Los Angeles Workplace Discrimination Lawyer

Workplace Discrimination · Los Angeles Employment Law

Law Offices of Todd M. Friedman, P.C.

(877) 619-8966

Workplace Discrimination Lawyer Serving Los Angeles

California law prohibits employers from making decisions about hiring, firing, pay, promotion, or any other term of employment based on a protected characteristic. The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) covers more ground than federal law and applies to smaller employers. The Law Offices of Todd M. Friedman handle workplace discrimination cases for employees in Los Angeles and throughout California, across industries from healthcare and entertainment to retail, logistics, and professional services.

Protected Characteristics Under California Law

Category	Covered Under FEHA	Federal Coverage
Race and color	Yes	Yes (Title VII)
Sex and gender	Yes	Yes (Title VII)
Sexual orientation	Yes	Yes (post-Bostock, 2020)
Gender identity / expression	Yes	Yes (post-Bostock, 2020)
Age (40 and over)	Yes	Yes (ADEA)
Disability (physical or mental)	Yes	Yes (ADA)
Pregnancy and related conditions	Yes	Yes (PDA)
Religion	Yes	Yes (Title VII)
National origin	Yes	Yes (Title VII)
Marital status	Yes	No
Medical condition	Yes	Partial (ADA)
Military or veteran status	Yes	Federal USERRA

FEHA applies to employers with five or more employees for most protected categories. Title VII requires 15 employees. California employees at smaller workplaces often have state-law protections that federal law does not provide.

EEOC Charge Data for California

Charge Type	FY 2023 National Charges	% of All Charges
Race discrimination	20,908	31.0%
Sex discrimination	17,908	26.6%
Disability discrimination	22,843	33.9%
Age discrimination	13,820	20.5%
National origin	7,155	10.6%
Religion	2,220	3.3%
Retaliation (all statutes)	38,981	57.8%
Total charges filed	67,448	—

Source: EEOC Charge Statistics FY 2023

What Workplace Discrimination Looks Like

Discrimination rarely comes with an explicit statement. The evidence is usually circumstantial. Common patterns:

Employees with the same performance record are treated differently based on race, age, or other protected category
A worker is passed over for a promotion repeatedly while less-qualified employees in a different demographic group advance
Performance reviews become suddenly negative after a pregnancy, a disability disclosure, or a request for religious accommodation
Employees in a protected group receive harsher discipline than employees outside that group for the same conduct
A position is eliminated when the company is aware of a worker’s protected status, but similar positions remain

What California Law Allows in Damages

California’s FEHA has no cap on compensatory or punitive damages. Federal law caps both at $300,000 for the largest employers. Available damages under FEHA include back pay, front pay, emotional distress, punitive damages, and attorney fees if you prevail.

We handle workplace discrimination cases on contingency. No fee unless we recover money for you.

Discrimination often accompanies other violations. See our pages on racial discrimination, age discrimination, disability discrimination, pregnancy discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination.