I Need Help

If you believe you’ve faced caste-based discrimination in the workplace and now contemplate suing your employer, take a moment to learn more about how different laws handle the topic. Once you have the facts, we strongly recommend you contact an attorney listed below - free of charge - to get an expert opinion on your case. (You may also be facing related issues of constructive discharge, retaliation or breach of contract that have different standards than below - so again, you should consult a lawyer.) Read our disclaimer before proceeding further. 

The legal elements of a discrimination claim van vary state to state, but generally speaking, you may have faced discrimination:

1. You are a member of a protected class, such as race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age and disability. 

2. You were qualified for your job or housing opportunity, demonstrated by meeting stated criteria for the opportunity (ex: performing competently or meeting income requirements etc.)

3. You were then rejected from the position or passed over for the opportunity in spite of meeting the stated standards

4. Last, if someone else was hired / promoted or offered the housing opportunity in your place.

So for example, if a man was promoted over a pregnant woman, and the woman had a history of meeting her employer’s expectations, then she might want to explore if she has a valid claim. Since discrimination can occur in the outright disparate treatment of people and/or the disparate impact of a policy applied to people, you should have a longer discussion with your attorney about the evidentiary requirements for your case. (Battles are often won and lost based on what can be proven with documents and paper trails, regardless of intention.) And last, local laws can vary so it’s important to consult a certified attorney. For example in California, Governor Gavin Newsom recently confirmed that caste is protected under the liberal construction of these classes. While a prevailing legal contention is that protection for caste falls at the intersection of race, national origin, and religion, the local laws may still not define caste itself. 

If you are seeking counsel for an employment discrimination case, members of our task force may be a good first start:

• Sanford, Heisler, Sharp 

• Outten & Golden

• Tarina Mand, The Dixon Firm, tarina@thedixonfirm.com

If you’re dealing with discrimination in obtaining housing, then you may want to find a lawyer familiar with local tenants’ rights laws for fair housing. Finding a lawyer may take a bit until you find the right fit for you. Some questions you may want to ask a prospective lawyer before agreeing to let them represent you:

• Knowing the facts of your case, what are your strengths and weaknesses?

• Will you be forced into arbitration or can you take your claim to court?

• Is the lawyer willing to go to trial or is she more of an expert in negotiating settlements?

• What does a payment and fee structure look like? (Ex: Do you have to pay up front or will they take you for free (“on contingency”) and only collect payment if you win? If so, how much?)

1. You don’t need to quit or complain formally to the company yet ... you may not want to either. While complaining about discrimination is usually protected by the law, employers who receive the complaints will sometimes find a “non-related” reason to terminate you. Or they might find subtle ways to make your workplace so unpleasant that you quit (“constructive discharge”). (Don’t worry if you have already gone to HR - this is all fungible based on your specific case.) But before you hit your limit, read through the following to at least gather all the evidence you may need if you decide to file a discrimination suit. If you quit, it may be difficult to win a lawsuit against your former employer. In order to seek a remedy for “wrongful termination” you must be “terminated.”  As mentioned above, there’s a legal theory called “constructive discharge” which means the workplace was so unbearable that you might as well have been fired, even though you were not technically fired.  However “constructive discharge” is tricky and difficult to prove.

2. Review written complaints. Go back over every written complaint you have made to a supervisor or Human Resources (if you have already done so). A written complaint can span many forms: emails, text messages, instant messenger chats, scraps of paper, social media posts and voicemails. Reread the complaints if you were clear about what happened, who was involved, and how it made you feel. Make sure you were straightforward and didn’t hedge or equivocate in your complaints.  When in doubt, make another internal complaint that is extremely clear about what is happening and that you want it to stop.

3. Request a copy of your personnel file. A personnel file contains any recorded performance or disciplinary problems. Review it to determine if there are specific actions you can take to improve in the areas of poor performance. This is to ensure your employer does not have any excuse to let you go if you decide to escalate your complaints about the discrimination. You can discreetly request this file by saying you want to just prepare for your next evaluation.

4. Continue to document instances of discrimination. Write everything down. Track each instance of discrimination in writing, noting the date, time, location, who was present, exactly what was said, and any external details that lend credibility to your account. For example, “…In the company break room on August 31st at 4:30pm, Miller said ‘you’ll probably cry when your team loses.’ Jane, Scott, Henry, and Phil and I were all in the lunchroom watching UNLV play Duke in basketball during our lunch break.” Also, when creating new documents, write “Prepared in anticipation of litigation” at the top of each page.  This simple title helps keep that document out of the hands of your employer in the event of a lawsuit.

   1. In reality, you probably haven’t been keeping a log the whole time. Many times, something happens where you think “enough is enough”, and now you have to go back and write down as much as you can. Sorting through memories can be painful and frustrating, but taking time to make your own timeline of events will help you explain your situation later. It also exposes where you may have gaps on inconsistencies that could be used against you.

5. Bring your evidence to the consultation. If your efforts above are well documented, and the discrimination does not stop, it is time to decide if you want to file an external complaint. This doesn’t necessarily mean filing a lawsuit.  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is a federal agency designed to receive employment complaints.  Most states have a state level agency that accepts EEOC type complaints. Before you can sue, you likely want to wait for a “right to sue” letter where the EEOC vouches for the validity of your claims. A lawyer can explain the process to you as well.

   1. Yes, lawyers cost money. Some will ask you for a retainer of some amount up front, so that even if you lose, their costs are covered. Others may offer to take you on contingency, meaning they only get paid if you win. Bear in mind, few cases actually go to trial so you are more realistically looking at a case of mediation, arbitration and/or settlement. Your options will depend on your employment contract - which you should also review and bring with you to your consultation.