Is It Discrimination If Your Employer Fires You For Taking Time Off To Care For A Sick Family Member?

In employment law, a protected activity is something that you have the right to do without the risk that your employer will take adverse action against you because of it.  Requesting family leave or medical leave is a protected activity, and so is filing a worker’s compensation claim or requesting reasonable accommodations for a disability.  Likewise, reporting misconduct by your supervisor or other decision makers at your company to authority figures inside or outside the organization is also a protected activity. This includes notifying law enforcement of criminal activity at your workplace, reporting workplace safety violations to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), or reporting workplace discrimination to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).  You have the right to sue your employer for employer retaliation if you get fired, demoted, or harassed shortly after you make the request or report, and sometimes, the employer’s retaliation is part of a larger pattern of unfair treatment of you and other employees in your organization.  If you were fired, reprimanded, or otherwise suffered what you believe is an adverse action  after you requested leave, contact a Los Angeles retaliation lawyer.

Actress Sues TV Studio for Sexual Harassment and Wrongful Termination of Employment

An Asian-American actress who worked for a television studio in Burbank has filed a lawsuit against her former employer, claiming that, from the time she began working for the studio in May 2019, her employer frequently made derogatory remarks about her physical appearance and about women in general, especially women of Asian descent.  The same supervisor has also been the subject of complaints by other employees who worked for the studio, and at least one other woman has mentioned the supervisor’s behavior in a sex discrimination lawsuit.

The problems got worse in September 2020, when the plaintiff requested a month off to care for her mother, who was ill with COVID.  The following month, the plaintiff returned to work and asked if she could spend two days per week in the studio and work remotely the rest of the week, in order to minimize the risk of exposing members of her household to COVID.  A producer told her that another actress had taken her position, and that the studio did not need her anymore, anyway, since there were already too many Asian actors there.  In her lawsuit, the plaintiff is alleging gender discrimination, sexual harassment, failure to prevent discrimination, wrongful constructive termination, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and whistleblower retaliation.  News sources did not indicate the amount in damages that the plaintiff is seeking.

Speak With a Los Angeles Employment Discrimination Lawyer

A Los Angeles employment discrimination lawyer can help you if your employer has exhibited a pattern of harassment and derogatory comments, but then fired you when you exercised your legal right to take a leave of absence from work.  Contact Litigation, P.C. in Los Angeles, California to discuss your situation or call (424)284-2401.

Source:

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