California sex & gender discrimination lawyers

What the law prohibits

The Fair Employment and Housing Act (Gov. Code § 12940) prohibits employers with five or more employees from discriminating based on:

• Sex, including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions
• Gender, gender identity, and gender expression
• Sexual orientation
• Marital status

Federal Title VII provides similar protection for employers with 15 or more employees, and the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed in Bostock v. Clayton County (2020) that it covers sexual orientation and transgender status.

Equal pay: one of California's strongest protections

The California Equal Pay Act (Labor Code § 1197.5) requires employers to pay employees of different sexes, races, or ethnicities equally for substantially similar work, judged by skill, effort, and responsibility under similar working conditions. Job titles don't control. Two employees with different titles doing comparable work must be paid equally.

An employer can justify a pay gap only by proving it's entirely explained by a seniority system, a merit system, a production-based system, or a bona fide factor other than sex such as education or training that is job-related and a business necessity. Prior salary cannot justify a pay gap, and employers may not ask applicants about their salary history (Labor Code § 432.3).

Other pay protections include:

• Employers with 15 or more employees must include pay ranges in job postings and give current employees the pay range for their position on request (Labor Code § 432.3).
• You have the right to discuss your own pay and ask about coworkers' pay without retaliation.
• Equal Pay Act claims can recover the full wage difference plus an equal amount as liquidated damages, interest, and attorney fees, for up to two years back (three if willful).

What gender discrimination looks like

• Being paid less than a colleague of a different sex for comparable work
• Being passed over for promotion because a manager assumes you'll leave to have children, or that caregiving duties will get in the way
• Being steered toward or away from certain roles, territories, or clients based on gender stereotypes
• Being criticized as "too aggressive" or "not assertive enough" in ways that track gender expectations
• Being treated worse after announcing a pregnancy or returning from parental leave
• Being denied access to a restroom consistent with your gender identity
• Being repeatedly called by the wrong name or pronouns after asking colleagues and managers to stop
• Dress codes that impose different standards based on sex or require gender-conforming appearance
• Being fired or disciplined after a same-sex marriage or coming out

Protections for transgender and nonbinary employees

California regulations (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 2, § 11030 et seq.) give detailed protections to transgender and nonbinary workers. Employers must:

• Allow employees to use restrooms, locker rooms, and other facilities consistent with their gender identity
• Use an employee's preferred name and pronouns when requested
• Apply dress codes in a way that lets employees dress consistent with their gender identity and expression
• Keep information about gender transition confidential
• Not ask applicants about gender identity or require proof of transition

Building the case

Good evidence includes pay records and job descriptions for comparable coworkers, performance reviews, promotion decisions and who received them, comments about family, pregnancy, appearance, or gender roles, and any complaints you made. Because many pay records are in the employer's hands, a lawyer can obtain them through formal discovery. You can also request your own payroll records under Labor Code § 226.

What you can recover

• Unpaid wages and liquidated damages for equal pay violations
• Lost wages, promotions, and benefits
• Emotional distress damages
• Punitive damages for malicious or oppressive conduct
• Attorney fees and costs

Deadlines

• FEHA: three years to file with the California Civil Rights Department, then one year after the right-to-sue notice.
• California Equal Pay Act: two years from the violation, or three years if willful. Each unequal paycheck can restart the clock.
• Title VII and the federal Equal Pay Act: 300 days for an EEOC charge; the federal Equal Pay Act has a two-to-three-year limit and doesn't require an agency charge.

What to do now

1. Write down what you know about pay. Note who earns more, their role and duties, and how you learned it. Disclosing and discussing pay is protected.
2. Ask for the pay range for your position. California employees can request it, and the answer is often useful evidence.
3. Keep records of comments about family plans, appearance, gender roles, or your identity, with dates and witnesses.
4. Save your job description, reviews, and promotion history to show the substance of your work.
5. Complain in writing if you're comfortable doing so, and keep a copy. Retaliation for an equal pay complaint within 90 days is presumed unlawful.
6. Talk to a lawyer before the clock runs. Equal Pay Act recovery generally reaches back only two or three years, so delay costs money.

How your case works with us

Most employees have never hired a lawyer before. Here's what working with us looks like, from the first call to resolution.

1. Free, confidential consultation. We listen to what happened, review any documents you have, and tell you honestly whether you have a claim, which laws apply, and which deadlines matter.
2. Investigation. We gather your personnel file, payroll records, and communications, identify witnesses, and request records your employer is legally required to provide.
3. Agency filings, when required. For claims under FEHA, we file with the California Civil Rights Department and obtain a right-to-sue notice so your case can proceed in court.
4. Demand and negotiation. Many cases resolve through a demand letter, early negotiation, or mediation, without a trial.
5. Litigation, if needed. If your employer won't do right by you, we file suit and are prepared to take the case through discovery and trial or arbitration.

Fees. Most employment cases are handled on a contingency basis. You pay no attorney fees unless we recover money for you, and many California employment laws require the employer to pay your attorney fees if you win.