EEOC Discrimination

Learn about the various types of EEOC-prohibited discrimination. The EEOC protects employees from discrimination based on gender, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, national origin, age, disability, etc.

Author: Brad Nakase, Attorney

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The EEOC enforces federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against an individual for the following reasons:

  • Race
  • Color
  • Religion
  • Gender
  • National origin
  • Age
  • Disability
  • Genetic information

Also, it is unlawful to discriminate against an individual who files a complaint regarding the discrimination or has otherwise engaged in an employment discrimination lawsuit or investigation. In 2020, about 56% of charges filed with the EEOC related to retaliation. If you’re experiencing discrimination in the workplace, please contact our California employment lawyer for a free consultation.

What Is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)?

The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is the government agency that enforces federal laws concerning harassment or discrimination targeting an employee or job applicant. Congress formed the EEOC as a way to enforce Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The agency is based in Washington, D.C. As of 2021, the agency has 37 field offices located throughout the United States.

What Is the EEOC’s Authority and Role?

The EEOC is granted the power to investigate any charges of discrimination levied against employers. Employers are typically subject to EEOC laws if they have at least fifteen employees. A number of labor unions and employment agencies are under its authority as well.

The EEOC is meant to fairly look into allegations and make a finding. If the agency determines that unlawful discrimination had occurred, then it will attempt to settle the charge. The agency also has the power to file a lawsuit to protect certain individuals, as well as the public interest.

EEOC laws apply to all kinds of workplace situations, functions, and processes. This would include the hiring and terminating of employees, harassment, job training, promotions, benefits, and wages. The EEOC is also supposed to prevent discrimination before it happens.

What Are Remedies for Employment Discrimination

When cases of discrimination are discovered, the law is supposed to help the victim of discrimination recover the same position they were in before the discrimination happened. The kinds of relief that an individual receives will depend on the discriminatory act that occurred, as well as its effect on the victim. For instance, if a person is not chosen for a job or a promotion because of a discriminatory reason, then the remedy may involve placement in the job or back pay and benefits that the individual would have otherwise earned.

The employer will also be required to stop any discriminatory practices in the workplace and take action to prevent discrimination from happening in the future.

A victim of discrimination may also be able to recover attorney’s fees, witness fees, as well as court costs.

Remedies Might Include Punitive and Compensatory Damages

In cases where there was intentional discrimination based on an individual’s race, color, sex, gender identity, national origin, religion, disability, or genetic information, punitive and compensatory damages may be awarded.

Compensatory damages pay victims for any expenses the discrimination caused (job search costs, medical expenses, etc.), as well as compensate them for any emotional harm caused (mental anguish, inconvenience, etc.).

Punitive damages are awarded as a way of punishing an employer who has committed an especially egregious form of discrimination.

What Are the Limits on Punitive and Compensatory Damages?

When it comes to compensatory and punitive damages, there are limits to the amount that may be awarded to an individual. These limits depend on the size of the employer:

  • Employers with 15 to 100 employees = $50,000 limit
  • Employers with 101 to 200 employees = $100,000 limit
  • Employers with 201-500 employees = $200,000 limit
  • Employers with more than 500 employees = $300,000 limit

Age or Sex Discrimination Exceptions

When there are cases involving intentional age discrimination or sex-based wage discrimination under the Equal Pay Act, individuals cannot receive compensatory or punitive damages. Rather, they may receive “liquidated damages.”

Liquidated damages may be awarded as a wat of punishing a particularly heinous act of discrimination. The amount of liquidated damages that can be awarded to an individual is equal to the amount of back pay awarded.

What To Do When Experiencing Discrimination at Work

If an employee has reason to believe that he or she has been discriminated against at their workplace due to their race, sex, color, religion, national origin, disability, age, or genetic information, then he or she can file a discrimination charge with the EEOC. The charge is a signed statement which details how an employer, union, or labor group committed employment discrimination. The statement requests that the EEOC take action. All of the EEOC’s laws, not including the Equal Pay Act, require that an employee file a discrimination charge before filing a job discrimination lawsuit against the employer.

There are relevant time limits of either 180 or 300 days. An employee can file a charge through the EEOC Public Portal after he or she submits an online inquiry and does an intake interview with a staff member from the EEOC.

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What does an employment lawyer do?

An employment lawyer help employers and employees understand their respective rights and obligations, such as wages, wrongful termination, overtime, PTO, disability, discrimination, harassment, etc.

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Women’s Rights When Experiencing Sexual Harassment at Work

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What happens if you get an EDD audit?

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What are the 4 Caregiver rights in California?

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Terminating Employee with Cancer

Cancer is protected under the Disability Act, which protects an employee from retaliation and discrimination because of health impairment related to a cancer diagnosis. An employer cannot discriminate against an employee upon discovering that an employee has a severe illness or cancer.

Can I be fired for work restrictions?

No, you cannot be fired for work restriction if it is based on disability. However, an employer can fire an employee in some situations if the employee has work restrictions.

Annualized Compensation

An annualized compensation is to a predetermined gross pay per month paid to an employee for twelves months, totaling an estimated annual income.  In other words, annualized compensation - also known as annualized salary - is an estimate of how much pay an employee will earn over the course of a year if they were to work the full year. For example, teachers commonly do not work summer months and therefore need to annualized their salary for reporting taxes.

Is it illegal to pay my employees late?

Yes, it is illegal to pay workers late. When an employer didn't pay a worker on payday, the employee can sue and the employer has to pay waiting time penalty in the amount of 10 days' wages.

What is prevailing wage in California?

Prevailing wage in California is the minimum hourly rate employees earn on public work project. All workers employed on public works projects must be paid the prevailing wage. Our prevailing wage lawyer can protect your rights if you're not paid the California prevailing wage.

What qualifies as wrongful termination?

A termination is wrongful if the employer fires or laid off the employee on the employee based on a protected class such as sex, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, or age.

At Will Employment

At will employment means that the employer or the worker may end the employment relationship at any time. When an employment is at will, the employer can terminate employees for no reason.

Can You Get Fired for Looking for Another Job?

Firing an employee for looking for another job is legal under California Labor Code § 2922. Employees in California are employed on an “at-will” which means the employee or employer can terminate the working relationship at any time for any reason.

Can an employee be terminated while on medical leave?

It depends on the reason the employee is on medical leave. Under the FMLA, an employee cannot be terminated simply because they take leave. An employee is free to take medical leave without fear of losing their job. However, if there is a reason unrelated to the medical leave, an employer does have the right to terminate an employee.

Can Slack Admins Read DMs?

Yes. Slack admin and employer can read every DMs, private channels, private messages sent between team members. Employers on either Slack's free tier or paid tier need to submit a request to Slack before they can access your private chats.

Four Hour Minimum Pay

Yes - under California employment law, when an employee is scheduled to work an eight-hour shift, and the work is canceled, the employer must pay a minimum of four hours.

How far back do PAGA claims go?

A PAGA claim is generally one year from the date of the last employment law violation on which the PAGA claim is based.

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Why Does EDD Do a Benefit Audit?

The EDD conducts benefit audits to help pay Unemployment Insurance benefits to only eligible claimants only, prevents fraud in the UI program, and helps companies control UI costs. The EDD’s responsibility is to collect payroll taxes and conduct payroll audits of businesses.

What Does PAGA Mean in a Lawsuit?

The word PAGA is an acronym for the Private Attorney General Act, which is the Labor Code that authorizes employees to file a lawsuit to recover civil penalties for themselves and other employees. PAGA confers a private right of action to individuals to prosecute under PAGA and incentivizes the employee to keep 25% of collected civil penalties.

Can my employer call my doctor?

Generally, yes, your employer can call your doctor; however, the questions your employer ask is limited and protected by HIPAA Privacy Law. Your employer has the right to contact your doctor to verify the authenticity of a doctor’s note but cannot ask about your medical condition or diagnosis.

What Qualifies as an EEOC Complaint?

The EEOC is a federal agency that investigates workplace discrimination and harassment based on race, gender, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, medical status, and disability. There are time limits for filing a complaint with the EEOC.

EEOC Complaint Process

Before filing an EEOC complaint, employees should understand the entire EEOC complaint process. This article answers many Frequently Asked Questions on the EEOC complaint process.

Do guys get paid paternity leave?

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California PTO Payout Law

California law declares vacation time to be earned wages, and vacation time is accumulated as work is performed. So, an employee who has the right to ten days of vacation per year will after six months of work earn five days of vacation time.

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