In California, the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), enacted by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) prohibit religious discrimination in the workplace. Employers cannot use religion as a pretext to discriminate against any of their employees. If you have experienced such illegal conduct in your workplace, you can take legal action against your employer. Search online for “lawyer for religious discrimination LA” to find a competent and well-qualified lawyer to handle your case.
Legal boundaries on religious discrimination
As per the FEHA, employers cannot use religion and religious creed, beliefs, observances, dresses, and grooming practices as an excuse to do the following:
• Refuse to hire or employ someone
• Refuse to allow someone to participate in a training program
• Deny someone a chance for promotion
• Demote someone from their current position
• Subject someone to workplace harassment
• Fire someone from their work position
• Pay someone less than what their counterparts earn
• Refuse someone their legally entitled work benefits and privileges
Employers can make reasonable accommodations for religious beliefs. The legal restrictions against religious discrimination also apply to unions, labor organizations, employment agencies, and apprentice training programs. They cannot exclude, expel or restrict the membership of people on account of their religion.
Religious groups, however, can restrict employment based on religion for work related to the performance of religious duties.
Taking legal action against religious discrimination
By consulting a lawyer for religious discrimination LA based employees can find out about their legal options. Generally, it is necessary to try administrative remedies before filing a lawsuit. Your lawyer can file a complaint online, by phone, or via website form with the DFEH within three years of the discriminatory incident. The DFEH can extend the time limit if you were not aware of the illegal nature of religious discrimination until the elapse of the three years.
After the DFEH receives the complaint, their investigator will contact you within 60 days to discuss the case. If the investigator thinks the religious discrimination complaint is valid, the DFEH will get your sign on the complaint and deliver it to the employer. They may also file it with the EEOC. The DFEH will then review the employer’s response and offer dispute resolution negotiation.
If that does not work, the agency will investigate to find out if there was a violation of California law. If it finds a violation, it will send the case to the DFEH legal division to settle the dispute through mediation or file a case on the employee’s behalf.
If the DFEH investigator or the DFEH legal division thinks the case does not have any merit, they will close the investigation, and you can separately sue your employer in court.
Alternatively, your lawyer can request a right to sue notice, bypass the DFEH or EEOC investigation, and file a religious discrimination case in the California Supreme Court. The matter will then go to trial, but you and your employer can settle the issue at any point before the trial ends.
The outcome from a religious discrimination lawsuit
If you have adequate proof against your employer and the trial goes in your favor, you may be able to get money damages. It is compensation for the emotional distress you suffered and for the back and front pay, benefits, bonuses, and higher income from a raise or a promotion that you missed due to the discrimination. Your employer is legally obliged to pay for your attorney’s fees and the expenses you incurred in handling various legal matters. They will also have to pay you punitive damages and offer equitable remedies like reinstating you in your job.
Hiring a religious discrimination lawyer
When hiring a lawyer for religious discrimination LA based employees should check their legal qualifications, work experience, and history of successful cases. They can also read their customer testimonials. Ask the lawyer if they offer a free initial consultation and use the opportunity to assess their personality. Do they come across as polite, friendly, and interested? Do you find them easy to talk to? Lawsuits can take a while to resolve, and it is better to work with someone you can get along with.