Retail Employee Reaches Settlement With Employer Over Demotion, Involuntary Transfer, And Denial Of Promotion To Manager

One of the reasons that fantasies of quiet quitting and the Great Resignation are so appealing is that so many of us feel unappreciated at work.  We could do the jobs of almost everyone in our workplace, and sometimes we do, but while the folks in upper management get accolades and expense account-paid dinners in five-star restaurants, we have nothing to show for our hard work but a paycheck that will not cover necessities unless we supplement it with gigs.  We ask for raises and promotions, and our managers tell us that they would love to show their appreciation in the form of cold, hard cash, but the economy does not permit this, so all they can offer us is more requests for extra work without extra pay and perhaps the occasional smiley face emoji.  It turns out that the law is on your side, however.  Unfair denial of promotions and raises may be a form of employment discrimination when they are due to a protected characteristic of the employee, such as race, sex, age, religion, or disability.  If your employer demoted you or denied you a promotion after you spoke up about discrimination in the workplace, contact a Los Angeles retaliation lawyer.

Plaintiff Claimed That Employer Transferred Her to a Different Store in Retaliation for Complaining About Racial Discrimination

The plaintiff in this case is a Black woman who was employed as a team lead at the Arcadia location of a clothing retail chain store beginning in 2018.  She was the only Black employee at the store, and her supervisor often made inappropriate comments about her race.  In her work as a team lead, she often performed duties that are within the job description of a manager.  She applied for promotions to the position of manager several times, but the employer always denied her requests.  In March 2020, the supervisor told her that she would receive a manager position when one opened up, but in June 2020, that position went to a non-Black employee.

The plaintiff complained to human resources about the unfair denial of a promotion and about her supervisor’s behavior toward her.  The next day, the supervisor told her that he knew she had complained to human resources about him.  In September, the plaintiff was demoted to sales associate and transferred to the store’s Ontario location.

In March 2022, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit against the employer and the supervisor, alleging racial discrimination and retaliation.  At that time, she was still working for the employer.  In September 2022, the parties settled the lawsuit out of court.  The terms of the settlement were not made public.

Speak With a Los Angeles Employment Discrimination Lawyer

A Los Angeles employment discrimination lawyer can help you if your employer retaliated against you after you complained to human resources about discrimination or other unfair treatment.  Contact Litigation, P.C. in Los Angeles, California to discuss your situation or call (424)284-2401.

Source:

patch.com/california/los-angeles/la-based-forever-21-settles-discrimination-lawsuit