Oakland Employment Law Blog

Employees generally believe that their employers will treat them with fairness. If that doesn't happen, employment law safeguards may support them. A California worker who believes that he or she was fired as a means of retaliation or punishment may have grounds to file a wrongful termination claim against the former employer. This is what one former general manager for a water district says happened to him after he tried to speak out about the unfair treatment of his female co-workers.

According to the civil claim the former manager filed, the board of directors for the water district allegedly fired the manager because he complained that the chief financial officer was harassing the two female office workers. The suit says that the women complained both verbally and in writing about the CFO's conduct. The CFO is also accused of working to have employees he didn't like fired, including both of the managers who served before and after the plaintiff.

When women in California face discrimination on the job, the financial impact may be immediately visible. Women may not be hired for jobs, they may face termination more quickly, or they may lose out on promotions for which they were qualified. This can quickly add up to thousands of dollars lost due to gender discrimination. However, there are other serious effects that can accompany workplace discrimination. Many victims' mental and even physical health may suffer, especially if they deal with stress due to retaliation or complaints that are not taken seriously by their employers.

The health effects of workplace discrimination also may affect people differently depending on their wealth and social position. According to various studies, around 10% of American women reported experiencing or witnessing gender discrimination on the job. However, while 13% of women with masters' or doctoral degrees reported mistreatment or sexual harassment, only 7% of women with less than a high school diploma reported the same. There may be a number of reasons for the disparity. Women with less formal education may be more likely to be employed in primarily female, caregiving-type positions, while women with higher education may be more likely to work in male-dominated industries.

A new system has been put into place that has been designed to make it easier for state employees in California to report sexual harassment in the workplace. Complaints filed using the system, which has been in development for almost two years, will be investigated by the agency involved and overseen by the California Department of Human Resources. Officials hope that the system will identify agencies or departments that are struggling with workplace discrimination or harassment so that corrective measures can be taken.

CalHR says that the information gathered by the reporting system will be shared with the public, but the agency makes clear that the names of the workers who submit complaints will be kept confidential. The state used to have a similar system in place, but it fell victim to budget cuts and a bureaucratic overhaul in 2012.

Employers in California can get into legal trouble if they are paying a female employee less than a male employee who performs the same type of work. That's because unequal pay for equal work is considered gender discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Recently, a federal appeals court concluded that there are other paths to sue for pay discrimination besides unequal pay for equal work.

In the case of Lenzi v. Systemax, Inc., et al., a woman who worked as a vice president executive claimed that she was paid less than male vice president executives at the same company. The case was originally dismissed, however, because the plaintiff could not show evidence that her duties were similar enough to the duties of the higher-paid male executives.