Can I sue my employer for discrimination in California?

Who does California's discrimination law protect?

• FEHA covers more categories and, in many respects, smaller employers than federal law — being outside a federal rule doesn't mean you're unprotected.
• It applies across the whole arc of a job: hiring, pay, assignments, promotion, discipline, and termination.
• It also forbids punishing you for complaining about discrimination — retaliation is a separate violation.

What does discrimination actually look like day to day?

• You're written up for things others do without consequence.
• Promotions go to less-experienced people who don't share your background.
• “Jokes” and comments about your age, accent, body, or family keep landing near decisions about your work.
• Your hours, territory, or clients quietly shrank after they learned something about you.

What should you keep or write down?

• A dated log of incidents — what was said, who was there.
• Write-ups and reviews, yours and (if you can lawfully get them) the policies applied to others.
• Messages showing how comparable coworkers were treated.
• Notes from any HR complaint: when, to whom, what happened after.

What is a workplace discrimination claim worth?

Discrimination cases are valued on real losses and real harm: pay and opportunities you lost, the emotional toll — which California law takes seriously — and how strong the pattern of unequal treatment is on paper. A claim's strength grows with specifics: dates, comparisons, and what happened after you complained. That's the file we help you build before you talk with an attorney.

Questions workers ask about workplace discrimination