Legal Question in Employment Law in California
Discrimination Female and reverse Age discrimination
I have been terminated from a company after close to 15 years of employment. I am 47, unmarried and a single Mom. Through the course of my employment I have been counseled on several occassions about excessive absences-Included in the excessive absences were instances that I had to take off for my school age childrens illness, school etc.etc. I had been threatened with demotion or termination. Once the kids were on their own, I had to stay home with my Dad on several occassions. Both of these types of absences are protected by the labor code in Ca, yet they were incl in my overall absences and I was terminated.
This company has terminated 3 other over 40 females in the last 5 years and replaced them with Men counterparts. One coworker who is a female over 40 was not promoted before her male counterpart even though she had worked there longer and had a bigger work load, until she threatened to accept another position.
In their employee handbook they have a policy of hiring within whenever possible. CEO put his 28 yr old female friend in a Mgmt position without advertising it Co wide. She had no exp, several Sr. Empl have yrs of exp better qualified and would have applied.
What steps should I take?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Discrimination Female and reverse Age discrimination
You need to lodge a complaint with Department of Fair Employment and Housing against your employer within one year of termination. DFEH will give you a notice of case closure/right to sue letter. Then you should file a lawsuit...if you have enough evidence to show a pattern of discrimination.
Re: Discrimination Female and reverse Age discrimination
As it appears you already know, some absences from work are protected by various California statutes. If an employer knowingly uses those protected absences against you in an adverse manner, you have the basis for a legal claim against the employer. Based upon your statement, there may also be a factual basis for a gender discrimination claim.
As with any case, its strength depends on the evidence that supports it. You ask what steps to take. The first step is to document all of the facts in a chronological order and gather all of your documents relating to the absences and actions taken by your employer. Next, you will want to meet with attorneys who specialize in employment law to have them review your case. I suggest meeting with at least three attorneys, to get different opinions, learn about their fee structures and see who you feel comfortable with.
Experienced attorneys can provide you with options and strategies on how to address these legal issues with your ex-employer. This may or may not include filing claims with various administrative agencies and writing a letter to the ex-employer, giving it an opportunity to resolve the matter with you without the need for litigation.
Whatever you do, don't wait because time works against you. The statute of limitations to file discrimination claims with the Dept. of Fair Employment and Housing (which is mandatory), is one year. Other statutes may apply, but assume that one year appllies to other claims as well.
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