Several California Cities Ban Discrimination Based on Nontraditional Family Structure

Everyone who raises a child does so with the help of other adults.  Children may only have two legal parents, but the parents are not the only people who play a major role in the child’s life.  Some people live in multigenerational households.  Single and divorced parents may rely on the help of friends who are in similar situations, as well as sharing parenting time with their child’s other parent.  Laws that ban discrimination based on sex, marital status, sexual orientation, and pregnancy address this, but a few cities in California, as well as several other states, have enacted laws saying that it is illegal to discriminate against employees who have a nontraditional family structure, meaning that the members of their household and, if they have children, the inner circle of decision makers regarding their children’s upbringing, is something other than a married, heterosexual couple and their biological children.  If you have faced discrimination at work because your family ties include people who are not blood relatives of you or your children, contact a Los Angeles discrimination and harassment lawyer.

Family Status Is a Protected Characteristic Under Federal and State Employment Laws

Oakland and Berkeley are two of the five cities in the United States that have passed local laws banning discrimination based on nontraditional family structure.  By this logic, an employer cannot discriminate against someone who lives with two other adults, where all three consider each other their romantic partners.  It also cannot discriminate against a mother who spends weekdays with her wife and her child, but on weekends the child is with the mother’s co-parent, who is a platonic friend of the mother, and his husband.  The list of nontraditional family structures is potentially endless, from multigenerational households of blood relatives to groups of platonic friends who establish themselves as family units.

The question remains whether nontraditional family structures count as a separate family characteristic.  Even in places that don’t recognize a non-traditional family structure as a protected characteristic, if the aforementioned mother experiences discrimination, she may cite protected characteristics such as sexual orientation and motherhood in her discrimination claim.  Recently, California courts and lawmakers considered another protected characteristic question, namely, is caste a separate protected characteristic, or can people who experience discrimination because of their background in a particular Hindu caste simply sue for discrimination based on religion or ethnic background?

Speak With a Los Angeles Employment Discrimination Lawyer

A Los Angeles employment discrimination and retaliation lawyer can represent you in employment discrimination cases if your employer retaliated against you for your family or relationship situation.  Contact Litigation, P.C. in Redondo Beach, California to discuss your situation or call (424)284-2401.

Source:

berkeleyside.org/2024/05/22/berkeley-law-antidiscrimination-relationship-family-structure-polyamory