Los Angeles Employment Law Blog

California employees may be familiar with forced arbitration clauses in employment contracts. These clauses require workers to resolve disputes with employers by going before an arbitrator. In many cases, employees' odds of winning are lower when compared to taking a case to court. They may also receive less compensation than they might be entitled to in a court case. A group of Google employees is looking to call attention to the issue of forced arbitration through a social media event.

They will be using Twitter and Instagram to promote employee stories as well as facts about forced arbitration. Although this type of clause doesn't apply to sexual harassment cases at most tech companies, they are still used in cases involving other types of discrimination. The organizers of the event hope that raising awareness will result in a level playing field for all workers.

While most sexual harassment lawsuits in California and around the country are filed against male coworkers or supervisors, this isn't always the case. One such recent case involves a middle-aged man who was fired by the Disney Cruise Line after working for the company for 18 years as a labor analyst. Disney claims the man was terminated for using illegal substances, but he says that he lost his job after complaining about the way he was being treated by his younger female manager.

The man alleges in a federal lawsuit that his manager made disparaging comments about him based on his age and gender. He also says that she moved him into a windowless office and denied him electronic devices that had been issued to all of his colleagues. He claims that the manager made lewd and inappropriate comments about sexual conquests involving older married men and routinely passed him over for promotions in favor of less deserving candidates.

If you are like most California employees, you probably dread going to work some days. Unfortunately, few, if any, people can honestly say that they consistently love going to work. Most workplaces have at least one or two people who make work life difficult for others either via general negativity or outright harassment. 

If you must deal with one or more such people, however, at what point does his, her or their harassment rise to the level of a hostile work environment for which you could file suit against your employer? The answer to this question involves a myriad of factors, including the following:

• What type of harassment did your co-worker perpetrate against you?
• For what period of time did this harassment continue?
• How intense was this harassment?
• How did this harassment negatively affect your workplace productivity and performance?

California employees who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant should be aware of discrimination laws concerning the legality of firing a pregnant employee. For example, an employer may illegally attempt to force a pregnant employee to take an unpaid leave of absence or risk losing her job.

One pregnant employee working at a distribution center in Atlanta experienced this type of illegal discrimination firsthand. After a bout of morning sickness, she informed her supervisor that she was unwell. He responded that she could not take a break without a note from her doctor. She then went to her doctor, who gave her a note stating she should avoid heavy lifting while at work. However, after giving her supervisor the note, she was told to take it to human resources. Human resources informed the pregnant employee that she had to apply for an unpaid leave of absence or face termination. After researching the issue, the employee discovered that her employers were participating in discrimination and that women in her situation had taken the issue to court and won.