An Employer Said Something Racist: Can I Sue?

When you start a job, you expect to be treated with a certain level of dignity, respect, and equality in the workplace. Sadly, racial discrimination is an ugly reality for many workers in California. If you are in this situation, what are your legal rights moving forward?

Defining Race Discrimination in the Workplace

Racism within the workplace is illegal, even if the person makes a wrong assumption about the victim’s race or ethnicity. Race discrimination laws in California also apply to perceived race or color. It is not a defense to say that the remark was wrong about the victim’s true race.

While some race discrimination is open and obvious, other types of racist remarks can be said without any ill-intention. However, a lack of intent does not make the situation different when it comes to the law.

Employer Responsibility

Race discrimination can come from anywhere in the workplace—a coworker, someone on another team, a supervisor, or an employer.

If you are experiencing racial remarks at work based on race, ethnicity, or the color of your skin, even if it was from a coworker, you may be able to sue your employer for workplace harassment if they behaved negligently.

In other words, your employer has a legal responsibility to take steps necessary to identify, prevent, and stop the race discrimination or harassment in the workplace. If your employer does not take these steps, you have the right to file a civil lawsuit for unlawful discrimination.

Speak With a Race Discrimination Lawyer Today

Racist remarks or other race discrimination has no place in society or the workplace. If you are or have experienced racial discrimination on the job, you don’t have to allow this treatment to continue, nor should you. If it happened to you, it probably happened to someone else and may continue happening if you don’t use your voice to speak up.

We understand that this can be difficult to do, but please know that you are not alone. The employment law attorneys at Aegis Law Firm are here to stand in your corner and fight on your behalf.

Contact our Orange County race discrimination lawyers at (949) 379-6250 for a free consultation to learn more about your legal options.