Los Angeles Employment Law Blog

Nearly one-fifth of all American adults, including many in Los Angeles County, deal with mental health issues in a given year. According to the National Alliance on Mental Health, 43.8 million Americans are diagnosed with mental illnesses. There are a number of conditions that people frequently confront, including depression, anxiety or PTSD. There are also a number of mood disorders and other concerns that may arise. Some mental illnesses arise organically while others are impacted by environmental stresses like the loss of a job, a divorce or the death of a loved one.

In any case, people with mental health concerns can face a real threat of discrimination while on the job. In many cases, psychiatric disabilities are stigmatized or dismissed. People with mental illness may also be subjected to bullying or workplace harassment. However, people with disabilities -- including those related to mental health -- have rights in the workplace. The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits employers from discriminating against people due to their disabling conditions. Disability discrimination is prohibited in hiring, firing, promotion, compensation, job training and other employment-related matters.

Job seekers in California and throughout the country may use Facebook to search for jobs. However, according to a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, ads are being hidden from women who are looking for work. The complaint claims that Facebook and nine other companies engaged in gender discrimination by doing so. According to Facebook, the company does not engage in discriminatory practices and says that it will defend its actions.

Facebook also says that it is not responsible for the type of advertising that other companies purchase. The company says that it is protected by the Communications Decency Act. The complaint says that Facebook is not protected by federal law because it created the technology that allowed the advertisements to be created and shown. It is generally acceptable for companies to target ads to certain demographics. However, it is generally illegal to exclude based on race or age when advertisements pertain to job opportunities.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission holds employers in California and throughout the country responsible when federal laws protecting the civil rights of workers are violated. On Sept. 21, the agency filed a lawsuit against Walmart Inc. in federal court. The EEOC says that the nation's largest private employer violated the Pregnancy Discrimination Act by treating pregnant women more harshly than other workers. Similar lawsuits have been filed against the retailer in New York and Illinois.

Walmart is accused in the lawsuit of denying requests to accommodate medical restrictions filed by pregnant women while granting requests made by workers with physical disabilities. Requests for the payment of unpaid leave submitted by pregnant workers were also routinely denied according to the EEOC. The Arkansas-based company denied the allegations in a press release and heralded Walmart as a great place for women to work.

Historically, women make less than men when doing the same work. This has been true across the board in a number of industries. It is a type of workplace discrimination, and luckily, California has taken steps to ensure women make the same amount of money, including when it comes to less traditional jobs. 

California recently passed a law that would require female surfers to make the same amount of money in competitions as their male counterparts. From now on when surfing competitions take place on the California shoreline, men and women will make the same for coming in 1st place. This has been a problem in the surfing world for a while now and continues to occur in other parts of the world.