In California workplaces, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation are all significant issues that happen every day. This is despite significant legal protections for employees throughout the state. Discrimination, harassment, and retaliation have extremely negative impacts on victims, causing stress, anxiety, and even physical conflict at work.
To deal with these issues, California law has gone to great lengths to enforce and deter incidents of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in the workplace. One of the most significant measures is providing victims with the ability to file a lawsuit against employers and individuals that engage in these behaviors. And as with any lawsuit, it’s always important to understand the proper procedure, which includes statutes of limitation.
Experienced Legal Guidance From Dedicated California Employment Lawyers
At Maison Law, our team of experienced California employment lawyers has built a strong reputation for helping victims throughout California. This includes victims of workplace discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Such treatment is unacceptable, yet many employers throughout California fail to take the proper steps to protect you and other employees from suffering such treatment. When that happens, you have the legal right to take legal action, and our team can help you navigate the process with expert guidance. To get started, contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation.
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act
Workplace discrimination, harassment, and retaliation are three very closely related, yet separate forms of behavior and treatment that creates hostile work environments for employees throughout California. Because they can be so destructive to morale and overall business, California law has put protections in place for employees that suffer this treatment. The single biggest protection comes from the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).
The FEHA outlaws all forms of workplace discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in California for employers with more than five employees. This covers the vast majority of workplaces in the state, but specifically protects employees that have certain characteristics, including:
- Age
- Race
- Color
- National origin
- Ancestry
- Gender
- Gender identity
- Sexual orientation
- Disability
Further, the FEHA prohibits employers from not only allowing discrimination and harassment but also prohibits any action taken to retaliate against these employees for voicing concerns about illegal activity or engaging in other “protected activities” in the workplace. Retaliation can take many forms, but usually includes things like the following:
- Terminating an employee for complaining about discrimination, harassment, or other illegal practices in the workplace.
- Demoting an employee or giving them a lower performance rating in retaliation for engaging in protected activity.
- Assigning an employee to less desirable duties or work schedules in retaliation for engaging in protected activity.
- Reducing an employee’s pay or benefits in retaliation for engaging in protected activity.
- Harassing or intimidating an employee in retaliation for engaging in protected activity.
- Failing to promote an employee or denying them opportunities for advancement in retaliation for engaging in protected activity.
- Blacklisting an employee or preventing them from obtaining future employment in retaliation for engaging in protected activity.
- Taking adverse action against an employee’s family member or friend in retaliation for the employee’s protected activity.
Under the FEHA, not only are you and other employees protected from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, but you also have several legal options should your employer subject you to such a work environment. At that point, you’ll need to understand how the process works to make sure you get the treatment you are entitled to under the law.
What is a Statute of Limitations in California?
A statute of limitations is a law that:
- Sets a time limit within which legal proceedings must be filed or a claim must be made.
These laws are in place to make sure that:
- Claims are resolved in a timely manner
- Evidence is still fresh and available
- Witnesses can still be located
- Memories are still clear
The time limit set by a statute of limitations varies depending on the type of claim and the jurisdiction in which the claim is being made. For example, in California, the statute of limitations for a personal injury claim may be different from the statute of limitations for a wrongful termination or employment discrimination claim.
Generally speaking, once the statute of limitations expires, you may no longer be able to file a lawsuit or make a claim in court. Any attempt to file a claim after the statute of limitations has expired allows the defendant (your employer) to have the claim dismissed on the grounds that it is time-barred.
Thus, it’s extremely important to act quickly if you are experiencing discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. To that end, our team can help by giving you a clear picture of your legal options and how the legal process works.
Making a Claim For Violations of the California FEHA
There are two main avenues for making a claim for violations of the FEHA’s anti-discrimination, harassment, and retaliation laws in California: filing a claim with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) and filing a civil lawsuit. In both avenues, statutes of limitation come into play. It’s worth mentioning that the law doesn’t require that you be represented by a lawyer to file a complaint with the DFEH. However, it’s definitely in your best interest to do so. By working with our team, we can ensure that your claim is in the best possible position to succeed.
That said, here is the general process for filing a case for violations of the FEHA in California:
- File a complaint – Once you’re experiencing discrimination, harassment, or retaliation at work, you may file a complaint with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). The DFEH is the state agency that is responsible for enforcing the FEHA in California workplaces.
- Investigation – After you file a complaint, the DFEH will investigate your claim. The investigation may include interviews with witnesses, review of relevant documents, and other steps to gather evidence.
- Mediation – The DFEH may offer mediation as an option to resolve the dispute. Mediation is a process in which a neutral third party assists you and your employer in reaching a mutually acceptable resolution.
- Right to sue – If the DFEH determines that there is no basis for your claim, or if mediation is unsuccessful, the DFEH will issue you a “right-to-sue” letter. This letter gives you the ability to file a lawsuit in civil court.
- Lawsuit – If you receive a right-to-sue letter, you may file a lawsuit in court. It’s here that it’s important to consult with our team. We can make sure that all of the proper procedures are followed, which includes filing within the appropriate time limit.
Remember, these are general steps and the process for making a claim under FEHA can vary depending on the specific circumstances of your case. At the same time, that’s why it’s important to act quickly and contact our team. We can examine the facts that surround your case and help you determine the next steps. The most important of which include the statute of limitations.
Guidelines for Statutes of Limitations For California Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation Cases
Again, no matter how strong or open and shut your case is, it ultimately rests on the statute of limitations. The statute of limitations for discrimination, harassment, and retaliation cases has, until recently, been separated between a DFEH complaint and a civil lawsuit. However, with the passage of Assembly Bill 9 in 2020, it extended the statute of limitations for these claims from one year to:
- Three years from the date of the discrimination, harassment, or retaliation
As such, you and other employees have three years to file a complaint with the DFEH or a civil lawsuit in the event that you are experiencing discrimination, harassment, or retaliation at work. Doing so within this timeframe is crucial to your ability to recover damages from your employer. In these claims, you can potentially recover the following if successful:
- Lost wages
- Lost benefits
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Attorney’s fees and costs
It is important to note that there may be other damages that can be awarded depending on the specific facts and circumstances of your case. Additionally, the damages that you can get may vary depending on the strength of the evidence you have, as well as the conduct of the parties during the litigation process.
Maison Law Can Help You Stand Up Against Discrimination, Harassment, or Retaliation in California
Suffering any type of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation at work is one of the most demoralizing things you can experience as an employee. Not only does it isolate you from the rest of your coworkers, it quite purposefully puts a target on your back.
At Maison Law, we understand how difficult this situation can be and will work tirelessly to make sure you get the treatment you deserve under the law.
Our team of experienced California employment lawyers will help you gather any evidence you need and navigate the claims process. Don’t suffer in silence. Contact us today to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation and learn more about how we can help you.
