$5 Million California Workplace Harassment Verdict in Sample v Cemex: What Made the Case So Strong?

A recent $5 million California workplace harassment verdict out of the the Northern District of California illustrates an important point about employment discrimination and harassment cases: the strength of a case often depends not merely on whether illegal conduct occurred, but on the severity of the conduct, the vulnerability of the employee targeted, and the Read More …

Racial Slur Proving Racial Harassment or Discrimination Case

It is well established that one of the strongest types of evidence of racial discrimination and racial harassment is racial slur. Frequent or pervasive workplace use of racial slurs resulting in an abusive work environment has been held to constitute to form a basis for racial harassment claim. (Aguilar v Avis Rent-a-Car Sys. (1999)). This is Read More …

Difference Between Workplace Discrimination and Harassment

The Sixth District Court of Appeal recently explained in Serri v. Santa Clara University (2014), that unlawful harassment consists of conduct which is not necessary to one’s job performance and is “presumably engaged in for personal gratification, because of meanness or bigotry, or for other personal motives (citing Reno v. Baird (1998)) and “is distinguishable Read More …

What Counts As Disability Harassment at Work

Cal. Government Code section 12940(j)(1) prohibits harassment of an employee based on a physical disability or a medical condition. Harassment focuses on situations in which the social environment of the workplace becomes intolerable because the harassment (whether verbal, physical or visual) communicates an offensive message to the harassed employee. This includes disability harassment at work. Read More …