California Employment Gender Discrimination Lawyer

Gender Discrimination

Gender or sex discrimination involves treating an employee or a class of employees differently because of gender. Whenever this discrimination affects the terms or conditions of employment, it is illegal. Gender-based disparate treatment of employees with regard to pay, title, position, hours worked and vacation time is generally considered illegal. Whether or not a person is hired is also considered to be a term or condition of employment and therefore subject to non-discrimination laws.

It is also illegal to make employment decisions based on stereotypes regarding gender. When beliefs about gender roles influence hiring decisions, a gender discrimination claim might be appropriate.

At Blackman Legal Group, we are experienced with gender discrimination claims, and we can make sure that patterns of discriminatory behavior result in serious consequences. We received a $2,300,000 jury verdict on behalf of our client, who was a female police officer who was denied a position on the SWAT team because of her gender.

Whether the offending employer is a private company or a governmental entity such as the police department, we will get the results our clients deserve.

Age Discrimination

Discrimination in the workplace on the basis of age is illegal under both the Federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and under state laws in California and Arizona. The purpose of these laws is to protect workers from discrimination on the basis of the perception that they are "too old." It is not illegal to discriminate against someone for being seen as “too young;” age discrimination laws do not protect anyone under the age of 40.

At Blackman Legal Group, we care about the unfairness of age discrimination. If you or someone close to you has potentially been discriminated against on the basis of age, we can help fight for your rights. We have successfully pursued numerous state and federal age discrimination claims over the past 25 years, including a California age discrimination suit that resulted in a $2.2 million verdict in favor of our client.

When employers are down-sizing, they sometimes lay employees off by offering generous early retirement packages or "golden handshakes.” This practice is not necessarily age discrimination. However, if early retirement is offered for the purpose of getting rid of older workers due to their age, it is illegal. It is also illegal to replace an employee over the age of 40 with a new employee who is younger than 40, if age is the reason for the replacement. In addition, it is illegal for an employer to replace a worker who is older than 40 with a younger employee who will earn a lower wage, if age, not wage rate, is the true motivating factor.

Employment-related age discrimination is not something that you have to accept as inevitable. It is unfair, and it is illegal. Please contact us to discuss your potential age discrimination claim.