Employment Discrimination Attorney in Glendale
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What California's Employment Discrimination Law Means for Glendale Workers
California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Government Code §§ 12900, 12996, gives Glendale workers some of the strongest discrimination protections in the country. It covers private employers with as few as five employees, it protects employees, job applicants, unpaid interns, and volunteers, and it reaches more than a dozen protected characteristics including race, disability, age (40 and older), gender, sexual orientation, and pregnancy. If you believe you were fired, demoted, passed over, or otherwise mistreated because of who you are, you have up to three years to file a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD). Missing that window ends your claim permanently.
What California Law Considers Employment Discrimination
The Protected Characteristics Under FEHA, Including 2025’s New Intersectionality Rule
Government Code § 12921 lists more than 19 protected categories. Effective January 1, 2025, FEHA also prohibits discrimination based on any combination of two or more of those characteristics, a concept called intersectional discrimination. A Black woman, for example, may now bring a claim based on her identity as a Black woman, not just as a Black person or as a woman in isolation.
The protected categories include:
- Race, color, and national origin or ancestry
- Religion
- Sex, gender, gender identity, and gender expression
- Sexual orientation
- Pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions
- Age (40 and older)
- Physical and mental disability
- Medical condition
- Genetic information
- Reproductive health decision-making
- Marital status
- Veteran or military status
- Hair texture and protective hairstyles (covered within the race category)
- Any intersectional combination of the above (as of January 1, 2025)
Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation: Three Distinct Claims
Government Code § 12940 identifies all three types of unlawful conduct. Understanding which applies to your situation matters because you may have more than one claim:
- Discrimination: An adverse employment action (termination, demotion, pay cut, failure to promote) taken because of a protected characteristic.
- Harassment: Unwelcome conduct severe or pervasive enough to create a hostile work environment, based on a protected characteristic. If you are dealing with workplace harassment, our sexual harassment lawyers in Glendale can evaluate your specific situation.
- Retaliation: Under § 12940(h), it is unlawful for an employer to punish you for filing a discrimination complaint, helping a coworker file a complaint, or opposing any practice that violates FEHA. Retaliation can follow an internal HR complaint just as easily as a formal agency filing.
Which Employers and Workers FEHA Actually Covers
The Five-Employee Rule and Why It Matters More Than Federal Law
FEHA’s anti-discrimination provisions apply to any private employer that regularly employs five or more persons, as defined in Government Code § 12926(d). All California and local government employers are covered regardless of size. This threshold is a major practical advantage over federal law:
Law | Minimum Employees (Private) | Enforcing Agency | Filing Deadline
|
|---|---|---|---|
FEHA (California) | 5 employees | California Civil Rights Department (CRD) | 3 years from discriminatory act |
Title VII (Federal) | 15 employees | EEOC | 300 days in California (work-sharing agreement) |
ADA (Federal, disability) | 15 employees | EEOC | 300 days in California (work-sharing agreement) |
Who Counts as a Protected Worker
FEHA does not limit protection to full-time employees. The California Civil Rights Department confirms that the following individuals are protected:
- Current employees (full-time, part-time, and temporary)
- Job applicants
- Unpaid interns
- Volunteers
- Independent contractors (for harassment claims specifically)
Immigration status is irrelevant. The CRD does not ask about citizenship or immigration status when a complaint is filed. Workers who fear raising a claim because of their documentation status can file without that information being part of the process.
One Important Exception: Harassment Protections Apply Even at the Smallest Employers
Even if your employer has fewer than five employees and does not meet FEHA’s anti-discrimination threshold, harassment is still prohibited. A sole proprietor with two employees cannot lawfully subject a worker to a hostile work environment based on a protected characteristic. If your situation involves disability-related discrimination specifically, our disability discrimination attorneys can walk through the coverage rules with you.
How to Recognize the Warning Signs and What Evidence to Preserve
Common Discriminatory Actions an Employment Discrimination Attorney Would Evaluate
Discrimination rarely arrives with an explicit statement of intent. A realistic pattern looks like this: a Glendale warehouse worker in her late 50s is passed over for a supervisory role three times in two years. Each time, younger, less experienced employees are selected. Her manager begins commenting that the company needs “fresh energy.” She is reassigned to physically demanding tasks not part of her original job description, and her performance reviews, previously strong, suddenly turn negative. No single act is labeled discrimination. The pattern, taken together, is exactly what an employment discrimination attorney would evaluate.
Common adverse actions worth documenting include:
- Termination or constructive discharge (conditions made so intolerable you felt forced to quit)
- Demotion or reduction in pay
- Failure to hire or promote
- Denial of training or advancement opportunities given to similarly situated coworkers outside your protected class
- Sudden negative performance reviews after years of positive ones
- Differential treatment in scheduling, assignments, or discipline
- Comments or jokes referencing your protected characteristic
- Retaliation after you complained to HR or assisted a coworker’s complaint
If you were fired and believe the reason given was pretextual, our wrongful termination attorneys in Glendale can help you assess whether the termination violated FEHA or related California law.
Document-Preservation Checklist: What to Collect Before You Call an Attorney
The following checklist reflects what is most useful when an attorney evaluates a potential FEHA claim. Gather what you can before your first call. Do not alter or delete anything.
- Performance reviews: All written evaluations you received, particularly any that changed tone around the time of an adverse action or a complaint.
- Written communications: Emails, text messages, Slack or Teams messages, and voicemails from supervisors or coworkers that reference your protected characteristic, the adverse action, or any complaint you made. Screenshot and save them outside work systems if possible.
- The adverse action document itself: Your termination letter, demotion notice, denial of promotion communication, or any formal HR response to a complaint you filed.
- Your own written records: A contemporaneous log with dates, times, locations, what was said or done, and any witnesses present. Write this down as soon as possible. Memory fades; a dated journal entry carries evidentiary weight.
- Comparator evidence: Names and job titles of coworkers outside your protected class who were treated more favorably under similar circumstances. How were they disciplined, promoted, or evaluated compared to you?
- Witnesses: Names and contact information for coworkers who witnessed discriminatory conduct or adverse treatment. They do not need to volunteer statements now, but preserving contact information matters.
- HR complaint records: Any written complaint you made to HR, the company’s response (or non-response), and any follow-up correspondence.
- Your personnel file: California Labor Code § 1198.5 gives employees the right to inspect and copy their personnel file. Request it in writing promptly.
- Offer letter and job description: Your original employment offer, job description, and any subsequent changes to your role or compensation, which can demonstrate that assignments shifted after a protected event.
Filing Deadlines: The Dates That Can End Your Case
The Three-Year CRD Deadline (California)
To bring a FEHA lawsuit, you must first file a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department within three years of the discriminatory act. The CRD is the agency formerly known as the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH); it was renamed in 2022 and continues to administer FEHA. Three years can feel like a long time, but the clock runs from the specific act, not from when you became certain discrimination occurred. Waiting to see whether things improve at work consumes that window.
The 300-Day EEOC Deadline (Federal)
If you also want to preserve federal claims under Title VII or the ADA, you must file with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) within 300 days of the discriminatory act. California’s work-sharing agreement with the EEOC extends the standard 180-day federal deadline to 300 days for California workers. Filing both a CRD complaint and an EEOC charge preserves both your state and federal remedies simultaneously. Because the federal deadline is shorter than California’s three-year window, workers who want federal remedies must act within 300 days regardless of the longer state deadline.
Getting Your Right to Sue: The Step Before Filing in Court
You cannot file a FEHA lawsuit in court without first obtaining a right-to-sue notice from the CRD. If you want to proceed directly to litigation rather than wait for the CRD to investigate and mediate, you can request an immediate right-to-sue notice at the time you file your CRD complaint. An attorney can help you decide whether to let the CRD investigate first or move straight to court.
What You Can Recover in a FEHA Discrimination Case
A successful FEHA plaintiff can recover multiple categories of damages under Government Code § 12965:
- Back pay: Lost wages and benefits from the date of the discriminatory act to the date of judgment.
- Front pay: Estimated future lost earnings when reinstatement to the job is not feasible.
- Reinstatement: Return to the position as an alternative to front pay.
- FEHA authorizes uncapped emotional distress and punitive damages under Gov. Code § 12965: Punitive damages available under Civil Code § 3294 standard. Sources confirm the substance and uncapped nature but do not independently confirm the precise sub-subsection labels (b)(3)(A)/(b)(3)(B)
- Punitive damages: Available under § 12965(b)(3)(B) on clear and convincing proof of malice, oppression, or fraud as defined in Civil Code § 3294. Also uncapped under California law.
- Attorney’s fees and costs: A prevailing plaintiff is entitled to mandatory attorney’s fees from the defendant under § 12965(b). Courts also have discretion to award expert witness fees.
The mandatory fee-shifting provision is significant: because a successful plaintiff recovers attorney’s fees from the employer, law firms including Setareh Law Group can often handle these cases on a contingency basis. The firm can explain its specific fee structure during a consultation.
For a full overview of how our firm approaches these matters across California, visit our California employment discrimination lawyers page.
What This Means If You Believe You Were Discriminated Against at Work
The most important thing to do right now is preserve evidence before it disappears: save written communications, request your personnel file, and write down what happened while the details are fresh. The three-year CRD deadline is longer than most federal statutes, but it is not unlimited, and if you want to keep federal options open, the 300-day EEOC clock is already running. Do not assume your employer is too small to be covered under California law; a workplace with as few as five employees falls within FEHA’s reach, and even a smaller employer cannot lawfully harass you. An internal HR complaint that went nowhere does not foreclose your legal rights. It may, in fact, be part of your evidence. The right time to speak with an employment lawyer in Glendale is before the deadlines narrow your choices, not after.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does FEHA cover me if my employer has only seven employees?
Yes. FEHA’s anti-discrimination provisions apply to any private employer with five or more employees. Seven employees places your employer squarely within FEHA’s coverage under Government Code § 12926(d).
I am undocumented. Can I still file a discrimination complaint?
Yes. The CRD does not ask about citizenship or immigration status when a complaint is filed. FEHA applies regardless of your documentation status.
I complained to HR months ago and nothing happened. Have I missed my deadline?
Not necessarily. The three-year CRD filing window runs from the discriminatory act, and in ongoing hostile environment situations the clock may continue to run with each new incident. The HR complaint itself and your employer’s response (or failure to respond) may become useful evidence. Consult an attorney promptly to calculate your specific deadline.
Can I file both a CRD complaint and an EEOC charge?
Yes. Filing both preserves your state remedies under FEHA and your federal remedies under Title VII or the ADA. Because the EEOC deadline in California is 300 days (shorter than the three-year CRD window), workers who want federal options must act within 300 days of the discriminatory act.
What if my employer says the position was eliminated to explain my termination?
Position elimination is a common employer defense in discrimination and wrongful termination cases. An attorney will examine whether the elimination was genuine, whether similarly situated employees outside your protected class were retained, and whether the timing correlates with a protected event such as a complaint or a medical leave request.
If you believe you have experienced workplace discrimination or another employment law violation, Setareh Law Group is available to review your situation. Contact us to speak with a California employment attorney about your rights and potential next steps.
Contact us today:
📞 Phone: 310-807-6658
✉️ Email: help@setarehlaw.com
🌐 Address: 420 N Camden Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Disclaimer: This article is general legal information about California employment law and is provided for educational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Setareh Law Group or any of its attorneys. Laws change, and individual circumstances vary significantly. For advice about your specific situation, consult a licensed California employment attorney.
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