Sexual Harassment / Sexual Orientation Harassment – Case Example
Throughout his employment, Vinny (male) had to endure a hostile work environment of constant, severe and unwelcome sexual harassment and touching.
A co-worker exposed himself to Vinny multiple times and would call him a faggot. Vinny made a formal written complaint to HR about this and of sexual harassment towards a female employee. Soon thereafter his employer retaliated against him for his written complaints. He received two write-ups and was terminated the very next month.
Same-sex sexual harassment is illegal. So is sexual orientation harassment, even if the person’s involved are heterosexual and only perceived to be LGBTQ+. Moreover, it does not matter if the motivation of the harasser is sexual desire—it is illegal under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act.
The sexual misconduct and the company’s retaliation and wrongful termination had a devastating effect on Vinny and his family. We helped Vinny get justice.
If you have suffered sexual orientation harassment or discrimination in your workplace or have been retaliated against, our firm may be able to get you justice too. Give us a call at 310-400-5891 for your free consultation.
Learn More About Sexual Harassment Law / How to Report Sexual Harassment at Work?
Man Awarded $450K After Workplace Birthday Party Panic Attack Leads to Termination
Kevin Berling was awarded $300,000 for emotional distress and $150,000 in lost wages for a disability discrimination case in late March after a two day trial in Kenton County, Kentucky.
Berling sued his employer, Gravity Diagnostics after the company threw him a birthday party against his request that the company not celebrate his birthday because it would cause him immense stress.
Berling suffers from anxiety disorders and panic attacks. He worked at Gravity Diagnostics for approximately 10 months, when he requested that the company not celebrate his birthday as it normally does for its employees. Berling told his supervisor that a birthday celebration would be a stressful trigger of bad childhood memories surrounding his parents’ divorce. The lawsuit outlines that the office manager ends up forgetting his request and the party is still held for Berling. As a result, Berling suffers a panic attack and leaves.
The next day, Berling is called into a meeting with his bosses where he suffers another panic attack when his supervisor chastised him for “stealing his co-workers” joy and for “being a little girl.” The company then fires Berling saying that they were worried about him being angry and violent.
As part of the lawsuit, Berling claimed the company discriminated against him based on his disability, and retaliated against him for requesting a reasonable accommodation for his disability. The jury returned the verdict after two days in trial and awarded Berling a $450,000 win.
The company continues to deny liability and is pursuing port-trial options. The company’s founder and COO, Julie Brazil, stated that the verdict sets a dangerous precedent in which workplace violence will be tolerated unless physical violence occurs, and stated that her employees were the victims, not Berling. The jury didn’t seem to agree with Brazil once they got to meet Berling at trial and saw that the company’s claim that he posed a threat was more of an exaggeration.
Employers must accommodate their employee’s disabilities and cannot terminate someone based on a protected category such as a disability or medical condition. Further, the law prohibits harassment of an employee based on medical condition or disability.
If you believe you have been wrongfully terminated, retaliated or discriminated against based on a protected category such as a physical or mental disability, or medical condition, give us a call at 310-400-5891 for your free intake.
Learn more about Disability Harassment / Disability Discrimination Law
Former Black Employees Sue Google For Racial Discrimination
A lawsuit filed against Google claims it has a pattern and practice of racial discrimination toward minority employees. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of April Curley and other former and current black employees at Google.
Plaintiff to the suit, April Curley, was a Google diversity recruiter for six years. She is claiming wrongful termination because Google fired her after she told managers she was creating a report on discriminatory practices. Curley and other women were retaliated against after trying to report the racist culture they experienced in Google.
When first hired by Google, Curley was placed in an entry-level position, drastically below her qualifications of a master’s degree and five years of experience. She was also consistently passed up for promotions. Curley was restrained to this entry-level classification for six years! Google had blocked her promotion with the excuse of there being no budget for it and instead decided to wrongfully terminate Curley.
Part of the allegations included that Google steered new Black employees toward lower-level roles that kept them at less pay and kept them from opportunities for advancement. Plaintiff claims that when black employees opposed these discriminatory practices, they were faced with a hostile work environment and retaliation.
According to Google’s 2021 annual diversity report, the company recognizes a need to change structural inequities, yet they have not done so. The suing, former employees, including April Curley, were exceptional employees at Google but were discriminatorily treated and pushed out. While Google aimed at increasing diversity, they were actually undervaluing and underpaying their black employees—leading to their higher turnover. The proposed class action seeks that employees get their positions back and be awarded the full compensation and benefits owed, and future losses.
National Origin & Race Discrimination – Case Example
Lisa is a young woman of Chinese descent. Lisa was subjected to harassment and discrimination at work based on her national origin and race.
Lisa’s boss would make racist comments such as “fucking Chinese people”, constantly saying that there are too many Chinese employees and saying that they needed to stop hiring Chinese people. Lisa’s employer additionally instructed Lisa not to hire certain types of people, such as “blacks.” Lisa protested and complained about the racist comments to her employer.
Instead of trying to cure the discrimination and harassment as required by law, Lisa’s employer retaliated against her and terminated her employment because she protested her boss’ discrimination and harassment.
California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act prohibits an employer, including any supervisor, from harassing or discriminating an employee based on national origin or race. We helped Lisa get justice for the racial harassment and retaliation she endured. We were able to get her a favorable settlement.
If you have been harassed, discriminated, or retaliated against based on a protected category such as race or national origin, give us a call at 310-400-5891 for your free intake.
Shirazi Law Firm Announced as a Top Los Angeles Employment Law Firm by UpCity!
Shirazi Law Firm is thrilled to officially announce that we have been recognized as one of the top employment and labor law firms in Los Angeles and nationally by UpCity!
From wrongful termination to discrimination to harassment, we handle all types of employment law cases. We have helped past clients achieve significant results against some of the world’s biggest companies, ensuring that California’s workers are never taken advantage of. This is only one reason our Los Angeles-based firm has been recognized by UpCity as not only one of the best employment and labor law firms in Southern California but also nationally in the United States.
UpCity is a resource that helps connect businesses to service providers they can trust. With more than 70,000 listed providers—from marketing agencies to accounting firms to HR consultants to IT specialists, and many more—2 million businesses (and counting) have visited UpCity to research and identify the best partner for their needs.
Dan Olson, CEO of UpCity, had this to say about the Shirazi Law Firm team:
“When it comes to labor and employment cases, you need the right attorney behind you. The Shirazi Law Firm has proven time and time again that they’re one of the best employment law firms in California and the country as a whole.” – Dan Olson, CEO, UpCity
This recognition has been driven in large part by our perfect 5-star UpCity review rating Here are a few of our favorite pieces of feedback we’ve received from our amazing customers:
· “I could not have hired a better pregnancy discrimination lawyer than Emanuel Shirazi and team. Mr. Shirazi’s skill, passion, heart, patience and tenacity led to me getting an amazing 7 figure result. If you are looking for an employment lawyer in Los Angeles or anywhere in Socal, he is your guy hands down 100%” – Julie Vas
· “Emmanuel did an amazing job on my case! He was very involved and communicated throughout the entire process. He made sure I was comfortable with the decisions and negotiated the best results! I have already recommended two of my friends to him. You are making the right choice choosing Shirazi Law Firm!”
We’d like to thank UpCity for recognizing us with this tremendous honor. It’s truly incredible to be amongst such incredible firms in the UpCity community.
Learn More About Shirazi Law Firm’s Owner and Attorney Emanuel Shirazi
Whistleblowing – Case Example
Patty was a wonderful professional who performed her job exceptionally. Patty had complained to her Employer about fraud that was being committed by her boss in violation of the USA Patriot Act. Instead of taking action to address the fraud, the company let the fraud continue unabated. Moreover, management retaliated against Patty by bullying and intimidating her and telling her to look the other way on financial crimes.
When Patty had to take a medical leave of absence due to a serious medical condition affecting her day-to-day life, management retaliated by not accommodating and instead terminating her employment before she was fully released to work by her doctor.
Patty’s employer discriminated against her by terminating her employment because of her disability and in retaliation for exercising her rights under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) and California Labor Code.
If you suspect that you have been retaliated against or wrongfully terminated for making complaints of illegal activity, or because of your disability or medical condition, give us a call at 310-400-5891 for your free intake.
Learn more about Whistleblowing Law / Disability & Medical Leave Law in California
Disability Discrimination – Medical Leave & Retaliation
AC is a wonderful professional with a unique talent in her field. She went on a medical leave of absence due to a temporary medical condition. She returned to work with minor work restrictions. Her employer’s refusal to accommodate AC’s work restrictions forced her on to another disability leave. Upon returning to work from her second medical leave, AC was suddenly terminated.
AC complained verbally and in writing multiple times to management about their illegal conduct. But, instead of fixing the issues, her employer let them continue and retaliated against her. Her boss retaliated against her by issuing a false performance warning and terminating her employment shortly after AC returned from leave.
AC’s employer failed to engage in the interactive process, failed to offer a reasonable accommodation, and engaged in illegal disability discrimination and retaliation.
If you have been harassed, discriminated, or retaliated against based on a protected category such as a medical condition or disability, give us a call at 310-400-5891 for your free intake.
Learn more about Medical Condition / Disability Discrimination Law
Disability / Medical Condition – Termination for taking too much Medical Leave
Michael is a hard working Los Angeles native who brought a strong passion to his field of work. Michael performed his duties with excellence and was very well liked by co-workers, clients, and supervisors.
Michael was diagnosed with COVID and he required medical leave. Unfortunately, his symptoms were severe and long term so his medical leave was extended several months.
Michael provided all requested medical leave of absence documentation from his doctors. In response, Michael’s employer told him that he would be fired if he did not cut his leave early and come back a few days before his doctor stated he could return. Michael could not return and was summarily fired because his employer would not wait a few more days for him to heal.
Michael was fired because his Employer had an illegal 6 month maximum leave policy. Maximum medical/disability leave policies are illegal in California.
If you or someone you know has been fired or mistreated because of their disability or fired while on disability leave, please contact us at 310-400-5891 for a free confidential consultation.
Case Example: Disability Medical Leave in Los Angeles
Today I want to talk about one of my medical and disability leave cases.
I had a client once who was injured in a car accident, and either needed a few weeks off, or, the ability to work from home. The employer refused both, and summarily fired her, on grounds that she didn’t quality for disability leave.
This is illegal.
After hiring us, we got her an excellent settlement, and she was able to turn her life around. This is just one of the many examples of the medical and disability leave violations that happen.
Case Example: Pregnancy Leave Discrimination in Los Angeles
Today I want to talk about one of my pregnancy discrimination cases.
I once had a pregnant client who needed more than four months of leave, allowed under California’s Pregnancy Disability Leave Law. Instead of giving her additional time for her doctor’s note, they callously fired her without warning.
This was devastating to her, and illegal.
After hiring us, she got an excellent settlement and she was very grateful. This is just one of the many types of illegal pregnancy and medical leave violations.
Get In Touch:
Shirazi Law Firm, PC
Shirazi Law Firm, PC
1875 Century Park East,
Suite 1025,
Los Angeles, CA 90067
Phone: 310 400 5891
Fax: 888 908 7359