly Caucasian neighborhood refuses to promote Hispanic kitchen employees to front-of-the-house waiter positions.
• A Japanese sushi restaurant refuses to hire Persians as sushi chefs on a full-time basis.
• A clothing store disciplines African-American employees more severely than Caucasian employees for the same offenses.

If you feel you that your Race and/or National Origin may have been a factor in your recent employment, consult with the Law Offices of Jual F. Reyes for a free consultation today.