South Pasadena Employment Discrimination Lawyer

Just because an adverse action has been taken against you because of a protected category doesn’t mean you’re automatically entitled to compensation. You’ll need to work with an attorney who can prove that you’re a victim of employment discrimination and file a successful claim against your employer. 

Here’s what an experienced lawyer can do to obtain the justice and compensation you deserve:

Compile Evidence

To file a successful claim, our South Pasadena employment discrimination lawyers must gather evidence that reflects the unlawful treatment you experienced. Your attorney may be able to use emails, handwritten notes, computer files, testimony from other employees, and other forms of evidence to strengthen your claim and, ideally, prove your case.

Prove Your Case

Your attorney must establish several elements in order to successfully demonstrate that you suffered unlawful discrimination. First, your attorney must demonstrate that your employer was aware you were part of a protected category. Sometimes protected categories are obvious, but not always.  

For example, someone might have a mental disability that the employer is unaware of.  If the employer is unaware that you fall into a protected category, then they could not have taken an adverse action against you because of that protected category.  

For example, if you believe that you were discriminated against because of a protected category that is obvious, like skin color, then proving your employer was aware of your protected category will be easier than if you were discriminated against for your political orientation or religion. 

Next, your attorney must demonstrate that your employer took an adverse action against you, and that the reason the employer took the adverse action against you was because you are in a protected category.  

There are a number of ways that South Pasadena employment discrimination lawyers can demonstrate this, such as by showing that those who were included in a protected category were treated worse than those employees who were not part of that protected category.

For example, if you were the only African American employee who was demoted on your team, your attorney can use that information to suggest you were discriminated against.

Demand Remedies

A South Pasadena employment discrimination attorney can help you recover compensation for your financial setbacks, employment-related challenges, and other losses you’ve suffered due to the discrimination you experienced.

If your claim is successful, you could receive one or more of the following damages:

• Wages lost due to your termination
• Future lost wages for the time it takes you to obtain comparable employment in the future
• Out-of-pocket costs resulting from the discrimination you experienced, such as costs associated with moving or medical expenses
• Compensation for emotional distress, such as mental anguish or depression
• Punitive damages

Not all employment discrimination plaintiffs receive punitive damages. That’s because punitive damages are meant to punish the defendant for any egregious, fraudulent, or malicious behaviors it engaged in when you were discriminated against.