Category Archives: Discrimination

There are many reasons a disenchanted worker will walk into an employment attorney’s office for a consultation. They include religious discrimination, sexual harassment, wage theft, among others.

One common scenario we attorneys see are employees who have become marginalized in the workplace. People don’t come to us because the law was broken. They generally don’t know the law. They come to our office because they were treated like garbage. Marginalization can occur in a number of different forms and include physical isolation from coworkers, lack of recognition for an employee’s achievements, bullying, or a basic lack of respect. And while an employee can be marginalized for many different reasons, not all of them are unlawful.

In its most benign form, employee marginalization can be the result of poor management. As discussed in this Industry Week article, sometimes a manager mistakes a quiet employee for an employee lacking initiative. As a result, the employee isn’t engaged by management, or encouraged to advance within the company. While this type of treatment may be unfair, even wrong, it isn’t necessarily unlawful.

This article was written to discuss the plight of marginalized employees, as well as the legal line an employer walks when marginalizing a worker. If you believe that your employer has violated state or federal law in marginalizing you, contact our office to see how we can help.

What is a Marginalized Employee?

Let’s look a hypothetical situation involving marginalization for purposes of illustration:

Picture a customer service representative named Bob, who works at a big box retailer. A friendly person, Bob’s laid-back approach to sales is appreciated by customers. While his individual sales numbers aren’t stellar, the department he works in has experienced a 15 percent boost in sales since his hiring. However, Bob’s supervisor frequently reminds him that the company doesn’t reward employees for ‘assists,’ and frequently demeans him in front of the other sales staff. One of the other sales reps, who’s numbers are slightly better than Bob’s, often gets overwhelming praise in front of staff for his performance.

When Bob complains to a store manager, his supervisor says he’s only trying to “toughen Bob up,” in order to make him better at his job. Unsatisfied with the company’s lack of response to his situation, Bob leaves the big box store for another job.

OK, so Bob has been marginalized, but did the employer break the law? Keep reading to find out.

The Effects of Marginalization on Morale

A person whose work is valued less by an employer while coworkers are praised and encouraged might experience a wide range of emotions, including discouragement, depression or hopelessness. In short, it’s not a good work situation.

The question that one often asks in this situation, is whether or not an employer who marginalizes a worker has violated the law. In Bob’s case, the answer is no. No laws were broken. Not all cases of employee marginalization are unlawful. It may be cruel, bad business, or just plain wrong, but an employee who’s experienced workplace marginalization may not have a strong case against the employer.

But your situation may be different. And this is what you need to pay close attention too. Keep reading to learn a little about what laws were designed to protect marginalized employees.

What the Law Says About Marginalized Workers

Both state and federal laws exist that are designed to protect workers. Even though California is an at-will employment state, which means an employer is usually free to terminate a worker for any reason, the law prohibits termination, discrimination, or marginalization in certain cases.

For instance, the Fair Employment and Housing Act §12940(a), which closely mirrors federal law, states that it is unlawful employment practice:

“For an employer, because of the race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, or military and veteran status of any person, to refuse to hire or employ the person, or to refuse to select the person for a training program leading to employment, or to bar or discharge the person for employment or from a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against the person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.”

So, if we look at the example of our friend Bob from the previous section, an employment attorney would have to consider several factors to determine whether or not he had a strong case. For instance: was Bob’s employer marginalizing him because of his skin color, religious beliefs or sexual orientation? Any of these would be discrimination and we have detailed pages and videos on each.

Was Bob the openly gay employee in his department? Did straight employees receive advancements or bonuses while performing the same duties as Bob? Did Bob’s supervisor make slurs or use sexually inappropriate language when referring to Bob (hostile work environment)?

These and other issues would need to be explored in order to determine whether or not Bob’s marginalization was unlawful.

Whistleblowers Are Also Protected

A whistleblower is an employee who notifies the authorities of workplace violations of law. Under California Labor Code, it is unlawful for a company to retaliate against an employee who has called attention to such violations. Not surprisingly, a common company response to a whistleblower is to isolate and marginalize that employee, perhaps in the hope that the employee will simply quit.

Make no mistake, if a company uses marginalizing tactics to retaliate against an employee because he or she blew the whistle on illegal company activity, the retaliation is unlawful.

Do You Feel You Were Treated Unlawfully by an Employer?

It’s a sad fact of employment. Some companies tend to treat their workers abysmally. This can be for several reasons: misguided attempts to spur production, poor management skills, a lack of regard for workers, or something more nefarious (and unlawful) such as personal prejudice against protected classes.

If you’ve experienced marginalization at work, it could be well worth your time and effort to discuss the specifics of your case with an employment lawyer. While it’s true that many cases of employee marginalization are not unlawful, a good lawyer will be able to look at the facts of the case and decide whether or not legal action should be pursued.

Contacting a Lawyer

A person who successfully pursues a claim against an employer engaged in employee marginalization can potentially benefit financially. In California, marginalized employees may be entitled to:

• Lost wages
• Back pay
• Pain and suffering
• Punitive damages

Employment attorneys representing workers often take cases on a contingency basis. This means the client doesn’t pay up front fees, but rather the attorney is paid with proceeds from the judgment or settlement. If you have questions about any of the topics covered on this page, or other employment law issues, contact our employee rights office to schedule a consultation.

“Harassment” and “discrimination” are terms that many people use interchangeably. Is there a legal difference between the two? Yes, there is a significant difference. But what about “bullying?” How does California employment law define and deal with bullying? This article will define harassment, discrimination, and bullying and explain how these three concepts play out in California’s workplaces.

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The Definition of Harassment, Discrimination & Bullying

Harassment is when an employee is treated poorly (name calling or unwanted touching) because of a protected characteristic or activity. Discrimination is when an employer takes an adverse action against an employee (termination or demotion) because of a protected characteristic or activity. Bullying is when an employee is treated poorly, but the bad treatment is not because of a protected characteristic or activity.

An example will make these distinctions clear. Jane is an employee for Acme. Jane is discriminated against if she is fired because she is a woman. She is harassed if John, her boss, calls her a derogatory name because she is a woman. She is bullied if John makes fun of Jane for being a Dodger’s fan. Here, being a woman is a protected characteristic in California employment law (“sex”). Being a Dodger’s fan is not.

Harassment and discrimination are unlawful. Bullying, on the other hand, it not illegal. Currently, there is no California or Federal employment law that addresses workplace bullying. However, if the bullying happens because of the victim’s religion, race, sex, disability, or color, etc., it becomes “harassment” under CA’s employment law. In that case, the employer is legally required to prevent it from occurring. If they don’t, the employee may file a lawsuit.

Read below to learn more about CA’s protected categories.

• If you wish to jump to a page exclusively about harassment, click here.
• If you want to learn about hostile work environments, click here.
• If you learn more about discrimination, here is our main page.
• If you want to jump to a page only about sexual harassment, click here.

The CA Supreme Court on the Difference

In the case of Reno v. Baird, the California Supreme Court highlighted the distinction between harassment and discrimination. It said:

The court noted that harassment consists of a type of conduct not necessary for performance of a supervisory job. Instead, harassment consists of conduct outside the scope of necessary job performance, conduct presumably engaged in for personal gratification, because of meanness or bigotry, or for other personal motives. Harassment is not conduct of a type necessary for management of the employer’s business or performance of the supervisory employee’s job…. Discrimination claims, by contrast, arise out of the performance of necessary personnel management duties. While harassment is not a type of conduct necessary to personnel management, making decisions is a type of conduct essential to personnel management. (emphasis added)

California’s Protected Categories in Harassment and Discrimination Cases

A California employer cannot hold certain traits or characteristics against an employee. California law has specifically outlined what an employer may not use against employees. These protected characteristics include:

• race,
• religion,
• color,
• national origin,
• ancestry,
• physical disability,
• mental disability,
• medical condition,
• genetic information,
• marital status,
• sex,
• gender,
• gender identity,
• gender expression,
• age,
• sexual orientation,
• or military and veteran status.

Fortunate for CA employees, both harassment and discrimination include every one of these characteristics. Under Title VII, the federal anti-discrimination and harassment law, only protects against race, color, national origin, sex, and religion.

Who is Liable for This Bad Behavior?

Another subtle, but important difference between discrimination and harassment cases is who may be liable. In discrimination cases, only the company-employer is liable. In a discrimination case the manager making the discriminatory decision will not be personally liable because the harm stems from the employer.

But in harassment cases the person who does the harassing may be personally liable.  The harasser can be sued regardless of whether the employer knew or should have known the harassment was occurring. While it is the duty of the employer to provide a safe work environment, as we all know, people find ways to hide what they want to hide.

If you want to investigate the difference further, feel free to look up the actual statute on point. Discrimination is governed by CA Government Code § 12940(a) and harassment is § 12940(j).

Any Exceptions to these Rules?

Generally, the only times in which the characteristics listed above can legally be used against a potential or current employee is when the employer can show that the characteristic is required for the job. This is called a bona fied occupational qualification. For example, if someone with a heart problem applied to be a firefighter. Even if that person could show that they can perform the essential functions of the job with an accommodation, the physical requirements of a firefighter job, mixed with the potential physical limitations of a heart condition, could endanger the lives of others. It is highly likely that the law would allow discrimination in this case.

Why Isn’t Bullying Illegal Like Harassment?

The answer is that “its complicated.” Essentially, the law is not perfect. It cannot regulate all bad behavior. The problem with bullying is that the definition is so wide and broad that if you made it illegal you would have an explosion of lawsuits. Since there already enough lawsuits in this world, the California legislature is unlikely to pass a law that could result in widespread abuse of the legal system.

Additional Legal Information

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I hope this page has been helpful!

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