In December 2017, a jury awarded the former employee of an asbestos abatement and demolition business with a $174,000 settlement after he was retaliated against for reporting improper asbestos removal. California workers will want to know the details of this case so as to better understand what constitutes retaliation and wrongful termination.
As a California employee, you have certain rights, and one of those rights involves having a work environment that is free from discrimination. While discrimination can take on a variety of forms, know that you, as a pregnant woman, do not have to put up with unfavorable treatment at work because of your condition. Just what is workplace pregnancy discrimination, and how can you tell if you are a victim?
Almost 40 percent of women in California and the rest of the country state that they have been a victim of workplace gender discrimination, according to survey data collected by the Pew Research Center. Some of the behaviors they have endured include being skipped for important tasks and receiving less pay than male co-workers who have the same job. The survey also determined that employed adult women were almost two times more likely than employed adult men to say that they had been a victim of one or more of the eight different types if workplace gender discrimination.
As a general rule, employers in California and elsewhere in the United States cannot discriminate against an employee because of a pregnancy. According to the EEOC, a company called Peninsula Packaging will pay $45,000 to an employee for discriminating against her because she was pregnant. The employee reportedly needed accommodations after becoming pregnant that the company would not provide to her. This was a violation of Title VII in the opinion of the EEOC.
On Nov. 27, it was reported that a lawsuit was filed in California alleging that the San Gabriel Police Department frequently used racial slurs in order to disparage those of Asian descent. This included making disparaging remarks about colleagues. According to the complaint, five police officers of Asian descent were subjected to a hostile work environment as they frequently experienced harassment that was based on race or national origin.
Employees in California and throughout the country generally have a right to a workplace that is free from harassment. Yet roughly one-third of Native Americans say that they have been subject to harassment while on the job. The harassment comes in many forms, such as hearing slurs or other offensive comments or being threatened with violence. The survey was conducted for National Public Radio as well as other parties such as the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.