Using FEHA as Defense against Your Discriminating Boss

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Disability discrimination in the workplace is against the provisions of the California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). Under this state law, employers with five or more employees in a year are prohibited to discriminate against and harass employees and applicants based on their physical or mental disabilities.

To begin with, FEHA was enacted in California to protect the interests and the rights of employee and applicants from discriminatory actions of employers. Furthermore, this law pushes for equal opportunity to all Californian workers.

Under FEHA, it is unlawful for covered employees to:

• Terminate an employee because of his or her disability

• Demote an employee because of his or her disability

• Take away an employee’s benefits because he or she is disabled

• Deprive an employee with just wage because he or she is disabled

• Deny a job-qualified applicant’s employment because of his or her disability

• Deny a disabled employee with reasonable accommodation

Los Angeles employees and applicants who were discriminated in their employment because of their disability are advised to file a complaint with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). This California government agency is mandated to investigate and mediate disability discrimination cases in the state.

Also, discriminated individuals may file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). This federal agency provides protection to job-qualified employees and applicants with either physical or mental disabilities. Like DFEH, the EEOC has the faculty to investigate and mediate disability discrimination complaints. Also, it can represent disability discrimination victims in pursuing their case in court.

Accordingly, disability discrimination victims are also advised to consult with a Los Angeles labor attorney to know the legal actions they should take. Additionally, a lawyer can assist them in claiming for damages from the employer who discriminated against or harassed them.

The Basics of Claiming for Slip and Fall Accident Case in Los Angeles

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If you slipped and fell inside the property of another person, you have the right to claim for personal injury compensations. Under the tort law and the legal theory of premises liability rule, a person who gets injured in a slip and fall accident inside another individual’s property has the right to receive monetary damages.

Los Angeles slip and fall accident victims must know their rights under the law for them to effectively and successfully claim for damages. Accordingly, slip and fall accident victims who are not sure whether or not they have a claim for compensations should learn certain factors. They can determine if they have a claim if their situation meets these factors:

•    The accident happened inside the premises of another person
•    The accident was caused by the property owner’s failure to avoid the mishap
•    The owner knows the danger inside his or her premises but did not do anything to solve it
•    The victim sustained injuries
•    The victim was not a trespasser

If the factors surrounding a Los Angeles slip and fall accident victim’s situation are similar to the ones mentioned, then he or she has a claim for personal injury compensations. Commonly, slip and fall accident victims are entitled to the following types of personal injury compensations:

•    Loss of income damages
•    Hospital and medication payments
•    Pain and suffering damages

As it is, proving the mentioned factors is not easy; however, it is exactly why it is advisable for the would-be claimant to get legal assistance from an experienced and aggressive Los Angeles accident attorney. The victim’s lawyer will be the one to establish the negligence and fault of the property owner in order for his or her client to become eligible for damages. He or she will also serve as the victim’s legal counsel and representative in out-of-court settlement procedures.

EEOC Tasked to Handle Employee Discrimination Concerns

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One of the most prevalent forms of discrimination concerns disability, something that afflicts employees and applicants who wish to be part of the labor sector and help the ailing United States economy. One of the agencies these days that is tasked to handle such concerns is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). 

One case that is recently published through the EEOC website involves the company RCC Consultants Inc., a telecommunications engineering and consulting company with offices around the globe. According to the EEOC, the said company has agreed to pay $45,000.00 as settlement after it received a disability discrimination lawsuit from the EEOC.

Case records show that Stanton Woodcock was not hired for a managing consultant position because of his disability called ocular albinism, which is a hereditary condition.  His eyes lack melanin pigment, which limits his vision.

He was offered the position on October 17, 2007 but some days afterwards when the RCC found out that Woodcock could not drive, the company pulled out the job offer.
Incidentally, the said act was deemed illegal under the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). Under the ADA, a qualified applicant should never be maltreated because of his or her disability within the following establishments:

•    Transportation
•    Telecommunications
•    Local and state government services
•    Public accommodations
Disability, on the other hand, is defined by the ADA as the physical or mental impairment that limits major life activities. Accordingly, some of the major life activities that should be influenced by the disability include: 

•    Sight
•    Speech
•    Sense of hearing
•    Breathing
•    Performance of manual tasks
•    Caring for self
•    Learning
•    Working

Most of the time, disability bias cases happen in populous areas where there are a lot of industries, such as Los Angeles in California. If an employee is currently facing a similar problem to that of Woodcock, he or she may file a complaint at the EEOC office through the help of some Los Angeles employment lawyers They will ensure that their client’s rights are well addressed, and the ailing company is penalized for its wrongful deeds.