Yes, you can sue your employer for discrimination if what they did to you was unlawful. Unlawful discrimination takes many forms. It could be based off of your age, your race, your gender, whether you were pregnant, whether your familial status, your national origin, or your color, and many other things as well.
The way that a case starts is by filing a claim against the EEOC, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or in California, it will be the California Civil Rights Department. In order to start a claim, there's strict deadlines. So, make sure you talk to an attorney to make sure you're not missing any deadlines.
Unfair and illegal aren't the same thing
A boss can be arbitrary, play favorites, or make a bad call without breaking any law. Discrimination law only applies when the treatment is because of a protected trait, and that gap between what feels wrong and what's legally actionable is where a lot of potential claims stall before anyone calls an attorney.
One clarification on the list in the video. Familial status is a protected characteristic in California housing law, not in the employment sections. The employment list in Government Code sections 12921(a) and 12940(a) covers race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, reproductive health decisionmaking, and veteran or military status. Age there means the chronological age of anyone who has reached a 40th birthday. If your situation involves something outside that list, it sits outside these sections, which is not the same as sitting outside California employment law.
Most California discrimination claims also can't go straight to court. You generally have to first file with the California Civil Rights Department or the EEOC and clear that agency process before you're allowed to sue, and the two agencies typically coordinate, so filing with one can help preserve your rights under the other.
Why timing matters
Because this administrative step has real time limits and has to happen before a lawsuit, it's worth talking to an attorney as soon as you suspect discrimination rather than waiting to see how things play out.
Suing is not the first step. You usually need a right-to-sue notice from California’s Civil Rights Department or the federal EEOC before a court will hear a discrimination claim, and asking for that notice immediately gives up the free agency investigation. How to Sue Your Employer in California covers which claims need the notice, which ones skip the agency, the deadlines in order, and what a case costs.
More questions, answered.
Other videos on this topic. Watch one, then tell us what happened.
How can I find a workplace discrimination lawyer near me?
Watch the answer
What is gender discrimination?
Watch the answer
How can a Los Angeles employment discrimination lawyer help with my case?
Watch the answer
What does a disability discrimination lawyer do?
Watch the answer
Why should I hire a Los Angeles employment discrimination attorney?
Watch the answer
How can a Los Angeles disability discrimination lawyer help with my case?
Watch the answer
Tell us what happened. We read it free.
Send it in a sentence or two. If there’s a case, we’ll tell you what it is and what to do next. If there isn’t, we’ll tell you that too, straight, and at no cost.
Prefer to talk? Call (424) 255-8376. A real person answers.