Human Resources Employees Can Be Targets of Discrimination, Too

Every employment discrimination lawsuit begins with an employee who believes that the mistreatment he or she received at work was due to the employee’s protected characteristic contacting the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or California Civil Rights Department (CRD), and describing the discriminatory treatment, so that the EEOC or CRD can investigate further.  At some point in the employee’s narrative, the words, “I went to human resources” occur.  The EEOC counselor instinctively knows what is coming next.  If HR had solved the problem, the employee would not have contacted the EEOC.  Meetings with human resources are often a step in the escalation of a conflict between the employee and the employer; members of work-averse online communities often remind each other that an HR employee’s job is to protect the interests of the company, not to help you.  Of course, human resources employees can also be on the receiving end of discrimination and retaliation by their employers.  If you work for the human resources department at your workplace, and your employer took an adverse action against you for a discriminatory or retaliatory reason, contact a Los Angeles discrimination and harassment lawyer.

Performance Reviews Can Be Adverse Actions, but So Can a Failure to Conduct a Performance Review

An employee has filed a lawsuit against her former employer, a city in California, where she worked as head of human relations until the city terminated her employment for reasons she describes as discriminatory and retaliatory.  The plaintiff, a Black woman, began working for the employer in 2016 after working in similar roles for other cities and for California’s public university system.  From the beginning, she noticed that employees received disparate treatment; White employees who were eligible for promotions would receive the performance reviews that were a prerequisite to the promotion, but when employees of color were eligible, the city’s leadership would drag their feet and fail to conduct the performance reviews.

Furthermore, the plaintiff experienced a higher level of scrutiny and micromanagement than other employees with a similar level of authority.  The scrutiny got worse the more the plaintiff complained about the unfair treatment of her subordinates.  Eventually, the stress got so bad that she took a medical leave.  While she was on leave, her employer examined her medical records in ways that the plaintiff alleges were illegal.  The plaintiff complained about this when she returned to work after her medical leave, and the employer terminated her employment.

The plaintiff initiated an investigation with the EEOC shortly after the termination of her employment.  She filed a lawsuit in the summer of 2024; news sources did not indicate the amount in damages she is seeking.

Speak With a Los Angeles Employment Discrimination Lawyer

A Los Angeles employment discrimination and retaliation lawyer can represent you in employment discrimination cases if you received an unfairly negative performance review or if your employer refused to do a performance review when you were entitled to one.  Contact Litigation, P.C. in Redondo Beach, California to discuss your situation or call (424)284-2401.

Source:

smdp.com/news/city-sued-over-alleged-racism-in-firing-of-former-hr-chief/