Race discrimination · California
Race discrimination lawyers for California workers
For workers held to a different rulebook because of race, color or ancestry — including hair texture and protective hairstyles. Exclusively for workers.
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The handbook, annotated
Read it the way it was enforced.
Every rule sounds neutral. Select one, or step through all seven, to see how a policy can be applied unevenly — or be unlawful as written. Every rule sounds neutral. Under each one is a note on how it can be applied unevenly — or why it can be unlawful as written.
Press Enter to show the note. Use the up and down arrow keys to move to the next or previous item.
These standards apply equally to every employee.
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4.1Appearance & GroomingHair must present a neat, professional, business-appropriate appearance. Braids, locs, twists and similar styles are not permitted while on duty.
Note 4.1 · Unlawful as written
This rule can itself be race discrimination.
In California, race is “inclusive of traits associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles” — and protective hairstyles include “braids, locs, and twists.” A grooming rule that bans them, or punishes natural hair as “unprofessional,” can be race discrimination under California’s CROWN Act.
Gov. Code §§ 12926(w), (x); 12940(a)
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4.2AttendanceEmployees must be at their station at the start of each shift. We maintain a zero-tolerance standard: any late arrival may result in discipline, up to and including termination.
Note 4.2 · Applied unevenly
Zero tolerance — for whom?
A rule can read the same for everyone and still be enforced against some workers and not others. If co-workers of another race came in late without a word while you were written up or fired, that difference can be evidence of race discrimination. The question is not only whether you broke the rule, but why it was enforced against you.
Gov. Code § 12940(a)
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4.3Conduct & CultureWe are a close-knit team. Good-natured humor is part of our culture, and employees are expected not to take workplace banter personally.
Note 4.3 · Harassment
Racial “jokes” are not banter.
Racial slurs, “jokes” and insults can be unlawful harassment at any California employer, even one with a single employee. One serious incident can be enough to take a harassment claim to a jury. And employers must take “all reasonable steps necessary” to prevent harassment — laughing it off is hard to square with that duty.
Gov. Code §§ 12923(b), 12940(j), (k)
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4.4Scheduling & AssignmentsShifts, routes, territories and assignments are made at management’s discretion based on business needs.
Note 4.4 · Applied unevenly
Discretion is where patterns hide.
If the hardest shifts, worst routes or weakest territories kept landing on workers of one race, that pattern can be evidence of discrimination in the “terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.” Schedules and assignment records matter.
Gov. Code § 12940(a)
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4.5CompensationPay is set individually and is confidential. Employees may not discuss their wages with co-workers.
Note 4.5 · Unlawful as written
You have the right to talk about pay.
An employer “shall not prohibit an employee from disclosing the employee’s own wages,” discussing others’ wages, or asking about them. And it may not pay you less than co-workers of another race or ethnicity for “substantially similar work” unless it proves seniority, merit, production or another bona fide factor accounts for the entire gap.
Lab. Code § 1197.5(b), (k)(1)
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4.6AdvancementPromotions are awarded based on leadership potential and overall fit with team culture.
Note 4.6 · Applied unevenly
“Fit” is not a qualification.
When a less-qualified co-worker of another race is promoted for vague, subjective reasons, that can be evidence the stated reason is not the real one. You still have to show race was a substantial motivating reason — and we will tell you honestly whether the record supports it.
Gov. Code § 12940(a) · CACI No. 2500
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4.7Raising ConcernsConcerns should be raised with your direct manager. The Company prohibits retaliation of any kind.
Note 4.7 · Retaliation
Then look at what happened next.
Firing, demoting, disciplining or otherwise punishing someone for opposing race discrimination or harassment is itself unlawful. Write-ups or schedule cuts that begin soon after a complaint can be evidence of retaliation.
Gov. Code § 12940(h)
Illustrative policy written for this page, not taken from any real employer. The notes are general information, not legal advice about your situation.Page 14
The handbook is what they wrote down.
This is what was never written.
The unwritten rules
What isn’t in the handbook.
Slurs, racist graffiti, one-race hiring, “the customers prefer it.” None of it was written down — so the worker did. Select an entry to see what the law says. Slurs, racist graffiti, one-race hiring, “the customers prefer it.” None of it was written down — so the worker did. Under each entry is a note on what the law says.
What happened, when, and who was there.
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Mar 3Shift lead used a racial slur in the morning meeting. The manager laughed and moved on.
Note · Harassment
A slur is not “just talk.”
Racial slurs, racist jokes and race-based nicknames can be unlawful harassment at any California employer, even one with a single employee. Harassment must be severe or pervasive, and one serious incident can be enough to take a claim to a jury. When a supervisor does it, or management knows and fails to act, the employer can be responsible.
Gov. Code §§ 12923(b), 12940(j)(1), (j)(4)(A) · CACI No. 2524
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Mar 10A racist drawing went up on the break-room wall. I reported it. Still there two weeks later.
Note · Harassment · Visual
What’s on the wall counts too.
Harassment can be visual. California’s regulations list “derogatory posters, cartoons, or drawings.” Racist graffiti or symbols left up after a report can help show a hostile work environment — and an employer that did not take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment.
2 CCR § 11019(b)(2)(C); Gov. Code § 12940(j), (k)
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Mar 18Moved off the front counter to the stockroom. Manager said “the customers prefer it this way.”
Note · Segregation · Customer preference
“The customers prefer it” is not a defense.
Keeping workers off the front counter, away from certain customers or out of certain territories because of race can be unlawful. Federal law bars employers with 15 or more employees from limiting, segregating or classifying workers by race; race can never be a bona fide occupational qualification; and the EEOC says customer preference is not a defense to race discrimination.
42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(2), (e)(1); Gov. Code § 12940(a)
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Apr 2Five new hires this month — all friends and family of the crew, all the same race. The job was never posted. Two qualified people I referred never got a call.
Note · Hiring
One race is not a hiring standard.
Refusing to hire qualified applicants because of race can be unlawful, and job ads or questions may not express “any limitation, specification, or discrimination as to race.” Hiring only through current employees’ friends and family can also be unlawful if it has an adverse impact by race and is not job-related and consistent with business necessity.
Gov. Code § 12940(a), (d); 2 CCR § 11017(a); 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(k)
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Apr 9Manager told the team, out loud, that the rules are different for workers of my race. We get the closing shifts and the heavy loads.
Note · Openly different treatment
Different rules, said out loud.
Applying different rules, discipline, shifts, pay or duties by race can be unlawful discrimination in the “terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.” Statements like this can be strong evidence that race was a substantial motivating reason — which is what you have to show.
Gov. Code § 12940(a); 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(1); CACI No. 2500
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Apr 16Asked again about lead training. Told the program “isn’t for people like you.” The trainee spots went to newer hires.
Note · Training & promotion
Training and promotions are covered too.
Under California’s regulations, training that may make an employee eligible for promotion must be offered “in a manner that does not discriminate,” and requests for promotion must be considered the same way. Withholding training or promotions because of race can be unlawful.
2 CCR § 11017(c)(1), (2); Gov. Code § 12940(a)
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Apr 29Complained to HR in writing on April 22. Fired April 29 — “not a culture fit.”
Note · Retaliation
Timing can tell the story.
Firing or punishing someone for complaining about racist treatment can be unlawful retaliation. A firing one week after a written complaint, with a vague reason like “fit,” can be evidence the stated reason is not the real one.
Gov. Code § 12940(h)
Illustrative notes written for this page, not a real person’s record. The notes in gold are general information, not legal advice about your situation.
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Same job. Same handbook. Different rules.
Sometimes race discrimination hides in who gets written up, who gets the route, who gets the raise. Sometimes it is said out loud, left on a wall, or built into who gets hired.
Not every unfair decision is illegal. California law asks whether race was a substantial motivating reason for how you were treated. Tell us what happened, and we will tell you honestly whether the law covers it.
Workers tell us things like this
- A promotion you were qualified for went to a less-qualified co-worker of another race.
- You learned you are paid less than a co-worker of another race doing substantially similar work.
- Racial slurs or racist jokes were made, and management laughed it off.
- Racist graffiti, drawings or symbols went up at work — and stayed up after you reported them.
- Everyone they hire is the same race, and qualified applicants of other races never get a call.
- You were kept away from customers, the front counter or certain jobs because of your race.
- You were written up for things others did without consequence.
- You were told your natural hair, braids, locs or twists look “unprofessional.”
- The worst shifts, routes or territories kept landing on you.
- You complained about racist treatment — and then you were pushed out or fired.
The law in plain English
The rules that outrank any handbook.
A company policy cannot override California or federal law. These are the rules that apply when race, color or ancestry shapes how you are treated at work.
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FEHA · 5+ employees
Race, color and ancestry
California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act bars employers with five or more employees from refusing to hire you, firing you, or discriminating against you in pay or in the terms, conditions or privileges of employment because of race, color or ancestry. National origin is protected too.
Gov. Code §§ 12926(d), 12940(a) -
California’s CROWN Act
Hair texture and protective hairstyles
Under FEHA, race is
Gov. Code § 12926(w), (x)inclusive of traits associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles.
Protective hairstyles includebraids, locs, and twists.
A dress code or grooming rule can’t be used to punish you for your natural hair or a protective style. -
Any size employer
Racial harassment
Racial slurs, racist jokes, race-based nicknames and racist graffiti or symbols can be unlawful harassment at any California employer, even one with a single employee. The conduct must be severe or pervasive — but one serious incident can be enough to take a claim to a jury, you don’t have to prove your work suffered, and employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment. Hostile work environment
Gov. Code §§ 12923, 12940(j), (k); 2 CCR § 11019(b)(2); CACI No. 2524 -
Hiring · FEHA and Title VII
Hiring and recruiting
Refusing to hire someone because of race is unlawful, and job ads or questions may not express
Gov. Code § 12940(a), (d); 2 CCR § 11017(a); 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(k)any limitation, specification, or discrimination as to race.
A neutral-sounding practice, such as hiring only through employees’ friends and family, can be unlawful if it has an adverse impact by race and is not job-related and consistent with business necessity. -
Segregation
Kept apart, and “customer preference”
Employers may not
42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(2), (e)(1); 2 CCR § 11010(a)limit, segregate, or classify
workers by race in ways that hurt their opportunities. Under federal law, race can never be a bona fide occupational qualification, and the EEOC says customer preference is not a defense to race discrimination. California’s own narrow defense requires proof that all or substantially all excluded people could not do the job safely and efficiently. -
Equal pay
Equal pay by race or ethnicity
An employer may not pay you less than employees of another race or ethnicity for
Lab. Code § 1197.5(b)substantially similar work, when viewed as a composite of skill, effort, and responsibility, and performed under similar working conditions,
unless it proves seniority, merit, a production-based system or a bona fide factor other than race or ethnicity accounts for the entire difference.Prior salary shall not justify any disparity in compensation.
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Advancement
Training and promotion
Training that may make you eligible for promotion must be offered
2 CCR § 11017(c); Gov. Code § 12940(a)in a manner that does not discriminate,
promotion requests must be considered the same way, and employers may not restrict information about promotion openings when that has a discriminatory effect. -
Speaking up
Retaliation
An employer may not fire, demote or otherwise punish you for opposing race discrimination or harassment, or for filing a complaint, testifying or assisting in a proceeding about it.
Gov. Code § 12940(h) -
Federal law
Title VII and Section 1981
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 bars race and color discrimination at employers with 15 or more employees. Section 1981 protects the equal right
42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e-2(a), 1981to make and enforce contracts,
includingthe making, performance, modification, and termination of contracts,
and reaches race discrimination in employment — at employers of any size, with no agency filing required first.
Deadlines
The clock starts with the decision.
- 3 yearsto file a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department. Gov. Code § 12960(e)(5)
- 1 yearto file your lawsuit after the CRD issues a right-to-sue notice. Gov. Code § 12965(c)(1)
- 300 daysto file a charge with the EEOC in California for federal Title VII claims.
Some claims run on different clocks: an equal-pay lawsuit under Labor Code § 1197.5 generally within three years (§ 1197.5(i)), and federal § 1981 claims often up to four years. Evidence fades — so talk to a lawyer early. How to file a CRD complaint
What you can recover
What the law can put back.
Every case is different, and what a claim is worth depends on the facts. Depending on those facts, the law allows recovery of:
Lost wages and benefits
The pay, raises and benefits you lost because of the discrimination — often called back pay.
Future earnings
Lost future earnings, sometimes called front pay, when returning to the job is not realistic.
Emotional distress
Compensation for the humiliation, anxiety and harm that discrimination and harassment cause.
Punitive damages
In some cases, where the employer acted with malice, oppression or fraud, proven by clear and convincing evidence. Civ. Code § 3294
Attorney’s fees and costs
Under FEHA, the court may award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, including expert witness fees. Gov. Code § 12965(c)(6)
The pay gap, doubled
Under the equal-pay law: the wages you were shorted (for up to six years), with interest, plus
an equal amount as liquidated damages,
costs and reasonable attorney’s fees. Lab. Code § 1197.5(h), (i)
What it costs you
No attorney’s fee and no case costs unless we recover money for you. If we do, our fee is a percentage of the recovery, and the case costs we advanced are repaid from your share — all set out in your written fee agreement.
What to gather
Keep your own copy of the record.
Discrimination cases are often proved by comparison: the same rule, the same job, different treatment. These records help show it.
Once we take your case, you can upload these securely in your client app.
- Job postings for promotions you sought, and who got them.Note their experience and qualifications if you know them.
- Pay stubs, offer letters and pay information you lawfully have.California law protects your right to discuss and ask about wages. Lab. Code § 1197.5(k)(1)
- Your write-ups and evaluations — and how co-workers were treated for the same conduct.
- Texts, emails and chat messages with racial remarks or “jokes.”Screenshots with dates and names visible.
- The dress code, grooming or appearance policy, and the handbook itself.
- Complaints you made, to whom and when — and the response.
- Notes or photos of racist graffiti, drawings or symbols — and when you reported them.Only take photos where you lawfully can.
- Names of witnesses, and your own dated notes.Keep only what you lawfully have access to; do not take confidential company files.
Results
Results in related cases
Combined recoveries in cases handled by our attorneys including employment and injury matters. Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
- Settlement $1,950,000 Pregnancy Discrimination & Wrongful Termination
- Settlement $1,200,000 Disability Discrimination & Wrongful Termination
Questions
What workers ask us.
What counts as race discrimination at work in California?
Being treated worse at work because of your race, color or ancestry, including traits associated with race such as hair texture and protective hairstyles. That can mean being refused a job or promotion, paid less, disciplined more harshly, given worse assignments, harassed or fired. FEHA covers employers with five or more employees, and its harassment protections cover employers of any size. To win, you need to show race was a substantial motivating reason for how you were treated: not necessarily the only reason, but more than a trivial one. Unfair treatment alone is not enough.
What if my coworkers or boss use racial slurs?
Racial slurs, racist jokes and race-based nicknames can be unlawful harassment at any California employer, even one with a single employee. The conduct must be severe or pervasive, and one serious incident can be enough to take a claim to a jury. If a supervisor is doing it, or management knew and did not act, the employer can be responsible. Write down what was said, when, and who heard it, and report it in writing if you can.
Is it illegal for my employer to only hire people of one race?
It can be. FEHA makes it unlawful for an employer with five or more employees to refuse to hire someone because of race, and job ads or questions may not express a racial preference or limitation. Even a neutral-sounding practice, like filling jobs only through current employees’ friends and family, can be unlawful if it has an adverse impact by race and is not job-related and consistent with business necessity. Whether a hiring pattern is discrimination depends on the facts, such as who applied, who was qualified and who was hired.
Is it illegal to be paid less than a co-worker of a different race?
It can be. California’s Equal Pay Act, Labor Code section 1197.5, bars paying you less than co-workers of another race or ethnicity for substantially similar work, judged by skill, effort and responsibility under similar working conditions. The employer then has to prove the whole gap is explained by seniority, merit, production or a genuine job-related factor other than race, and prior salary cannot justify it. You have the right to discuss and ask about pay, and you generally have three years to sue.
Can my employer ban braids or locs?
Not because of the hairstyle itself. California’s CROWN Act made clear that race includes traits associated with race, including hair texture and protective hairstyles such as braids, locs and twists (Gov. Code section 12926(w) and (x)). So a grooming or dress-code rule can’t be used to punish you for them at an employer with five or more employees. California’s law is the one that applies; there is no federal CROWN Act.
What is the CROWN Act?
The CROWN Act is California’s law protecting natural hair at work. Since January 1, 2020, it has made clear that, under FEHA, race includes traits associated with race, including hair texture and protective hairstyles such as braids, locs and twists. Discrimination because of natural hair or a protective style can be race discrimination. There is no federal CROWN Act.
How long do I have to file a race discrimination claim in California?
Under California law, you generally have three years to file a complaint with the Civil Rights Department, then one year to sue after you receive a right-to-sue notice. A federal EEOC charge in California generally must be filed within 300 days. Some claims run on different clocks: an equal-pay lawsuit under Labor Code section 1197.5 generally within three years, and federal Section 1981 claims often up to four years. Talk to a lawyer early, while evidence and witnesses are easier to find.
Can I be fired for reporting racism at work?
No. FEHA makes it unlawful to fire, demote or otherwise punish you for opposing race discrimination or harassment, or for filing a complaint, testifying or assisting in a proceeding (Gov. Code section 12940(h)). Discipline or schedule cuts that begin soon after a complaint can be evidence of retaliation.
Do I need to file with the CRD or the EEOC first?
For a FEHA lawsuit, yes: you file a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department even if you plan to go directly to court, and you can request an immediate right-to-sue notice when you file. Federal Title VII claims start with an EEOC charge. Claims under 42 U.S.C. section 1981 and California’s equal-pay law, Labor Code section 1197.5, do not require an agency filing first. We can help you choose the right path and keep every deadline.
Related
Often part of the same story.
- Hostile Work EnvironmentSlurs, “jokes” and comments that make work hostile.Read more
- Workplace DiscriminationEvery trait California law protects at work.Read more
- Retaliation ClaimsPunished for speaking up about discrimination.Read more
- Wrongful TerminationFired for a reason the law does not allow.Read more
- Fired After Complaining to HRWhat to do when a complaint comes back on you.Read more
- Filing a CRD ComplaintHow to file and get a right-to-sue notice.Read more
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