Both California and the federal government have passed laws that prohibiting discrimination on the basis of certain protected characteristics. Under state and Federal law, both private and public employers in Santa Cruz County can be found liable for discrimination, depending on what type of trait originally prompted the discrimination.

How Does Employment Discrimination Occur?

Employment discrimination occurs when an employer treats you wrongly because of your membership in a legally protected class. Employers can not base their evaluations of you on certain traits including religion, race, age, gender, national origin, and familial status. The plaintiff must prove that their employer intended to treat them unfairly because of their protected status in order to succeed on a discrimination claim in Santa Cruz County, California.

How can Employment Discrimination be Proven in California?

This will be proven if the employer in question has treated others of the same class in a comparable manner. It may also be shown when there is testimony regarding specific employer statements that a reasonable person would define as biased. Furthermore, employers are in clear violation of the law when they fire someone or retaliate against them because they filed a discrimination lawsuit.

The procedure for pursuing an employment discrimination claim is complicated, since it involves filing a claim with specific agencies. Santa Cruz County, California has many lawyers available to help you in filing in a timely fashion, and they can also help you pursue any remedies that might be available to you while your case is being processed.