Author Archives: Jay Butchko
School District Employee Files Racial Discrimination Lawsuit After Losing Out on Promotion in Favor of Less Qualified Employee
If you have a public sector job that you have held for more than a few years, you are in a better position than most people. You have more job security and more generous health insurance benefits than most people have, and you might even have a retirement pension; this counts as an embarrassment… Read More »
Does Offensive Music Make a Hostile Work Environment
We are approaching the time of year when Christmas carols start playing on the speaker systems of virtually every restaurant and retail store. No matter how much holiday cheer you possess, and no matter how delightful it is when neighbors knock on your door and sing “Deck the Halls” in harmony in exchange for… Read More »
Breach of Contract Lawsuits Between a Nonprofit Organization and a Corporation
The beauty of operating a nonprofit organization is that it serves some purpose other than making its owners wealthy. In order to accomplish their goals, nonprofits often make agreements with for-profit businesses, and it is wise to formalize these agreements with legally enforceable contracts. Whether you agree to pick up the leftovers from a… Read More »
Court Orders Company to Pay $1.2 Million to Warehouse Employee Who Suffered Bullying by Coworkers
Adults often reassure children that the teasing they endure from their classmates about things that employment law would consider protected characteristics, such as their physical appearance or manner of speaking, are a sign of immaturity. Unfortunately, it is usually wishful thinking to assume that, just because people are old enough to be in the… Read More »
Woman Sues Employer Over Gender-Based Pay Discrimination
The gender pay gap is well known. Women get paid less than men of similar professional background in exchange for the same work. Comedians of both sexes make jokes about it, and some people even commemorate the day each year by which women’s pay catches up to the amount that men earned by the… Read More »
New Law Gives California Employees the Benefit of the Doubt in Employer Retaliation Claims
Many cases of employment discrimination follow a familiar story. The employee does not feel welcome in the work environment from the start. Her direct supervisor seems to find fault with her about issues great and small, and coworkers make derogatory comments about the employee’s race, gender, or family status on a frequent basis, and… Read More »
Can an Employer Discriminate Against You Because You Are Not Good Looking Enough?
Everyone knows that you are not supposed to judge people based on their physical appearance, but most of us do not apply that precept consistently in our daily lives. Finding a community of people who judge each other based on their actions instead of their looks is sounding more and more like a utopian… Read More »
Abusive Treatment by an Employer Is Still Abuse, Even When It Is Not Discrimination
Many employment discrimination lawsuits arise from work environments where a work supervisor harasses employees because of one or more protected characteristics of the employees, such as their race, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, or family status. To file a discrimination complaint against your employer, you must first contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, whereupon… Read More »
Business Partner Accuses Fashion Designer of Misappropriating Company Funds for Personal Use
Everyone in Los Angeles has creative vision in abundance, but not everyone has business sense. Therefore, partnerships between an artist and an entrepreneur are common here in the City of Angeles. Egos can clash in any business partnership, even one that sells products much more boring than the trappings of celebrity culture that make… Read More »
Is Accent Discrimination Legal?
If the cultural and linguistic diversity of Los Angeles disappeared, it would be a shadow of its former self. According to a 2019 report by World Population Review, 224 languages are spoken in Los Angeles. This means that a large portion of workers in the Los Angeles area speak more than one language in… Read More »
