Legal Question in Employment Law in California
I have a lower title than someone I trained to do the same work.
I am a paralegal who was hired to work for in-house counsel with the title of Secretary Confidential. I agreed to that title because my boss said that there was no classification for paralegal in the company and that this was the highest non-lawyer title in the legal department. We hired a billing specialist who I eventually trained to perform about 80% of my duties because I moved to another office. This billing specialist was originally a temp employee who became a full time employee last February. She was hired on with the title of IP paralegal, earning her a higher pay grade, better benefits, exempt status and a yearly bonus, all of which I do not receive. Of importance is the fact that I, being a Mexican American woman, am the only racial minority in my department. The woman that I trained is a Caucasian woman. Of further importance is that I have repeatedly brought the issue to my manager, who has done nothing about it. Do I have a claim against my employer for the obvious disparate treatment between me and the employee that I trained?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: I have a lower title than someone I trained to do the same work.
In most cases, it's easy to establish disparate treatment, and it's easy to establish an employee belongs to a protected class. What is not easy, however, is to establish that the disparate treatment is BECAUSE of the protected class. Your employer will likely argue that the coworker you trained has a better job for nondiscriminatory reasons, such as experience, education, etc.. However, you may wish to discuss your case more in depth with an employee rights attorney in your area to determine whether additional evidence of suggesting discrimination can be identified.
Re: I have a lower title than someone I trained to do the same work.
IF you have any evidence that the reason for the difference is because you are Mexican, then you may have a case. You have to prove motive, which is difficult unless the company/supervisor actually makes inappropriate comments you could use to show their attitude toward Mexicans. You said nothing in your post that would indicate you have such evidence. Feel free to contact me if you do have anything other than your own feelings and speculation.
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