Whistleblowers are generally employees that report information about unsafe, illegal, or improper issues in a business or other organization. This is a big deal, as calling out an employer or coworker can be difficult. While whistleblowers are protected by law, an employer could try to retaliate against you, which is why it is important to contact employment attorneys in Long Beach to make sure your rights are protected.
What Should You do After you Blow the Whistle?
Call an Attorney
Your first step should always be getting legal representation. Contacting a skilled employment law attorney in long beach will ensure that your rights as a whistleblower are protected. The sooner you call an attorney the better because they can advise you on how to proceed.
Document Everything
Any evidence you have will be helpful. Keep track of documents, emails, facts or any other information that pertains to your case. This information will support your claim.
Do not go Public
You should not publicize your case. After calling an attorney, do not post it on your social media or tell other people at work. This may only make the situation worse. Your attorney will be able to advise you on the best way to move forward.
How Can an Attorney Help?
Retaliation is illegal. This includes being fired or demoted or creating a hostile work environment that risks health and safety. Under the Federal Whistleblower Protection Act your employment law lawyer in Long Beach, can defend your rights when you take action for yourself and others.
When Should You Call an Attorney?
Too often, employees only contact an attorney after they are already in trouble. Getting professional representation early can help you avoid potential issues. Call the Neal-Lopez Law Group today to schedule a free consultation. Call us today at (562) 269-4325.
As a business owner, avoiding lawsuits is always a major goal. Lawsuits can not only hurt your business, but your representation as well. Experienced employment law attorney in Long Beach. Will be able to help you avoid costly legal issues and advise you if any problems come up.
Here are some tips for protecting your business:
Have a Great Timekeeping System
Make sure you set up well documented ways to keep track of working hours and pay. Employees may file a lawsuit about not receiving their proper pay. Thus, you should put together a great timekeeping system from the start.
Keep Handbooks Up to Date
It is important to have up to date handbooks for employees to reference when they need to know about the rules and restrictions that are relevant to the work that they perform for you. This is to say that they need to be fully aware of what is or is not permitted in the workplace at all times. Such a handbook will be useful for your attorney or referencing rules in a court of law.
Keep Good Documentation
There is no way to truly sort things out unless they are documented very well. This is why companies need to create a paper trail whenever possible. Having well kept documents to refer back to, is one of the best things you. can provide an employment law lawyer in Long Beach.
Get a Great HR Expert
You should try to get a knowledgeable HR expert working on your team. Make sure you can work with them to protect yourself against any kind of lawsuits that could come your way. It is best to keep yourself protected by using the knowledge and talents of someone who clearly knows what they are doing.
Work with an Employment Attorney
Most importantly, you absolutely need an employment defense attorney in California who deals with these types of issues for people every day. An experienced attorney will be able to give you valuable advice for running a business and also be there to help you if anything comes up.
Contact our office today to schedule your free consultation.
If you own a business or manage a business, you need to learn about gender identity discrimination and how it affects your business. Our experts in Long Beach CA employment discrimination law at Neal-Lopez Law Group put together this blog to explain the essentials. If you’re an employer, you need to create business procedures and an accepting workplace. If you’re an employee, you need to understand what the law requires and what activities and procedures are and aren’t acceptable in your employer’s workplace.
The state of California passed a law in 2011 that protects an individual’s gender identity in the workplace. The state later updated it, and the new compliance requirements went into effect on July 1, 2017. The US law also provides protection and the US Office of Personnel Management provides a brief to help employers address the situation, so they can provide a suitable, rather than hostile, workplace.
What is Gender Identity?
According to Psycom.net, the term gender identity refers to who you are as a person. You define your gender identity as female, male, nonbinary, gender expansive, unassigned, or transgender. Your gender decides how those in the world around you see you and respond to you. Your birth certificate simply states the sex organs your body developed in vitro. You choose your gender, as simple or complex as that might be.
What exactly is my gender identity?
Gender identity also differs from sexual orientation. The latter refers to the preferred or chosen sex of your intimate partners, hence terms like straight CIS female or gay transgender man. A transgender or transvestite man could sexually orient to enjoy sexual relations with a woman although the former wants to transition to being a woman, while the latter remains a male and enjoys dressing as a woman all or part of the time.
The concept of gender identity encompasses much more than just how we dress or our genitalia. It extends to how each person expresses themself through their behaviors, choices, personality, characteristics, and thoughts. While each person is born of a specific sex, they choose the self-concept of gender.
What is considered Gender Identity Discrimination?
A wide array of items qualify as gender identity discrimination including binary-labeled single-use bathrooms, blocking access to a bathroom based on the individual’s chosen gender identity, referring to the individual by pronouns they do not identify with, or using their given name instead of their chosen name.
The regulations don’t specify remedies in every case, but an employment law lawyer in Long Beach can help you. In some situations, they do provide directives on how to appropriately handle situations. For example, businesses should use the individual’s chosen gender, chosen pronouns, and name on all internal documents. The business should only use the individual’s birth gender, pronouns, and name on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and other such legal documents that must match in all respects their birth certificate, driver’s license, etc.
What laws are set in California to protect gender identity discrimination?
The state of California passed the Fair Employment and Housing Act in 2011. That law prohibits employment discrimination based upon gender identity and/or gender expression. It did not include practical guidance for compliance, though until an amendment that became effective on July 1, 2017.
One thing to understand that no document has made explicit yet is that the law equally protects everyone, so it also addresses reverse discrimination. The law protects individuals from their employer assuming their gender identity or sexual orientation and treating them accordingly. This means that while the law provides a win for the LGBTQ community, it also protects the straight and the undecided. Essentially, the law mandates doing away with stereotypes, creating a non-sexist, non-judgmental workplace. You must provide a non-hostile workplace that respects transitioning and transitioned employees, as well as CIS employees. If you’re not sure how to do that, employment attorneys in Long Beach CA can help you.
What do you do if you believe you have been discriminated against?
If an employer asked you for proof of gender as a condition of employment or allowed the existence of a hostile workplace after your hiring, you should contact a Long Beach workplace discrimination attorney.
Other situations provide an opportunity for internal remedies. You should first speak with your supervisor or employer. The employer should provide internal remedies to address problems. You should pursue this avenue first.
Continue to perform your job duties to the best of your ability. If you quit your job, you make it tougher to pursue redress.
If your employer does not begin internal processes to rectify the situation, contact an employment law attorney in Long Beach. Working with Long Beach workplace attorneys can help you obtain a suitable outcome for your situation.
How our attorneys can help you
Employers, let the Long Beach workplace lawyers at Neal-Lopez Law Group help you develop workplace business procedures and processes that protect your employees from discrimination. With our help, you can develop compliant ways of doing business that provide just as efficient as any previously used. Employees, contact a Long Beach CA employment discrimination lawyer if you experience discrimination in your workplace. We can represent you in court or help you address the problem by working with your employer to rectify the situation. Call us today to get started on your case.
Knowing about current employment legislation can help you navigate your career and know the areas where you have protection. The Silenced No More Act is something that will go in effect in California in early 2022, and it’s something all tech industry workers should know about. These are some of the details about the act.
What Is the Silenced No More Act?
The Silenced No More Act is a new Long Beach CA employment law that expands the concepts presented in the Me Too Act and the Stand Together Against Non-Disclosures Act. Those two acts protected whistleblowers from retaliation and backlash because of their bravery in speaking out against sexual harassment in the workplace. The Silenced No More Act protects those who speak out against other types of abuse such as racism, age discrimination, religious bias, sexual identity, and the like. Senator Connie Levya initiated the act in an attempt to make the battlegrounds fair for other people who no longer wish to stay silent about such wrongdoings.
Who does It protect?
The act protects workers who speak out against various forms of abuse and discrimination, even if they’ve signed non-disclosure agreements. Right now, the legislation is limited to workers in the tech industry in the state of California. However, the governmental administrators hope to be able to expand it to additional states in the future.
Why Was It Created?
The legislation was created to encourage people going through discrimination and abuse not to silence themselves. By not staying silent, whistleblowers can put an end to such acts within a corporation. Existing acts were already available to cover people in the realm of sexual harassment. However, there are no lines drawn in other areas that needed attention. This act gives attention where attention is overdue. Someone thought to create it after a worker accused a prominent tech company of racial discrimination. Workers in California needed an additional layer of protection for that situation and similar circumstances.
What if You Have an NDA?
The goal is to give a person who has something to say leeway for protection from a Long Beach workplace attorney. The act states that the employer cannot retaliate against a worker, even if an NDA is in place. Thus, victims of workplace harassment no longer have to fear the consequences that they had to fear years ago. They can now seek the assistance of reliable Long Beach workplace lawyers who will fight to maintain their rights to have a voice and use it.
An employment law lawyer in Long Beach is well versed in the previous legislation as well as the upcoming changes. If you are an individual who has employment in the tech industry and has seen wrongdoing, you no longer need to be afraid to speak about it. You can count on a full-blown investigation launch with justice enacted where it’s necessary. You can then consult with an employment law attorney in Long Beach if you feel that you are being treated unfairly because you’ve blown the whistle.
An employer may use many tactics to retaliate against you. Job termination is an example of blatant retaliation for whistleblowing activities. Other examples include unfavorable job reassignment, hostile work environment, job sabotage, and the like. You’ll feel like you’re getting pushback, and it might affect your emotional and mental state. It may even cause you to want to leave your job. Before you do that, you can reach out to a Long Beach CA employment lawyer and have a talk with the provider about your options.
What Long Beach Workplace Attorneys Can Do for You
You need not worry if you feel that your employer is singling you out for speaking up about abuse and discrimination. Your first step should entail contacting a reputable Long Beach CA employment lawyer like Neal-Lopez Law Group. An attorney can review the case and provide you with protection if you’ve lost your job. In some cases, you could collect compensation for the harm that has come to you from your current employer. Take the first advancement and reach out by telephone or short form to arrange a consultation. You’ll know by the end of the consultation whether you are eligible for protection under Long Beach CA employment law.
Understanding when there’s an actual hostile work environment CA is critical for both employers and employees. It’s imperative since misusing the term “hostile” leads to more frivolous legal claims, stress, and strained relationships between employers and employees or coworkers.
Furthermore, management mishandles such charges due to a misunderstanding of the word.
“Intimidation has a clear negative significant impact on job productivity,” according to a 2018 empirical job productivity study published by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), “while job burnout proved to be a statically meaningful intermediary between the components of a toxic work setting and job productivity.”
According to the research findings, “To secure their prosperity and success, businesses must eliminate the variables that contribute to hazardous workplace environments.
The study advises supervisors, executives, and top management to adopt policies that will increase employee productivity.”
What Does it Mean to Work in a Hostile Environment?
Typical “hostile” behavior and speech are frightening, aggressive, abusive, and typically offensive and goes beyond impoliteness or casual joking. Isolated occurrences of minor annoyances are rarely enough to generate a hostile work environment.
To be considered a “hostile” workplace, the behavior must be purposeful, severe, repeated, and pervasive, and it must interfere with the employee’s ability to do their job.
Identifying Harassment
The components that you must establish to determine harassment or discrimination vary depending on the sort of alleged harassment or discrimination. To prove discrimination and harassment, the individual must exhibit that:
- The conduct was unwelcome;
- The harassment took place because of the person’s class or status;
- It impacted the terms of employment conditions; and
- The employer received the complaint
The harasser must generally be a business owner, proprietor, manager, or supervisor to be charged with harassment. If the harasser is a coworker, the claimant must show that the employer was aware of the harassment but took no action to stop it.
Even if they observed the harassment, an individual might assert harassment in some instances if other parts of the claim are present.
To prove discrimination, the evidence must show that:
- The individual was a perceived or actual member of a protected category;
- The person was conducting satisfactory work; and
- The person became subject to an adverse employment intervention or treatment that other non-protected colleagues doing the same jobs didn’t face, or that a non-protected individual replaced the employee
What is the Law’s Role in Protecting Your Rights?
Despite legislation in more than ten states, there is currently no federal or state legislation that expressly and broadly prohibits workplace bullying or hostile work conditions. In most workplaces, however, various regulations prohibit discrimination and harassment (including sexual harassment).
Only a few workplaces are exempt due to their size and staff composition. Anti-discrimination and harassment laws prevent employees from being maltreated from hiring until the time of dismissal because of their actual or perceived membership in a protected class or status.
Employers cannot retaliate against an employee who files a discrimination or harassment claim or participates in a claim-triggered investigation; if so, contact an employment attorney Los Angeles.
Proving Harassment
Managers, supervisors, and coworkers rarely admit to discriminating against someone based on their actual or perceived membership in a protected class.
As a result, the totality of the circumstances, including speech and behavior, is frequently used to prove them, and your Los Angeles employment attorney can help you gather this information.
A court or reviewing agency will assess how often the behavior occurred and the reaction it elicited, as well as how a “reasonable person” would define it to determine if it is a minor crime or is threatening, disrespectful, or hostile.
The agency evaluating the complaint, or a judge or jury deciding on a claim, must put themselves in the shoes of a reasonable person and consider how they would react in a similar situation under similar or similar circumstances.
The distinction between harmless joking or isolated harmlessness and mocking or mockery of a person due to their protected status is usually very evident. It has been demonstrated in several cases, resulting in significant compensation for victims with the help of a Los Angeles hostile workplace attorney.
What Kinds of Accommodations Can Your Job Make?
Employers should develop explicit guidelines prohibiting prejudice and bullying to reduce the danger of misuse of the claim and actual liability. If there’s none, a Los Angeles hostile workplace lawyer can help.
How Can Workplace Lawyers Los Angeles Assist You?
Los Angeles workplace lawyers can prove how the behavior of other employees and managers contributes to a hostile job atmosphere.
If you or someone you know has encountered workplace harassment, contact Neal-Lopez Law Group today so that we can assist you.
If you are being discriminated against in the workplace, it can be rather emotional. It can also be debilitating, but there are some steps that you can take to solve these things. We have dealt with many discrimination cases here at Neal-Lopez Law Group. In time, you will eventually need to search for workplace lawyers Los Angeles to help you with your case. If you do not take any action, more than likely, nothing will change.
What are your rights as an employee?
Every worker has a right to work in a workplace setting that is free of discrimination. This simply means that your employer, whether your boss or other management, cannot make any decisions regarding your job based on your race, religion, sex, color, disability, genetic information, or national origin. This also includes pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation. Your employer may also not discriminate against any employee that is over the age of 40. This right applies to all job types including promotions, firing, training, wages, decisions, and benefits. Doing so gives you the right to contact a Los Angeles workplace discrimination lawyer.
Laws & Discrimination
There are various laws that all employers must follow that prohibit workplace discrimination such as:
- Age Discrimination in Employment Act. This law prohibits discrimination in the workplace on the basis of age. This is for workers ages 40 and over.
- Americans with Disabilities Act. This law prohibits discrimination against individuals who are disabled and employers are required to make reasonable accommodations for their employees to have access to the buildings and functionality within the workplace.
- Family and Medical Leave Act- This law requires all employers to allow employees proper time off. They are also not allowed to discriminate against them for taking personal time off whether it be for family medical needs or other personal issues.
What steps do I need to take? Is there any documentation I need?
Take away any emotion. It is important to remove any emotion that you are facing if you want to file a discrimination claim with a Los Angeles workplace discrimination lawyer or any other attorney for that matter. Be sure to keep your mind on the particular details, facts, and issues at hand. You will need to provide facts to prove that your manager does not like you for example.
Keep a record of any discriminatory actions. Any notes that you write should include the date, time, location, and the people involved in the incident, as well as any witnesses. Make sure to write down the details of the incident that occurred. This information will be extremely helpful to a Los Angeles workplace discrimination attorney.
Have an option to fall back on. To some people, workplace incidents that are offensive in nature may not be enough to file a claim for discrimination. Instead, experts may look at it as poor communication or poor management. It will be helpful to talk to your manager about what you both can do to solve the problem you are having.
Report any discrimination. If everything you have tried to solve did not work, it is time to report the discrimination. This is of course if the behavior continues. A Los Angeles employment attorney can help you with this step. However, first, you should be sure to report the behavior to the management company. Once a complaint has been filed, your company will only have so much time to investigate the complaint according to the law.
Watch out for retaliation. Los Angeles workplace lawyers and many other attorneys can probably tell you how many times retaliation incidences occur. If you happen to become the victim of such, you should be sure to note this in your journal. It is very common for employees to file complaints and become the victim of retaliation later on.
Protect your rights. It is time to stand up for yourself. If you are the victim of discrimination at work, and you have done everything in your power at your employer to make these things stop with no results, it is time to contact an employment attorney Los Angeles.
Contacting a lawyer for workplace discrimination will allow you to build a case and file an administrative complaint. If your employer has done nothing to accommodate you, you will have a right to sue for all your claims. An attorney will help you when drafting your complaint which is a critical step to the claims process.