It should go without saying that no person should be forced to endure racial discrimination and harassment anywhere in life, but most especially in the workplace.
Both California and federal laws very explicitly prohibit discrimination in the workplace, whether it be based on race, color, ethnicity and/or national origin.
The State of California considers such protections a matter of clear and express public policy.
In that regard, Government Code § 12920 (California’s statute commonly referred to as “FEHA”, or Fair Employment and Housing Act) states,
“It is hereby declared as the public policy of this state that it is necessary to protect and safeguard the right and opportunity of all persons to seek, obtain, and hold employment without discrimination or abridgement on account of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, or military and veteran status.”
Section 12940 goes on to expressly prohibit such discrimination in all aspects of employment including: advertisements for job positions, applications and interviews, hiring, transferring, promoting or leaving a job and/or working conditions. Racial discrimination in the workplace is also illegal when such actions are taken in respect to the “terms or conditions of employment.” “Terms or conditions of employment” is virtually anything relating to a job: rate of pay, title, position, team role, hours, vacations, etc. Hiring or firing is also a term or condition of employment.
Unfortunately, our firm has recently had to file a lawsuit against A B Caring Senior Living, Inc. and its general manager, Rebecca Carrasco, for allegedly violating these laws. A copy of the lawsuit can be read by clicking HERE.
A B Caring Senior Living is a company that owns and operates multiple dependent senior adult residential facilities in Riverside County.
This lawsuit alleges that our client, while working as a Caregiver for one of the residential facilities, Rebecca Carrasco repeatedly called our client (a woman of mixed race) and her two young children the “N” word and “monkey”, to their faces, on several occasions, and even called a dependent adult resident of Black race the “N” word.
The lawsuit further alleges that Rebecca Carrasco committed assault and battery against our client by pushing and shoving her to the ground while screaming and her cursing at her and terminating her employment.
Because Rebecca Carrasco was a supervisor of our client, and the general manager of A B Caring Senior Living’s daily operations, her unlawful racial discrimination and racial harassment creates automatic strict liability against the company for violations of FEHA, regardless of whether the company knew about her propensity for hatred and animosity against Black people.
Simply put, such disgusting and hateful behavior should be intolerable in any aspect of life, but especially in the workplace where human beings are simply trying to make a wage to provide for their families and maintain a decent and healthy life.
If you or a loved one believe you have suffered any form of discrimination in the workplace, or even as a customer at a business establishment, please do not hesitate to contact us for a free and confidential consultation to discuss whether your basic human rights have been violated.