Employment Law
Los Angeles Gender Discrimination Lawyers
End the Wage Gap. Stand Up for Economic Equality.
Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, there have been slow but progressive changes to many laws, attempting to make the workplace fairer for all genders. Despite the incremental progress, employees of all genders continue to face gender or sex-based discrimination on a daily basis.
One of the most insidious problems of gender discrimination is that it can take place in so many forms. A woman might be prevented from taking a higher position as a supervisory position in a company, she might be sidelined into a less serious role as her employers prefer a male colleague, or she might simply be paid less for equivalent work. A man might be refused a role that is traditionally designated for women. A non-binary individual may face harassment or shaming for failing to adhere to traditional gender expectations.
If you have faced bias against your gender in any shape or form, you should not stay silent, you have a right to be treated equally.
Here at King & Siegel LLP, our Los Angeles gender discrimination attorneys are zealous about protecting our clients from prejudice.
If you believe you are being discriminated against in the workplace because of your gender, King & Siegel LLP welcomes you to call our legal team today at (213) 465-4802 for a free review of your case.
The Only Cases Where an Employer Can Pay Different Wages for the Same Work
When you are seeking to determine whether or not you have been treated unfairly regarding pay, it is important to know that there are only a few, limited instances where employers can give a different salary or wages for different employees.
The only possible scenarios where employers are justified in offering different pay would be for differences that take place in:
- A system of seniority;
- A system of merit;
- A system where earnings are determined by the quality or the amounts of objects produced; or
- A bona fide, provable case where an employee’s training, experience, or education is the determining factor, not their sex, that is motivated by business necessity.
According to the California Equal Pay Act, an employer must prove that one of these factors was the only reason for the pay differential and was applied reasonably to the employee. If there is any other reason, including prior salary, it is illegal for an employer to pay employees of one sex or ethnicity different from another.
What is more, you do not even have to prove that you were intentionally injured by your employer. In contrast to other statutes against discrimination, such as the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, which require proven intent, you just need to show you received unequal pay. In the state of California, you are also legally able to ask any employee what their pay is, to prove how you have received less.
Evidence That Suggests Gender Discrimination is an Issue in Your Workplace
Gender discrimination in the workplace is a pervasive problem in the United States. However, sometimes discrimination can be hard to detect and even harder to prove. Below, we discuss some of the evidence that can be used to show that gender discrimination exists in your workplace.
Pay Gaps
It is an unfortunate reality that across the nation, women tend to make less money than men. Sometimes, women get paid less for working the same job as their male counterparts. Other times, the pay gap is due to a lack of promotion and management opportunities for women in the workplace. If you are making less money than your male counterparts, this may be a sign that you are being discriminated against because of your gender. You also may have a claim under the California Equal Pay Act, even if the pay disparity is unintentional.
Different Benefits
Gender discrimination can impact the fringe benefits that women receive. In the United States, women are statistically less likely to receive important benefits such as health insurance, retirement plans, and paid time off. For example, a woman employee’s husband may not be covered under employer sponsored health insurance due to the discriminatory presumption that the husband will have his own health insurance. At the same time, a man’s wife may be covered under that same employer health insurance.
Different Commissions
In sales positions, women may face unequal treatment and opportunities for promotions, which can result in lower sales figures and ultimately lower commissions. An employer should address these inequalities so that all their employees have an equal opportunity to succeed based on their performance instead of their gender.
Lack of Women in Management Roles
While there is no per se requirement that a company promote women into management roles, gender disparities at the top of the org chart may indicate an overall pattern of discrimination throughout the organization. This can happen in multiple ways. Perhaps the company is hostile to mothers and “mommy tracks” women after taking maternity leave. Perhaps the company provides more mentorship opportunities to men so women are less likely to obtain opportunities that lead to promotions. Or perhaps the company’s leaders have always been and they simply choose people who remind them of themselves as the company’s future leaders. These are just some of the ways a company may discriminate in promotions.
Statute of Limitations to File a Lawsuit for Gender Discrimination in California
In every state, there are important legal deadlines to meet in a gender discrimination case. In California, you generally have three years from the date of the discriminatory conduct to file a gender discrimination suit against an employer. For equal pay claims, the statute of limitations is two years, unless the conduct was “willful.”
Obtaining Compensation for Victims of Gender Discrimination
If you have been discriminated against in the workplace on account of your gender, either receiving different pay, losing out on key benefits and promotions, or even being fired, you are entitled to receive compensation.
How Our Gender Discrimination Lawyers in Los Angeles Can Support You Today
King & Siegel LLP is renowned for its ability to aggressively defend victims who have suffered injustice and discrimination. You can rely on us to be on your side the whole way, as we zealously uphold the fact that people of any gender should never be barred from working, pain unequally, or harassed in any manner.
Our experienced legal team also handles other types of discrimination cases, including: