Los Angeles Workplace Discrimination Lawyer

Are You Suffering From Workplace Discrimination in Los Angeles?

California employees experience workplace discrimination on a regular basis. Although state and federal laws are designed to protect employees from discrimination, many people choose to ignore these laws and knowingly engage in discriminatory behavior. Whether you work for a small business or a large corporation, you deserve to be treated fairly at work.

Our discrimination lawyers in Los Angeles understand that workplace discrimination can significantly impact every aspect of your life. Our Los Angeles employment lawyers have successfully litigated workplace discrimination claims.

During a free evaluation, we can discuss your unique situation and answer your legal questions. Then, our employment lawyer can help you to understand your best legal options. Call us at (310) 499-0140 or fill out our online contact form to get started.

Employment Discrimination Resources

Why Choose Us?
Meet Our Workplace Discrimination Lawyers in Los Angeles
Types of Cases We Handle
What Qualifies as Discrimination in the Workplace?
How Do You Prove Discrimination in the Workplace?
Do I Have a Time Limit for Filing a Discrimination Claim in California?
California Laws That Protect Employees from Discrimination
Los Angeles Discrimination Attorney FAQs
Los Angeles County Courthouses Handling Employment Law Cases
Contact Our Los Angeles Employment Discrimination Lawyers
Areas We Serve

Why Choose Us?

Over a Century of Collective Legal Expertise: With over 85 years of combined experience, our legal team at the firm is well-equipped to manage and succeed in your legal matters.
A Cohesive Team Working for You: At YMS, we cultivate success through our team-based approach. Our clients receive the full benefit of our collaborative spirit, ensuring a thorough examination of every detail and a strategy that covers all bases. Trust in our collective effort to bring forward the most compelling case on your behalf.
Battle-Tested Trial Attorneys: Preparation and experience are vital in legal disputes, and our attorneys are well-versed in courtroom proceedings. While we strive for favorable settlements outside of court, our ready and able litigators are always prepared to take matters before a judge to advocate tenaciously for your interests.
The Best of Both Worlds: Expertise with a Personal Touch: Our unique background combines big-firm resources with a small-firm feel. Having honed their skills in some of the largest law firms in the city, our discrimination attorneys in LA County deliver top-tier expertise paired with an intimate client-attorney relationship.

Meet Our Workplace Discrimination Attorneys in Los Angeles

Meet the experienced work discrimination lawyers serving Los Angeles County at Yadegar, Minoofar, & Soleymani LLP. Navid Yadegar has represented corporate and individual clients in all aspects of employment-related matters such as sexual harassment, employment discrimination, workplace retaliation and wrongful termination.

Pedram Minoofar counsels clients and litigates numerous other types of disputes including, corporate, partnership, and limited liability company dissolutions, and other commercial disputes. Navid Soleymani handles business litigation and employment litigation for individual and corporate clients in a wide range of industries, from small businesses to large publicly traded corporations.

Types of Cases We Handle

There are several different forms of employment discrimination. The most common types of workplace discrimination include:

Disability discrimination

If you have a medical condition or a physical limitation due to your health, then your employer must provide you with reasonable accommodations. Our Los Angeles employment discrimination lawyers can help determine your rights and decide if your employer’s conduct amounts to discrimination or failure to accommodate your disability.

Pregnancy discrimination

Pregnant women have legal rights as employees in the state of California. Your employer cannot fire, demote or harass you due to your pregnancy. Also, your employer cannot transfer you to a lower-paying position. If any of these situations occur, then you should consider obtaining legal representation.

Race discrimination

Unfortunately, racism remains a part of American society and exists in the workplace. If you suffered an adverse employment action due to your race, then you may consider legal action.

National origin discrimination

An applicant or employee may not be treated unfavorably due to his or her birthplace or ethnic background. If you are being treated unfairly by your employer due to your ancestry, then you may have the basis for a legal claim.

Religious discrimination

Employers cannot discriminate against a particular religious group while favoring another. Employers must accommodate all religions unless it poses an undue hardship.

Sexual orientation discrimination

When an employer treats an employee unfairly because the employee is gay, lesbian, bisexual, or perceived to be LGBTQ+. California law prohibits adverse employment decisions based on sexual orientation, including discipline, denial of advancement, or termination. These claims often involve biased remarks, exclusion from opportunities, or retaliation after an employee reports discriminatory treatment.

Sexual and gender discrimination

Sexual and gender discrimination involves unequal treatment based on sex, gender, gender identity, or gender expression. These claims commonly include unequal pay, denial of promotions, biased discipline, or termination driven by gender-based assumptions. California law prohibits employers from allowing gender-based bias to influence employment decisions.

What Qualifies as Discrimination in the Workplace?

Workplace discrimination occurs when an employer treats an employee or job applicant unfairly because of a legally protected characteristic rather than qualifications, performance, or legitimate business needs. California law prohibits discrimination at every stage of employment, from hiring and onboarding to promotions, compensation, discipline, and termination. Discriminatory conduct may involve a single adverse action or a pattern of unequal treatment that develops over time.

Discrimination often appears through employment decisions that disadvantage certain workers while favoring others in similar roles. Employers may violate the law by allowing bias, stereotypes, or assumptions to influence workplace policies or individual decisions. In some cases, discrimination results from an employer’s failure to address misconduct by supervisors or coworkers.

Examples of conduct that may qualify as workplace discrimination include:

Terminating or disciplining an employee based on a protected characteristic.
Denying promotions, training opportunities, or raises for discriminatory reasons.
Paying unequal wages for substantially similar work.
Refusing to provide reasonable accommodations for disabilities, medical conditions, or religious practices.
Allowing harassment or hostile conduct that interferes with job performance.
Retaliating against employees who report discrimination or participate in investigations.

Discrimination does not need to be explicit to be unlawful. Courts often examine timing, consistency in treatment, and the employer’s stated reasons for adverse actions. If you believe you are experiencing sexual harassment at your workplace, reach out to our sexual harassment attorney in Los Angeles for a free consultation.

How Do You Prove Discrimination in the Workplace?

Identifying employment discrimination is tough. However, it is even more difficult to find evidence proving that discrimination took place. Our discrimination lawyers in Los Angeles understand that proving workplace discrimination in California is no easy task. To convince a jury, you may need to present evidence that:

Shows you to be a competent and qualified employee. An employer can always create an excuse that justifies his or her discriminatory behavior. However, you can potentially refute that excuse if you provide documentation proving you were a strong employee. This documentation may include emails in which an employer was praising your work. It may also include copies of performance reviews conducted by senior management.
Highlights a pattern of unequal workplace treatment. To highlight this pattern, you should study the coworkers that exist outside of your protected class. If you can supply evidence that proves they were given preferential treatment or better advancement opportunities, then you may have a strong case. Sometimes, discrimination can even border on workplace harassment and create a hostile work environment. Contact our skilled Los Angeles workplace harassment attorney for legal help today.
Reveals a lack of objectivity by your employer. If your employer is being overly subjective when criticizing your work, then you should show that he or she is more objective when appraising the work of others. Our Los Angeles employment attorneys can help you find evidence that shows this lack of objectivity.

Do I Have a Time Limit for Filing a Discrimination Claim in California?

In California, employment discrimination cases have a three-year statute of limitations. You must file a claim within three years of the discriminatory incident.

If you plan to file with the California Civil Rights Department, you have one year from the incident. For a federal lawsuit, you have 300 days to file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Timely action is crucial to protect your rights. An employment law attorney in Los Angeles can help walk you through the process of filing a discrimination claim.

California Laws That Protect Employees From Discrimination

California provides broad statutory protections that prohibit workplace discrimination and require employers to take affirmative steps to prevent it.

Law / Statute	What It Does	Key Protections
California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) Gov. Code §12940(a)	Prohibits discrimination in employment based on protected characteristics.	• Refuse to hire or employ • Bar or discharge from employment • Discriminate in compensation, terms, conditions, privileges • Applies to employers with 5+ employees
FEHA – Duty to Prevent Gov. Code §12940(k)	Requires employers to take affirmative steps to prevent discrimination and harassment.	• Employers must take “all reasonable steps necessary to prevent discrimination and harassment.”
FEHA – Disability Accommodation Gov. Code §12940(m)	Protects employees who request reasonable accommodation for known disabilities.	• Employers must provide reasonable accommodations for known physical or mental disability
FEHA – Retaliation Gov. Code §12940(h)	Prohibits retaliation for asserting discrimination rights.	• Retaliation for opposing unlawful practices • Retaliation for filing a complaint, testifying, assisting in proceedings

California’s anti-discrimination laws often provide broader protections and remedies than federal law, giving employees strong legal tools to challenge unlawful workplace conduct.

Los Angeles Discrimination Attorney FAQs

Can I Afford to Hire a Los Angeles Discrimination Lawyer to Represent Me?

With our contingency fee arrangement and complimentary initial evaluation, we aim to alleviate the financial burden often associated with legal representation. Your interests and well-being are our top priorities, and we are here to support you throughout the process.

What Are the Federal and California Laws That Employees From Workplace Discrimination?

Anti-discrimination laws are in place throughout the country, including in California. These laws shield members of protected classes against discrimination from private companies that employ them. A few of these federal laws include:

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
Equal Pay Act of 1963. Protects male and female workers who have similar workloads from gender-based wage discrimination.
American with Disabilities Act of 1990. Prohibits employment discrimination against disabled workers in the private sector, and in local and state governments.

The California State Legislature has also passed anti-discrimination legislation. The most prominent law is the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). FEHA protects California workers from discrimination based on many factors, including sexual orientation, veteran status, and age.

FEHA applies to employers with five or more employees. The Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) enforces these protections. If you have experienced workplace discrimination, then our workplace discrimination lawyers in Los Angeles may be able to help you file a complaint with the DFEH.

What Are Some Examples of Discrimination in the Workplace?

Common examples of workplace discrimination in Los Angeles County include:

Workplace retaliation. Employers cannot punish their employees for engaging in legally protected activities. Retaliation includes negative actions like demotions, salary reductions and job reassignment. You should consider legal recourse for workplace retaliation in Los Angeles if you believe that your employer’s actions constitute retaliation.
Wrongful termination. Federal and California laws protect Los Angeles employees from wrongful termination. These laws explain that an employer cannot fire you based on your protected traits, such as your disability, sex or race.
Systemic discrimination. A company may have certain policies or procedures that negatively affect members of a protected class. An example of systemic discrimination includes the placement of racial or national origin barriers around hiring and recruitment practices.
Wage discrimination. Many minority groups are often paid less than their white male counterparts. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 prohibits pay discrimination based on gender. However, many women still receive unequal pay.

Los Angeles County Courthouses Handling Employment Law Cases

Los Angeles discrimination lawsuits are typically filed at following local courthouses:

Stanley Mosk Courthouse

Address: 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone: (213) 830-0803
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM

Central Civil West Courthouse

Address: 600 South Commonwealth Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90005
Phone: (213) 351-8739
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM

United States District Court – Central District of California

Address: 350 West 1st Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone: (213) 894-1565
Hours: Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse

Address: 255 East Temple Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone: (213) 894-1565
Clerk’s Office Hours: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Monday-Friday (excluding holidays)

With 85+ years of combined legal experience, our proven discrimination attorneys in LA regularly represent clients throughout LA County at these courthouses. For more information on your unique case, reach out to our legal team at YMS LLP today.

Contact Our Los Angeles Employment Discrimination Lawyers

If you are the victim of workplace discrimination, consider speaking with a Los Angeles work discrimination lawyer from our employment law firm. Employment law cases are generally complex.

For example, you must begin by filing your discrimination claim with the DFEH. Most California employees must complete the DFEH process before they can file a discrimination lawsuit. If you believed you were unfairly fired due to discrimination, reach out to our wrongful firing lawyers in Los Angeles today.

Areas We Serve

Our Los Angeles discrimination attorneys proudly serve the following neighborhoods:

Los Angeles Employment Discrimination Lawyer