New Discrimination & Retaliation Laws in California
The California legislature has passed new laws governing discrimination and retaliation following a number of labor and employment bills signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown in 2017. A lot of these bills relate to working hours, wages, benefits, employee safety, and other relevant employee protections.
Among these new laws (some of which took effect on 1 January 2018) include discrimination and retaliation laws that seek to protect employees against employer retaliation in circumstances where employees make decisions that may impact negatively on the employer.
By implementing a more comprehensive system for dealing with employment discrimination, California legislatures hope to highlight and dissuade instances of badgering, exclusion, manhandling, and other acts of retaliation.
Can The Labor Commissioner’s Office Investigate Cases of Retaliation or Discrimination?
According to existing California laws, employers may be investigated for retaliation or discrimination even without a complaint. Under the old law, the Labor Commissioner was empowered to investigate cases of retaliation or discrimination only when an employee filed an official complaint. However, under the new dispensation, employers may face legal action from the DLSE and the Labor Commissioner if suspected of the same.
How Can a Person Benefit From Filing a Retaliation Lawsuit?
If a complainant wins a case, the most immediate benefit would be a recouping of financial expenses. If for instance a worker who earned $45,000 a year was fired under now proven false circumstances, they would be able to recover the amount of money they would have earned had they not been fired in the first place.
Emotional distress is also addressed as it involves the psychological torture of having to endure unlawful retaliation by the employer. Employees who experience these situations have been known to suffer mental and physical distress (including actual medical conditions) brought on by the trauma of retaliation. In order to prove these harms, the complainant is expected to portray them.
One of the motivating factors for litigants is the recouping of lawyer’s expenses. Any settling of unlawful termination or another form of retaliation typically involves compensation for attorney fees. Complainants are expected to demonstrate that the employer acted with malice, persecution, or misrepresentation, and that their actions have brought suffering that warrants corrective damages.
Trial or Court?
The vast majority of employers prefer to settle before the case goes to trial. They also agree to keep the terms agreed upon during the settlement, and this motivates aggrieved persons to pursue legal action for perceived retaliation.
Given the Labor Commissioner’s reputation for pursuing legal action against employers in all industries, these new laws are expected to minimize cases of workplace retaliation throughout California.
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