California COVID -19 (Coronavirus) Discrimination Attorney
Find an experienced California lawyer who can deal with discrimination cases based on Race and/or Ethnicity due to COVID - 19 corona virus
Since the corona-virus hit California last month, there have been many Asian American and Pacific Islanders that have been discriminated and/or retaliated against. Specifically, the CDC has stated on their site to “not show prejudice to people of Asian descent, because of fear of this new virus. Do not assume that someone of Asian descent is more likely to have 2019-nCoV.”
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of “race, color, religion, sex and national origin.” National origin discrimination is when people (whether it be applicants or even employees) are treated unfavorably just because they are from a specific country, or just because they appear to be of a specific ethnic background. In our current situation, many Asian Americans have reported suffering discrimination at school, online, at their workplace and other venues. The California Fair Employment and Housing Act may protect you as well.
Furthermore, it can also involve people being treated unfavorably because they are married to partners with or even associated with a person of a certain national origin, race, or color. Again, in this specific case, it would be a person of Asian or Pacific Island descent or any legally protected category. Do not be fooled – this type of discrimination and retaliation can occur even among people of the same national origin.
What should you do when you are discriminated against during the COVID - 19 coronavirus pandemic?
If you live in California and have been affected by discriminatory, xenophobic or bigoted attacks because of your Asian or Pacific Island ethnicity, or any ethnicity, color or race, you should contact a qualified California employment discrimination attorney immediately. While the other side may think this is “ok,” or even a “joke,” it is absolutely not. As mentioned previously, you may be protected under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. Even more so, treating someone like this is not humane. It needs to stop now.
Here are a few actions you can take if you encounter or are suffering this type of discrimination due to your Asian or Pacific Island ethnicity:
Make notes: It is extremely important that you take notes of what happened. Remember the 6 components - Who, What, Where, When, Why, How.
Report it: Even during a time when we work at home, discrimination and bigoted remarks can happen over conference calls. Do not allow this. The law may protect you if you report such conduct to your company’s human resources, and if you do not have one, then the law may protect you if you report it to a supervisor or governmental agency.
Call it out: Tell the person who is doing the actual harassment to stop, and you don’t like it. If they continue or even retaliate against you for calling it out, then you need to notate this and hold onto it for your records. This will help you fight in the event you pursue a California discrimination case.
Find an outside source: Whether it be going straight to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and informing the workers at that agency and even filing paperwork, or finding an experienced California Discrimination Attorney, it is important that you look for a trusted resource, and more importantly someone that can help you out.
Remember - Facts not emotions: Even though there may be emotional damages that resulted from the discrimination and/or retaliation, remember to take a step away from the emotions and write down the specific and actual facts. Just because a boss may not like you, does not necessarily mean that the law protects you in the event you try to pursue legal action.
Recent California story that involved bigoted attacks against an Asian-American due to the COVID - 19 coronavirus pandemic.
There has been a spike of discrimination reports against Asian-Americans, especially in California. Recently, according to a New York Times article a 26-year-old Chinese-American living in Northern California was spit on and yelled at. Just as Yuanyuan Zhu was walking to her gym in San Francisco on March 9th, a man on the street was yelling at her, and as a bus passed, he screamed for it to “run them over.” She then proceeded to cross the street, and he ended up spitting on her.
Your next step: Contact a California COVID - 19 (Coronavirus) Discrimination Attorney immediately.
Discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex and national origin is generally prohibited by both California and Federal Law and is uncalled for. Many of these California discrimination cases may also involve retaliation against the victim for speaking up. While many people may let these incidents go unnoticed, that may only empower the problem individuals and give them reason to continue.
Do not wait any longer. The actions you take today can play a huge role in your future. Contact a California COVID - 19 (Coronavirus) Discrimination and Retaliation Attorney today.
