Unequal Workload Discrimination
Unfair treatment in the workplace is not permitted, and in some cases, could be viewed as workplace discrimination and/or workplace harassment. Employment discrimination can be a common issue affecting California workers and it can take many forms – gender identity discrimination, sexual harassment, discriminatory actions based off an employee’s health issues, disability, or other protected characteristics, and more.
However, unfair treatment at work based upon a team’s workload can also be a major issue and could be included as workplace harassment.
Labor Laws For Excessive Workload
No employment law is broken when an employer assigns a typical workload to their employees. However, when a heavy workload is assigned to employees under a protected class, certain national origin, or sexual orientation, it could be an act of discrimination – and it could be illegal.
This is not an easy question because courts, as a rule, refuse to sit as a “super-personnel” department. A heavy workload is sometimes not considered a way that an employee with protected class is treated unfairly, but it could be unfair treatment that may serve as the basis for a discrimination claim.
How Do You Handle Discrimination In The Workplace?
Workplace discrimination and unfair treatment within the workplace is illegal. No employee applies for a job thinking the job description includes being mistreated because of a personal characteristic.
The best way to handle workplace discrimination is to firstly, make a record of all the harassment an employee has received. Taking notes of how an employee is treated differently than other employees, making notes of the type of retaliation or perceived discriminatory actions that are a result from the discrimination, and noting how the unfair workload the employee is receiving is unreasonable to accomplish and maintain a positive job performance.
After taking notes of the workplace discrimination, it is wise to file a formal complaint with an HR department. Such a report will serve as a record that a discrimination complaint was made that could violate state or federal law. Even if the retaliation does not persist after the HR complaint, it is still a good idea to extend communication about the incidents to a discrimination lawyer.
The attorneys at Lawyers for Justice, PC have fought many workplace discrimination cases against an unfair employer. The firm has won over $1 million in compensation for California employees in the workplace. The employment law team is a source of support for employees who have suffered harassment and seeks to protect the clients they take on.
Lawyers for Justice, PC holds responsible parties accountable for their discrimination and harassment and works with clients to develop a plan of how to fight against unfair employers.
FAQ’s
how do you handle discrimination in the workplace? Harassment in any job is not tolerated by California law. Employers who let let their team suffer from workplace discrimination based upon gender, a protected characteristic, sexual harassment, or unequal workload discrimination can face legal action. The best thing to do is to make a record of the employment discrimination and contact an employment discrimination lawyer who can hold the guilty employer responsible.
can you sue a workplace for discrimination? Under California law, it is an employee right to seek and hold the same job for as long as good work is being done by the employee, without the risk of facing discrimination based on race, religion, sexual orientation, or any other form of illegal discrimination. If an employee is discriminated against, they can file an unequal workload discrimination lawsuit against their employer for unlawful discrimination.
What constitutes an excessive workload? In the workplace, unreasonable demands can manifest in various forms, such as: tight deadlines that hinder thorough task completion, insufficient budgets that fail to align with project needs, and requests to fulfill personal errands for your manager.