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When Do Racist Comments In The Workplace Amount To Racial Discrimination?

September 7, 2018 Admin Discrimination

Sadly, it still happens in today’s world that managers use stereotypes and racial slurs as references when remarking on an employee’s performance. Some of these comments may come from innocent ignorance, while others are purposely offensive and degrading, showing a supervisor’s hostility toward a specific race.

However, to prove racial discrimination, you need more than a record of a racist slur directed at a particular employee. While pervasive slurs often make for a hostile work environment, they only amount to harassment at most. Discrimination is defined as a link between racist statements and a negative employment action by a manager such as demoting, firing, or transferring an employee to a less desirable position. If you feel you have been discriminated against, your first step should be talking to a racial discrimination attorney in Los Angeles. They can help you make a case based on the manager’s comments that led to your termination.

Obviously, a single racist joke made six months before termination will not be considered racial discrimination. A jury or judge is unlikely to believe that you were fired due to racial hostility after a racist remark was made in your presence months or years before your termination. However, if a racial slur is used to emphasize your poor performance, saying that “You [blank]s are all lazy,” before terminating your position shortly afterward, your racial discrimination attorney in Los Angeles may use it as evidence of racial discrimination.

Also, to be awarded compensation for racial harassment or discrimination, there will need to be more than a few isolated racist jokes or comments. It must be shown that the employer failed to remedy or created objectively unbearable working conditions for the victim. The harasser’s actions must interfere with a reasonable employee’s work performance, affecting him psychologically and causing offense. If the relationship between a manager and the alleged victim is otherwise fine and the alleged victim doesn’t complain or otherwise make known that he is unhappy about the comments, there can be no legal recompense.

Under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act anti-discrimination laws, an employer cannot be liable for unlawful discrimination unless they have five or more employees. Therefore, FEHA protection does not always cover employees who work for small businesses. However, a good racial discrimination attorney in Los Angeles will tell you that an employee who is subjected to racial, ethnic, religious, or sex discrimination in California can still file a claim for wrongful termination against employers of any company size based on Article 1 Section 8 of the California Constitution.

Racial discrimination is difficult to prove on your own without the help of a decent lawyer. Your best option is to hire a racial discrimination attorney in Los Angeles to investigate and assist you in gathering evidence to win your case. The lawyers at Rager & Yoon – Employment Lawyers protect the rights of many types of employment victims. All employees deserve to work in a non-threatening environment where they feel safe and encouraged to be themselves. Call Rager & Yoon – Employment Lawyers today at 310-527-6994 for a free consultation and start down the path toward fair compensation.

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